Formal vs Informal Korean: 존댓말과 반말

1 Why Korean Has Speech Levels (왜 존댓말이 필요한가)

Korean society places great importance on hierarchy, age, and social relationships. These values are reflected directly in the language — the verb endings you choose signal whether you respect someone, see them as a peer, or hold authority over them. Using the wrong speech level is not merely awkward; it can be genuinely offensive. A learner who speaks 반말 (casual speech) to a new Korean acquaintance older than them will immediately be seen as rude, regardless of intent.

This system is called 경어법 (gyeong-eo-beop) — the honorific speech system. Korean linguists traditionally recognize six speech levels, though in modern everyday speech, three dominate: 합쇼체, 해요체, and 해체.

2 Formal Polite — 합쇼체 (합니다체)

합쇼체 is the most formal speech level in everyday use. It conveys maximum respect and professionalism. You will hear it constantly on Korean news broadcasts, in corporate settings, in the military, and when meeting someone of significantly higher status for the first time.

Key endings:

• -습니다 / -ㅂ니다 — statement (declarative)
• -습니까? / -ㅂ니까? — question (interrogative)
• -(으)십시오 — polite command / request

The rule: if the verb stem ends in a consonant, use -습니다; if it ends in a vowel or ㄹ, use -ㅂ니다 (and drop the ㄹ first).

3 Informal Polite — 해요체

해요체 is the everyday workhorse of Korean politeness. It is polite enough to use with strangers and elders, yet relaxed enough for general adult conversation. Most Korean textbooks teach this level first, and for good reason — if you learn one speech level, make it this one.

Key endings:

• -아요 / -어요 — statement or question (distinguished by intonation: rising = question)
• -(으)세요 — polite request or command

To form 해요체: find the verb stem, check the last vowel. If the last vowel is 아 or 오, add -아요. All other vowels take -어요. Irregular verbs (하다 → 해요, 오다 → 와요) must be memorized.

4 Casual Speech — 반말 (해체)

반말 (literally "half-speech") is the informal, casual register used between close friends of the same age, from adults to young children, and between older and younger people in very close relationships. Forming 반말 is simple: take the 해요체 form and drop the 요.

Core rule: 해요체 → drop 요 = 반말

For the copula "to be" (이다): use 야 after a vowel, 이야 after a consonant.

5 Full Conjugation Comparison

Use this table as your reference chart. Notice how the three main speech levels share the same stem — only the ending changes.

6 Tense Across Speech Levels

Tense endings stack onto the speech level endings. The structure is always: verb stem + tense marker + speech level ending. Here is how past and future tenses work across the three main speech levels.

7 Honorific Vocabulary (특수 경어)

Beyond verb endings, Korean has a set of entirely different vocabulary items used when speaking to or about honored people. These are called 높임말 (nopimmal) — literally "high words." Using a regular word for a respected person (e.g., saying 먹어요 about your teacher's eating) is considered impolite even if your verb ending is formal.

動詞語尾に加え、韓国語には敬うべき人々に対して・について話すときに使う、全く異なる語彙があります。これらは높임말（ノピッマル） — 文字通り「高い言葉」と呼ばれます。敬うべき人に普通の言葉を使うことは（例：先生の食事について「먹어요」と言う）、動詞語尾が丁寧でも失礼と見なされます。

8 Real-Life Speech Level Scenarios

Knowing which speech level to use comes with practice and cultural awareness. These four scenarios illustrate the most common real-world situations you will encounter as a Korean learner.