When a Korean speaker uses a verb to describe the action of a person he especially esteems (or honors), he makes the verb form HONORIFIC. Esteemed (honored) people in Korea include parents and other older relatives; older people in general; high officials; people of education ? teachers, doctors, other professional people.
The honorific marker is a TWO-SHAPE ENDING attached in the shape -으시- to consonant bases but -시- to vowel bases. The HONORIFIC BASE of a verb is its base + this honorific marker. In other words, by adding the honorific marker to a verb base, you are creating a new verb base ending in -시-.
The honorific infinitive consists of the honorific marker -(으)시- + the infinitive ending
-어 , with the expected abbreviation of -(으)시어 to -(으)셔, except, that is, when followed by 요.
Observe the following forms:
Base | Honorific Base | Honorific Infinitive | Honorific Polite |
---|---|---|---|
가- go | 가시- | 가셔 | 가세요 |
오- come | 오시- | 오셔 | 오세요 |
배우- learn | 배우시- | 배우셔 | 배우세요 |
앉- sit | 앉으시- | 앉으셔 | 앉으세요 |
깎- cut | 깎으시- | 깎으셔 | 깎으세요 |
읽- read | 읽으시- | 읽으셔 | 읽으세요 |
빠르- be fast | 빠르시- | 빠르셔 | 빠르세요 |
노-ㄹ- play | 노시- | 노셔 | 노세요 |
들- hear | 들으시- | 들으셔 | 들으세요 |
더 w- hot | 더우시- | 더우셔 | 더우세요 |
나(ㅅ)- get better | 나으시- | 나으셔 | 나으세요 |
As the last example shows, when you have an L-extending vowel base you attach the honorific marker to the UNEXTENDED BASE. Note also the treatment of ㄹ-ㄷ and w -ㅂ consonant bases (들- and 더w- above).
8.2.2. The Honorific Polite Style: 하세요
We have already mentioned above the sorts of people that might qualify as ‘esteemed’, and therefore be worthy of honorification. Often, of course, when questions are asked, the esteemed person is the listener (you):
- 한국말을 무엇으로 배우세요?
What do you learn Korean from [“with”]? (the new particle is explained later this lesson) In the following sentence, a parent is spoken of in honorific terms: - 아버님은 매일 약을 드세요.
Father takes medicine every day.
Just as important as showing esteem for others is to avoid showing it for yourself:
NEVER use honorific verb forms to describe your own actions.
Compare the question and the answer from the conversation of this lesson:
- 미스 리 : 요즘 뭘 하세요?
What are you doing lately? - 유니스 : 한국말을 공부해요.
I’m studying Korean.
Ordinarily, a polite verb (in 해요-style) is made honorific polite by changing -어요 or -아요 to -으세요 when the verb base ends in a consonant, or just adding -세요 when the verb base ends in a vowel. If the verb is an L-extending one, then the ㄹ is omitted, and the verb is treated as though it ended simply in a vowel (e.g. 사-ㄹ- live, becomes 사세요):
looks for | 찾아요 | [polite] |
찾으세요 | [honorific polite] | |
meets | 만나요 | [polite] |
만나세요 | [honorific polite] | |
lives | 살아요 | [polite] |
사세요 | [honorific polite] |
A few verbs come in pairs ? a neutral and an honorific one (that is, the neutral verb and the honoric verb are completely different and unrelated forms):
자요 | sleeps | 주무세요 | [somebody esteemed] sleeps | |
Base: | 주무시- | |||
있어요 | stays | 계세요 | [somebody esteemed] stays | |
Base: | 계시- | |||
먹어요 | eats | 잡수세요 | [somebody esteemed] eats | |
Base: | 잡수시- |
The ending -(으)세요 is sometimes written (and sometimes pronounced) -(으)셔요, which is the contracted form of honorific -(으)시- + -어요. However, it is considered more standard to use the forms in -(으)세요. The ending -(으)세요 is the first two-shape verb ending you have seen. Here is a description of how it behaves with different verbs. Vowel-final bases attach to the vowel-less (i.e., 으-less) ending of two-shape endings:
가- | 가세요? | Are you going? |
보- | 보세요! | Look at it! |
파-ㄹ- | 파세요! | Please sell it! |
Consonant-final bases attach to the shape with initial -으-:
찾- | 찾으세요? | Are you looking for it? |
받- | 받으세요! | Please take it! |
입- | 입으세요! | Put it on! |
들- | 들으세요? | Are you listening? |
더w- | 더우세요? | Are you hot? |
As the last example shows, the only tricky point to remember here concerns w -ㅂ verbs, for which the following rule holds:
–w + -으 > 우
It is vital that you remember the following point: the honorific part of a verb has no connection whatever with the social style being used. All the verbs in this lesson are in the POLITE STYLE; some of them are honorific, and some are not. Verb forms in any of the Korean social styles can either be made honorific or left as they are, without respect to the suffixes which show the social level on which the speakers are conversing. This means that the honorific marker can be put before the endings of any social style-not just the polite style -when the speaker uses the verb for the actions of an especially esteemed person.
Below is a list of some of the verbs you have learned, in the polite (= 해요) style and the honorific polite (= 하세요) style.
Gloss | Polite | Honorific |
---|---|---|
does(IRREG.) | 해요 | 하세요 |
close it | 닫아요 | 닫으세요 |
comes | 와요 | 오세요 |
drinks | 마셔요 | 마시세요 잡수세요 드세요 |
eats | 먹어요 | 잡수세요 드세요 |
finds; looks for | 찾아요 | 찾으세요 |
gets up | 일어나요 | 일어나세요 |
gives | 줘요 | 주세요 |
goes | 가요 | 가세요 |
good | 좋아요 | 좋으세요 |
has (got) has (got) | 있어요 | 있으세요 |
has not (got) | 없어요 | 없으세요 |
it is [copula] | -이에요 | -이세요 |
stays | 있어요 | 계세요 |
(there) is; is (there) | 있어요 | 계세요 |
(there) isn’t; isn’t (there) | 없어요 | 안 계세요 |
learns | 배워요 | 배우세요 |
is little (in size) | 작아요 | 작으세요 |
are/has many | 많아요 | 많으세요 |
sees, looks at, reads | 봐요 | 보세요 |
sleeps | 자요 | 주무세요 |
smokes | 피워요 | 피우세요 |
teaches | 가르쳐요 | 가르치세요 |
waits for | 기다려요 | 기다리세요 |
writes | 써요 | 쓰세요 |
is bad | 나빠요 | 나쁘세요 |
is big | 커요 | 크세요 |
opens it | 열어요 | 여세요 |
lives | 살아요 | 사세요 |
plays | 놀아요 | 노세요 |
hears (t~l: 듣다) | 들어요 | 들으세요 |
is hot (p~w: 덥다) | 더워요 | 더우세요 |