The Korean language has different levels of politeness. Today, you'll learn about the most casual and friendly ending! I'll show you to whom you can use this ending and the present tense rules!
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1. Informal Casual Style
Meaning
The Korean language has various speech levels depending on formality and politeness. These speech levels are realized by the sentence endings. There are 6 levels, but only three of them are still commonly used. Take a look.
You are probably familiar with the informal polite ending, 해요체(아요/어요/여요). You may know about the formal ending, 하십시오체(습니다/ㅂ니다) as well. If you want to learn more about their comparison, please click the link below to read my other post.
⚐ Related lesson: Various Speech Levels in Korean
What you are going to learn today is 해체(해 style). It is also referred to as 반말(talk down or low form of speech.) It is the informal casual ending.
"Informal" means it is meant to be used in daily conversations. As you can see in the chart above, there are two types of informal endings in Korean. 해요 and 해.
Unlike 해요체(아요/어요/여요) is polite and friendly, 해체 is very friendly and not polite at all! It gives a light and casual vibe.
Whom to use
Given that 해체 is not a polite speech level, it is crucial to use it with caution. Koreans are very sensitive to politeness matters. Incorrect usage may lead others to perceive you as impolite. That is why it is usually the final speech level that Korean students master out of the three.
When determining which speech level to use, factors such as age, social status, and closeness of the relationship should be taken into account. You can use 해체 for those below.
① Age: To someone of the same or younger age.
② Social Level: To someone who holds the same or lower social level than you.
③ Relationship: To someone in a very close relationship
For example, you can use this for your classmates, younger siblings, younger cousins, or your subordinates.
In Korea, classmates typically belong to the same age group within a classroom. As a result, people naturally communicate with each other using the 해체. They already know each other's age!
In university or social settings, individuals from different age groups interact. In such scenarios, it is common for people to inquire about each other's age in order to determine the appropriate level of formality to use.
After asking each other's age, if it turns out the same (or very similar), people will go through an "agreement" process to use 반말 with each other. If you use 반말 without this agreement, it will be considered very rude. You can ask like "우리 그냥 반말 할까요? Shall we just talk casually?"
If you happen to be younger or have a lower social status, you can request others to speak informally to you. You can say "말 편하게 하세요." This translates to "Please speak comfortably."
In the situation that you are older or have a higher social level, you don't always have to use the casual 해 style. If you want to be polite, it is good to still use the 해요 style. For example, if you are a manager at work, you can speak to a part-time worker with 해 style. But if you use 해요 style to them they will think you are a polite and kind person.
You can use it for your girlfriend or boyfriend, even if he or she is older than you because you guys are in an intimate relationship. Well, you'll still need an agreement from them if it is okay to use 반말.
As you see 반말 has a very limited usage. You should use it only for those situations with caution. Koreans are very sensitive to politeness matters, so using this ending wrong may cause you big trouble! So, in daily life, try to use the informal polite 아요/어요/여요 endings as much as possible.
2. 아/어/여 Grammar
아/어/여 is the present tense ending used in low forms of speech(반말). You can attach this to a verb stem, an adjective stem, or 이다/아니다.
If you are familiar with 아요/어요/여요(the informal polite present), this rule should be easy. You can simply take "요" out to make 아/어/여!
It has the same features with 아요/어요/여요 as well. Just like it, you can use 아/어/여 for all four sentence types; statement, question, command, and suggest. Look at the chart and see how the "먹어" part didn't change.
Statement | |
Question | |
Command | |
Suggest |
Also, try listening to each sentence and compare the intonation. It's also the same with 아요/어요/여요. You slightly raise the end of the sentence only for a question.
When this present tense 아/어/여 is used in a statement or question, there are mainly two meanings you can imply! One is a simple present and the other is a progressive present! How do you know which one then? You have to guess by the situation and context!
빵 먹어. "I eat bread." or "I'm eating bread."
지금 빵 먹어. I'm eating bread now.
3. Regular Conjugation Rules
As I mentioned above, making 아/어/여 ending is easy! Simply take "요" out of the same 아요/어요/여요 rule! But here, I'll show you one by one for your study! To decide which rule to use, pay attention to the last vowel of the stem.
