TOPIK I Grammar · Ch.6 Honorifics & Sentence Endings 01

TOPIK I Grammar · Ch.6 Honorifics & Sentence Endings 01

'-(으)세요' & Honorifics - Politeness Built Into Grammar

This is the chapter where Korean stops resembling English. You already speak politely - "please," "sir," a softer tone. Korean has all that too, and then something more: a grammatical system for honoring the person you're talking about.

Key point Insert -(으)시- into the verb when the subject deserves respect: 가다 → 가세요 (batchim → 으세요: 읽으세요). The subject also swaps 이/가 for 께서, and a few verbs change into special honorific words entirely.

How to use it

Here's the shift English can't prepare you for. "Please" and "sir" adjust politeness toward your listener. But -(으)시- honors the subject of the sentence - whoever's doing the action - even if that person isn't in the room. Telling a friend about your teacher, you still say 선생님께서 오세요 (= the teacher is coming), honorific intact, because the teacher is the one acting. In English, you show respect by choosing a tone; in Korean, respect has its own place inside the verb.

The polite 요-form of 시 is 세요 - which is why -(으)세요 also works as a gentle request (여기 앉으세요 = please sit here). And a handful of everyday verbs don't take the infix at all; they transform into different words. There are only a few, and they're all high-frequency, so the table below is worth learning by heart.

At a glance

Plain	Honorific	Meaning
가다 → 가요	가세요	goes
읽다 → 읽어요	읽으세요	reads (batchim → 으세요)
있다	계시다 → 계세요	is (somewhere) - special verb
먹다/마시다	드시다 → 드세요	eats/drinks - special verb
자다	주무시다 → 주무세요	sleeps - special verb
이/가	께서	subject particle upgrade

Examples

부모님은 부산에 사세요. My parents live in Busan. - 살다 drops its ㄹ before 세요.

할머니께서 지금 주무세요. Grandmother is sleeping now. - 께서 marks the subject and 자다 becomes 주무시다.

이쪽으로 오십시오. Please come this way. - 십시오 is the formal version of 세요, used in signs and announcements.

Common mistakes

❌ 저는 미국에서 오셨어요. → ⭕ 저는 미국에서 왔어요. Never honor yourself - 시 points at the subject, and here the subject is you. Learners drilled on politeness often over-apply it inward; keep 시 for others.

❌ 할아버지께서 점심을 먹으세요. → ⭕ 할아버지께서 점심을 드세요. 먹다 + 으세요 follows the grammar rule correctly, but it is wrong socially - eating, drinking, sleeping, and being belong to the special-verb set. If the person gets 께서, they get 드세요.

Quick check

Change each sentence into the honorific form.
1. 아버지는 지금 신문을 읽어요. → 읽(      ).
2. 할머니는 지금 자요. → (      ).
3. 선생님, 어디에 가요? → 어디에 (      )?

Show answers

1. 으세요 (regular verb with batchim → 으세요)   2. 주무세요 (자다 has its own honorific word 주무시다)   3. 가세요 (no batchim → 세요)

💡 Study tip - Attach the special verbs to real people. A list of words is easy to forget; a real person is easy to remember. Pick actual elders in your life and build one true sentence each: 할머니께서 지금 주무세요, 아버지께서 커피를 드세요. And learn the daily-use pair now: 안녕히 주무세요 (good night) and 맛있게 드세요 (enjoy your meal).