한글
GuidesSign inGet started

Grammar / Level 1 / Lesson 28

(으)시: the honorific

By Daniel Buckley · 12 minute read · TOPIK 1

Vocabulary

  1. 계시다 - to be (somewhere), honorific of 있다
  2. 드시다 - to eat, to drink, honorific
  3. 주무시다 - to sleep, honorific
  4. 말씀 - words, honorific and humble
  5. 선생님 - teacher
  6. 할머니 - grandmother
  7. 할아버지 - grandfather
  8. 부모님 - parents
  9. 나가다 - to go out
  10. 강아지 - puppy, dog

"My grandmother is sleeping" and "my dog is sleeping" use the same verb in English. In Korean they can't: 할머니가 주무세요, but 강아지가 자요. Korean changes the verb when the person doing it deserves respect.

That respect goes to the person you're talking about, whether or not they're in the room. So it's a separate thing from speech levels, which are about who's listening. A single verb can carry both.

Adding (으)시

시 goes straight after the stem, before any tense, with 으 after a consonant. You've met it already: 세요 from the last lesson is 시 and 어요 squeezed together. The past is 셨어요, and the future is 실 거예요.

Making the honorific

  • Present: (으)세요.오다 → 오세요읽다 → 읽으세요
  • Past: (으)셨어요.오다 → 오셨어요읽다 → 읽으셨어요
  • Future: (으)실 거예요.오다 → 오실 거예요읽다 → 읽으실 거예요
  • ㄹ stems: the ㄹ drops.살다 → 사세요, 사셨어요
  • Nouns: add 이세요, or 세요 after a vowel.선생님 → 선생님이세요의사 → 의사세요

Pick a verb

오다오오셨어요

English can't show this respect, so the marked words below are the ones carrying it in Korean.

  1. 선생님이 오세요.

    Teacher comes.

  2. 할아버지는 신문을 읽으세요.

    Grandfather reads newspaper.

  3. 아버지는 회사에 가셨어요.

    Father went to work.

  4. 어머니는 내일 오실 거예요.

    Mother will come tomorrow.

  5. 할머니는 부산에 사세요.

    Grandmother lives in Busan.

  6. 선생님은 오늘 바쁘세요.

    Teacher is busy today.

  7. 이분은 우리 선생님이세요.

    This person is our teacher.

Example 6 is an adjective, and it works the same way. When you're speaking to the person you respect, 시 also does the work of "you": 어디 가세요? is "where are you going?", and nobody needs to say the "you".

Verbs with their own word

A few very common verbs don't take 시 on their own stem. They swap to a different word, the way English swaps "die" for "pass away". There aren't many, and you already know three from their 세요 forms.

The honorific verbs

  • 있다, to be somewhere: 계시다.계세요, 계셨어요
  • 먹다, 마시다: 드시다.드세요, 드셨어요
  • 자다: 주무시다.주무세요, 주무셨어요
  • 말하다: 말씀하시다.말씀하세요, 말씀하셨어요

  1. 어머니는 집에 계세요.

    Mother is at home.

  2. 할아버지는 지금 주무세요.

    Grandfather is sleeping now.

  3. 아버지는 아침에 커피를 드세요.

    Father drinks coffee in the morning.

  4. 할머니는 벌써 저녁을 드셨어요.

    Grandmother already ate dinner.

  5. 선생님이 말씀하셨어요.

    Teacher spoke.

※ The noun swaps from lesson 8 belong here too: 이름 becomes 성함, 나이 becomes 연세, and 집 becomes 댁. 성함이 어떻게 되세요? is the front-desk question.

계시다 or 있으세요?

있다 has two jobs, and they split here. A person being somewhere takes 계시다, and a person having something takes the regular 있으시다. The negatives split the same way: 안 계세요 and 없으세요.

  1. 선생님은 사무실에 계세요.

    Teacher is in office.

  2. 아버지는 지금 집에 안 계세요.

    Father isn't at home now.

  3. 선생님, 오늘 시간 있으세요?

    Teacher, today time do (you) have?

  4. 할머니는 차가 없으세요.

    Grandmother doesn't have a car.

말씀

말씀 is the raised form of 말, words, for what someone you respect says. It's also the humble form for what you say to them, which is the odd part. The same word lifts their words and lowers yours, and it works because both show respect to the same person.

  1. 선생님 말씀이 맞아요.

    Teacher's words are right.

  2. 다시 말씀해 주세요.

    Again say please.

