The Korean language has different levels of politeness. Today, I'll talk about the Korean honorific language and various speech levels.
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1. Korean Honorific Language
Korea has a long history of Confucianism. Confucianism focuses on courtesy and formality to others. Especially, being polite to someone older or who has a higher social status than you is very important.
That is why Korea has a well-developed honorific language. Using proper language is one of the keys to speaking Korean well!
This honorific language is called 높임말. It came from the word 높이다 which means make something higher and 말 means language. So, as you speak 높임말, you put others higher than you. 높임말 is also called 존댓말 or 경어.
As you put someone higher, you can also put someone lower! That non-honorific language is called 반말. 반 means half! Not that you really say only half of the sentence(😂), but this version is definitely shorter than politer language. It is also called 낮춤말(lowering language) or 하대.
There are many ways to use this 높임말 in Korea. You can put a sentence's subject higher with some special words. There are times you make a sentence's object higher. You'll have a chance to learn about this in the future.
Another way is talking politely to the listener. This method is called 상대높임법. It is translated into addressee honorification, hearer honorific system, or relative honorification. You'll learn about this today.
2. Addressee Honorification
The marker of addressee honorifics in Korean is the sentence-ending. It is also called the closing ending because it comes at the end of the sentence. Depending on which sentence ending is used, it can be classified into formal and informal speech levels.
Depending on the situation and your relationship with the listener, you must determine which one to use. Is the listener older than you? Are they your superior or boss? In other words, does the listener have a higher social status than you? Are you talking in some sort of official meeting? All these factors will affect the speech level you have to use!
There are six ways of addressee honorification in Korean. However, in modern Korea, there are three main ways in which they are used. Here are all six 상대높임법. I marked the commonly used ones with the * sign. I'll explain the commonly used ones below.
You will apply these addresses honorifics of the grammatical expressions (also called closing endings) and make various levels of speech. I'll explain the details in the following section, but here is a quick example to show you.
"고 싶다" is an expression that means "I want." You can't just use it as it is because it is the basic form. By adding the endings in the chart above, you can express various politeness levels! Imagine you are saying "I want to eat" by using the verb 먹다(to eat).
① 하십시오체: 먹고 싶습니다. - Formal extremely polite
② 해요체: 먹고 싶어요. - Informal polite
③ 해체: 먹고 싶어. - Informal not polite (lowering)
Do you see how these speech levels are revealed at the end of the sentence? Now, I'll continue explaining the details for each one!
⚠️ For those who use my course!
If you are following my free language course, you may know the endings you've learned so far were the informal polite endings.
You'll continue to learn the details of the others through my course as well. In this post, I just want to show you there are various speech levels! So, you can lightly read the following, not worrying about clicking each link below.
3. 하십시오체
Among many formal endings, the only one that is still commonly used is 하십시오체. It is the extremely polite formal ending. 하십시오체 (hasibsioh style) is also called 합쇼체(habshyo style).
It is one of the honorific languages. It is the most polite form of Korean that is used to address the listener with great respect. It has a very strict vibe and is not friendly at all!
It is typically utilized in official contexts such as news broadcasts, the military, or formal meetings, hence its designation as a "formal" ending. If you are presenting your homework in front of your classmates, you'll use this ending, even though they are your friends.
Depending on the sentence type, there are various endings. Here is a quick example for you. I linked my related lessons. Click the underlined names to read my other free lessons!
The 하십시오 style can be utilized not just in formal settings but also in everyday situations. Being the most polite form, it is commonly employed as a fixed expression. You might be familiar with these phrases.
안녕하십니까? Hello?
만나서 반갑습니다. Nice to meet you.
감사합니다. Thank you.
However, since 하십시오 style is a bit strict, people tend to mix this up with the informal polite ending in daily talking. Look at the example below.
Hello, I'm Kim Cheolsu.
① 안녕하십니까? 저는 김철수입니다.
② 안녕하세요? 저는 김철수입니다.
Both examples 1 and 2 convey the same meaning in English. The first one exclusively employs the 하십시오 style, whereas the second one incorporates both 하십시오 and 해요 styles. In informal conversations, this is perfectly acceptable! However, in formal settings such as public speech, it is advisable to adhere to the 하십시오 style!
4. 해요체
There are two informal endings in Korean. The polite one is called 해요체 (haeyo style), so it is often called an informal polite ending.
The informal means it is used in daily conversations. If you compare this with the formal ending, you'll understand what I mean!
해요체 is a polite yet friendly form of speech, making it the most frequently used in everyday situations. It is suitable for addressing individuals who are older or have a higher social status. Therefore, this form is typically the first one taught when learning Korean.
As the name says 해"요", this style always ends with 요! So, if you see any sentence ending with "요," you can tell it is a polite and friendly ending. Easy to spot on, right?
Here, take a look at the present tense form of 해요체.
Statement | 아요/어요/여요 가요. I go. |
Question | 아요/어요/여요 가요? Do you go? |
Command | 아요/어요/여요 가요. Go. |
Suggest | 아요/어요/여요 가요. Let's go. |
Did you notice something? Yes, they are all "아요/어요/여요!" That is another reason why this 해요체 is the first ending that Korean students learn. You can kill four birds with one stone!
5. 해체
해체(hae style) is the nonpolite speech level/sentence ending. It is often referred to as 반말(talk down or the low form of speech) as it is the only non-honoring language that is used these days.
해체 is the informal casual ending. Again, "informal" means it is meant to be used in daily conversations! Unlike 해요체 which was friendly but polite, 해체 is extremely friendly and lacks formality.
So, it should only be used when speaking to someone of the same or younger age. You can also use it for someone who has the same or lower social status than you. For example, you can use this ending for your classmates, younger siblings, or younger cousins.
해 style is usually easy to make. You can take "요" out of 해요 style! If you want to learn the details of 해체, click the link in the chart, please.
Statement | 아/어/여 가. I go. |
Question | 아/어/여 가? Do you go? |
Command | 아/어/여 가! Go! |
Suggest | 아/어/여 (같이) 가. Let's go. |
6. Wrap-up: Various Korean Speech Levels
There are various speech levels in Korean depending on formality and politeness. These speech levels are revealed at the end of the sentence. Using proper speech levels (endings) is very important!
There are 6 levels but only the three are commonly used these days. They are 하십시오체, 해요체, and 해체. These three speech levels differ primarily in their usage context and the level of familiarity with the listener.
Each speech level influences the overall tone and atmosphere of the conversation: 해체 conveys a sense of informality, 해요체 is polite and friendly, and 하십시오체 projects a serious and respectful demeanor. Here is the summary for you!
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