1.ㅏ, ㅗ, ㅑ: + 아
When a vowel is ㅏ, ㅗ, or 야, you will attach 아.
앉다 to sit | |
얇다 to be thin | |
가다 to go | |
보다 to see |
When there is a final consonant, you can simply attach 아. If it doesn't some sort of combination will happen. Here are the steps for 가다 and 보다.
① 가다 to go
The stem is 가. Since the vowel is ㅏ, we'll add 아. → 가아 → There is no final consonant to prevent combining. And 가아 has the same vowel. So, 아 can be gone. (가 can absorb 아.) → 가.
② 보다 to go
The stem is 보. Since the vowel is ㅗ, we'll attach 아 to it. → 보아 → There is no final consonant so that they will combine. → The vowel ㅗ and ㅏ become ㅘ. → 봐.
2. 하다 + 여: → 해
When a word ends with 하다, in other words, when a word has 하 as a stem, you are supposed to attach 여 to it. That makes it 하여. However, in the modern Korean language, 하여 shortened to 해. So, you can simply replace the 하다 part to 해 to make the informal casual present tense!
하다 to do | |
공부하다 to study | |
행복하다 to be happy |
I told you the 아/어/여 is called 해체(해 style). You can tell where this name is from, right?
3. Others: + 어
For a verb and adjective that don't follow the rule 1 and 2, apply this one! You can attach 어 to the stem.
먹다 to eat | |
멀다 to be far | |
펴다 to open | |
마시다 to drink |
Just like we discussed in the first rule, if there is a final consonant, you can simply attach 어. However, if not, some sort of combination will happen.
① 펴다 to open
The stem is 펴. The vowel is not ㅏ, ㅗ, or ㅑ. Then, we need 어. → 펴어. → It is not necessarily long and ㅕ [yeo] is related to ㅓ [eo]. So, 펴 absorbs 어. → 펴.
② 마시다 to drink
The stem is 마시. The important part is always the last syllable which is 시 here. → The vowel is ㅣ, so we'll add 어. → 마시어. → However, the vowels ㅣ and ㅓ combine and become ㅕ. So, 시어 turns into 셔. → 마셔.
4. Irregular Conjugation Rules
You know the drill! We have to take a look at the irregular verbs and adjectives as well! You have to pay attention to the final consonant(받침) of each stem, well, for most of the time. Then, you'll continue to apply the regular rules you just saw above.
1. ㄷ 받침: ㄷ → ㄹ + 아/어
When a stem ends with the final consonant ㄷ, you must change that ㄷ to ㄹ. Then decide either 아 or 어 depending on the last vowel.
걷다 to walk | |
듣다 to listen |
If you want to read a more detailed explanation, please click here: Irregular ㄷ and ㅅ Conjugation Lesson.
2. ㅅ받침: Erase ㅅ + 아/어
For irregular ㅅ words, you need to erase ㅅ first. Then, decide 아 or 어 depending on the last vowel.
낫다 to heal/to be better | |
짓다 to build/to cook rice |
3. ㅂ받침: Erase ㅂ + 와/워
For irregular ㅂ words, please erase ㅂ first. Same steps so far, right? However, this time you'll add 와 or 워 instead of 아 or 어. For the words that need 아, you'll add 와. Other than that, add 워 not 어.
돕다 to help | |
줍다 to pick up |
If you want a detailed explanation about this ㅂ and the following ㅎ conjugation, please click here to read my other free lesson!
4. ㅎ 받침: Erase ㅎ + l
For irregular ㅎ words, please erase that ㅎ first. Then you'll simply add the vowel ㅣ. You don't attach 아 or 어 this time.
동그랗다 to be round | |
뿌옇다 to be foggy |
5. 모음 ㅡ: Erase ㅡ + 아/어
This time, you have to look at the vowel(모음), not the final consonant(받침). If a stem ends with the vowel ㅡ, use this rule. You have to erase that ㅡ first and then add 아 or 어 depending on the last vowel.
쓰다 to write/to be bitter | |
빠르다 to be fast |
This rule is too big to cover here. If you are not familiar with this rule, make sure to read my other lesson: Irregular ㅡ, 르, and 러 Grammar.
5. 이다/아니다 Conjugation: (이)야
We have to see the form of the Korean version of the be verb 이다. Here, I'll show you the present tense form which will be translated into "am/are/is."