  3. 제가 어제 말씀드렸어요.

    I told (you) yesterday.

께서: the honorific subject

The subject particle can be raised too: 께서 replaces 이/가, and 께서는 replaces 은/는. It's mostly for formal speech and writing, and in everyday talk 이/가 with 시 is plenty. The verb still needs 시, because 께서 raises the person and a plain verb after it clashes.

  1. 선생님께서 오셨어요.

    Teacher came.

  2. 할머니께서 주무세요.

    Grandmother is sleeping.

  3. 아버지께서는 회사에 계세요.

    Father is at work.

Doing something for them: 아/어 드리다

주다 has a humble partner, 드리다, for giving to someone you respect. So 아/어 주다 becomes 아/어 드리다 when you do something for them. Unlike 시, it honours the person receiving the action rather than the doer, so the doer here is usually you.

Making 아/어 드리다

  • Take the 해요 form, drop 요, add 드리다.사요 → 사 드려요읽어요 → 읽어 드려요도와요 → 도와 드려요

Pick a verb

돕다도와요도와 드려요

  1. 제가 도와 드릴까요?

    I shall help (you)?

  2. 할머니께 책을 읽어 드렸어요.

    To grandmother book (I) read (for her).

  3. 어머니께 꽃을 사 드렸어요.

    To mother flowers (I) bought (for her).

Example 1 is a useful offer to learn whole. It's ㄹ/을까요 on 드리다, and it works on anyone older than you.

It's about the person, not the listener

These are the two dials from lesson 8. 시 looks at who's doing the action, and the 요, the 습니다 or nothing at all looks at who's listening. Each can change without the other.

Say your grandmother has gone out. You respect her, so the 시 stays, whoever you tell. Telling your friend, you drop the 요, and that gives you 나가셨어: honorific and casual in the same word.

  1. 할머니가 나가셨어요.

    Grandmother went out. (respect for her, polite to you)

  2. 할머니가 나가셨어.

    Grandmother went out. (respect for her, casual to you)

  3. 친구가 나갔어요.

    Friend went out. (no respect needed, polite to you)

  4. 친구가 나갔어.

    Friend went out. (no respect needed, casual to you)

  1. 할머니가 집에 ___.

    Grandmother is at home.

  2. 아버지는 어제 일찍 ___.

    Father went to bed early yesterday.

  3. 저는 학생___.

    I'm a student.

  4. 강아지가 ___.

    The puppy is sleeping.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

안녕하세요. 어머니 계세요?

Hello. Mother is in?

B

아니요, 지금 안 계세요.

No, now isn't in.

A

어디 가셨어요?

Where went?

B

회사에 가셨어요. 저녁에 오실 거예요.

To work went. In the evening will come.

A

그럼 내일 다시 올까요?

Then tomorrow again shall I come?

B

네, 내일은 집에 계실 거예요.

Yes, tomorrow at home will be.

Common mistakes

  1. 저는 학생이세요.

    저는 학생이에요.

    시 honours the person doing it, so it never goes on yourself.

  2. 할아버지는 집에 있으세요.

    할아버지는 집에 계세요.

    For a person being somewhere, 있다 swaps to 계시다.

  3. 커피 나오셨습니다.

    커피 나왔습니다.

    You'll hear this in shops, from staff trying to honour the customer. It honours the coffee, and it's wrong.

One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

할머니는 부산에 ___. (살다) Grandmother lives in Busan.

ㄹ drops before 세요.

Summary

(으)세요 forms
DictionaryStem(으)세요
오다오오세요
읽다읽읽으세요
살다살사세요
듣다듣들으세요
바쁘다바쁘바쁘세요
좋다좋좋으세요
(으)셨어요 forms
DictionaryStem(으)셨어요
오다오오셨어요
읽다읽읽으셨어요
살다살사셨어요
듣다듣들으셨어요
바쁘다바쁘바쁘셨어요
좋다좋좋으셨어요

The swaps

  • 있다 → 계시다 (a person being somewhere)
  • 먹다, 마시다 → 드시다
  • 자다 → 주무시다
  • 말 → 말씀
  • 이/가 → 께서, 은/는 → 께서는
  • 아/어 주다 → 아/어 드리다 (doing something for them)

Now you can say

  1. 부모님은 부산에 계세요.

    Parents are in Busan.

  2. 할머니는 벌써 주무세요.

    Grandmother is sleeping already.

  3. 어디에 사세요?

    Where do (you) live?

Sign in to keep track of the lessons you've finished.