FORMAL KOREAN WORDS

Have you ever heard of formal Korean words?

It is well known that Korean uses distinct forms of verbs and nouns for formal/informal situation.

The formal nouns are used to show respect for the person you are talking or referring to. 

USING 님 / 분

The word 님 or 분 can be added to a noun to show respect for the other person.

• 님 is added when speaking to someone who is older or superior in position.
• 분 is added to show respect to someone who is younger or for general public. 

분 FOR GENERAL PUBLIC

‘분’ can be used to show respect to non-specific, general public.

There are two ways to use it:

• 1) Adding it directly to the noun and
• 2) Transferring the word with ‘분’ to make it formal.

It’s easy to see how it works in examples. 

FIRST PERSON PRONOUN 저/제

The speaker in Korean can show respect for the other person by lowering the pronoun that refers to himself/herself (i.e., the first-person pronoun). 

Here are some examples: 

There are no formal versions of second or third person pronouns.

Instead, you refer to the second or third person by directly addressing their profession ending with ‘님’, or some generic nouns such as ‘선생님, 아주머님.’  

Here are some examples: 

FORMAL NOUNS

Some nouns in Korean have their own formal forms. It is important to know them for appropriate use of Korean language. 

Here are some examples: 

Let’s look how they are used in sentences: 

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