In the informal polite, you used 이에요 or 예요. In the informal casual, you will attach 이야 or 야.
받침 | (이)야 | Example |
O | 이야 | 책상: 책상이야. It's a desk. |
X | 야 | 의자: 의자야. It's a chair. |
The antonym of 이다 is 아니다. In the polite version, you used it as 아니에요. In the nonpolite version, you'll say 아니야. You can translate it as "am/are/is not." 아니다 is usually used as an expression with the subject marker; 이/가 아니다.
받침 | 이/가 아니야. | Example |
O | 이 아니야. | 책상: 책상이 아니야. It's not a desk. |
X | 가 아니야. | 의자: 의자가 아니야. It's not a chair. |
6. Words & Expressions
Pronouns
When you speak in the informal casual form, you also have to use the matching politeness level of words and expressions. Here are some 반말 words and expressions compared to 존댓말(honorific language).
Meaning | 반말 | 존댓말 |
I | ||
you |
When the pronouns "I" and "you" meet the subject marker 이/가, the form will be changed. If you want to learn the details about it, please click here to read my subject marker lesson.
Meaning | 반말 | 존댓말 |
I | ||
you | The form doesn't change. |
Here are the possessive forms. They are combinations of the pronouns and the possessive marker 의. You may notice that they are the same forms as taking the subject marker 가 out from the chart above!
Meaning | 반말 | 존댓말 |
My | ||
Your | The form doesn't change. |
Expressions
You have to memorize these important expressions as well! "Yes" and "no" also change their form depending on the politeness!
Meaning | 반말 | 존댓말 |
Yes. | ||
No. |
7. Examples
Now, let's explore some instances where this 아/어/여 grammar is used. Given that 반말 is casual, individuals using this style often omit various parts, resulting in shorter sentences.
1
Q: What are you doing? | |
A: I'm doing my homework. |
뭐 is "what." It was originally 무엇, but in conversations, people like to use shorter versions. 해 came from the verb 하다 (to do). 숙제해 came from the verb 숙제하다. (to do homework).
2
Mom: What are you doing? | |
Son: I'm doing my homework. |
Examples 1 and 2 have the same meanings in translation. However, 숙제해 became 숙제해요. Can you tell me why?
Example 1 is (probably) the conversation between two friends or at least we can tell they are on equal terms. However, example 2 is a conversation between the mom and the son. Since mom is older and has a higher social status, she can use the low form of speech(반말) to her son. The son needs to be polite to his mother, so he uses the honorific language(존대말) to his mom.
3
Q: Are you studying now? | |
A: Yup. |
"응" is a casual version of "네(yes)." Between friends, it is not rude to use the short answer.
4
Teacher: Are you studying now? | |
Student: Yes, I am studying. |
This time, it is the conversation between a teacher and a student. Since the teacher is older and has a higher social status, it is okay to use the 반말 for a student. However, a student needs to be polite to his or her teacher! So, 학생 here used the polite version of "Yes" which is 네. Also, she added more sentences because it sounds a bit rude just to say "yes" or "no".
So, from this, we can tell some important facts about the Korean language. Politer sentences tend to get longer and more complicated. Less polite sentences tend to get shorter.
5
Q: Who is that person? | |
A: She is my younger sibling. |
누구 means "who". 저 is the demonstrative pronoun to point someone or something far. 내 came from "나의" which is the first person pronoun 나 with the possessive marker 의.
동생 means a younger sibling. You can mean either a girl or a boy. For a female, you can say 여동생. For a male, you can say 남동생.
8. Wrap-up & Worksheet: Informal Causal 반말
You learned about what are the informal casual ending and the present tense form of it. Here is the summary for you!
해체(해 style): The informal casual level of speech. = 반말
It's friendly and not polite at all.
아/어/여 is an informal casual present tense ending.
You conjugate verbs and adjectives depending on their vowels.
It's practice time! I prepared the conjugation worksheet. It is free and printable! Please download the worksheet and use it to practice your Korean!
Regular Rule +이다/아니다
Irregular Rule
How was the lesson today? If you know the informal polite well, this casual ending shouldn't be too difficult. In the next lesson, I'll show you the past tense form of the informal casual.