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HOW TO USE KOREAN HONORIFICS
In Korean, you can never call a person by his/her name, unless you are very close to the person and you are in the same or older age?
There are many different types of honorifics used in Korean.
It all depends on how close you are to the person and how much age gap there is between the two.
HOW TO USE ~씨
The Korean honorific 씨 is generally used when the person being addressed is at equal or younger age, and it can be used in both familiar and unfamiliar relationship.
For example, it can be used to address your colleagues or neighbours.
The honorific 씨 is added directly to the name of the person being addressed.
PATTERN
Name of the person being addressed + 씨
| KOREAN | ENGLISH | CIRCUMSTANCE |
|---|---|---|
| 수진씨, 어제 회의 기록 좀 가져다 줄 수 있어요? | Su Jin, could you get me the minutes from yesterday’s meeting? | Addressing a colleague or someone inferior in age or work position. |
| 미선씨, 오늘 저녁 같이 먹어요. | Mi Sun, let’s have dinner together tonight. | Addressing someone familiar at similar age. |
| 김민재씨, 진료실로 들어오세요. | Kim Min Jae, come to the doctor’s room please. | Addressing a non-specific person in public places, such as a hospital, bank, post office, etc.. |
HOW TO USE ~님
The Korean honorific 님 is more formal than 씨.
Its use is similar as that of 씨, but it shows higher respect and politeness.
The honorific 님 is can be added to a person’s name, but also to a name of a profession or a relationship.
PATTERN
Name of the person being addressed + 님
| KOREAN | ENGLISH | CIRCUMSTANCE |
|---|---|---|
| 수진님, 내일 회의 준비는 잘 되고 있나요? | Su Jin, is preparation for tomorrow’s meeting going well? | Addressing a colleague in a polite and respected way. |
| 김민재님, 3번 창구로 오세요. | Kim Min Jae, please come to the cabinet 3. | Addressing a non-specific person in public places, such as a hospital or bank, in a polite and respected way. |
USING ~님 WITH TITLES
PATTERN
Name of a profession + 님
| KOREAN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| 선생님 | Teacher |
| 기사님 | Driver/Chauffeur |
| 의사 선생님 | Medical Doctor |
View More Examples
| korean | english |
|---|---|
| 교수님 | Professor |
| 감독님 | Movie Director/ Supervisor |
| 사장님 | Head of Organisation |
NOTE || ‘사장님’ can be used for head of organisation of any scale. For example, while it can be used to address a CEO of a big company, it can also be used to address an owner of a restaurant, small grocery store, etc.
USING ~님 IN A RELATIONSHIP
The suffix 님 can also be added at the end of a relationship name (ie. father, aunt etc) to show respect to that person.
PATTERN
Name of a relation + 님
아버님
아버님 (abeonim) is the honorific version of father.
The word 아버님 is typically used to address a father-in-law, someone else’s father, or men who are in speaker’s father’s age.
Let’s see a few examples:
| 아버님, 무엇을 도와드릴까요? | Abeonim, what can I help you with? (i.e., at a public place such as a hospital or a bank) |
| 아버님, 이번 추석에 찾아 뵐께요. | Abeonim (addressing father in-law), we will come visit you during Chuseok this year. |
어머님
어머님 (eomeonim) honorific version of mother.
The word 어머님 is typically used to address a mother in law, someone else’s mother, or women who are in speaker’s mom’s age.
| 어머님, 여기 앉으세요. | Eomeonim, you can take a seat here (i.e., yielding a seat to an older woman at a public transport) |
| 어머님, 생신 축하드려요. | Eomeonim (addressing mother-in-law), I wish you a happy birthday. |
할머님
할머님 (halmeoni) is the honorific version of grand-mother.
The word 할머님 is typically used to address older women who are in speaker’s grand-mother’s age.
어떤 할머님이 오셔서 이걸 두고 가셨어요.
An older lady (someone who is in the age of the speaker’s grand-mother) came and left this here.할아버님
할아버님 (halabeonim) is the honorific version of grand-father.
The word 할아버님 is typically used to address older men who are in speaker’s grand-father’s age.
할아버님이 길을 잃으셨어요.
halabeonim (an older man in the age of speaker’s grand-father) has gotten lost.이모님
이모님 (yimonim) is the honorific version of an aunt at speaker’s mother’s side, but it is almost never used to address speaker’s own aunt.
It is widely used to address women in speaker’s mother’s age, most typically to a woman serving at a Korean restaurant or a nanny.
이모님 is less respected version of honorific than 어머님.
|
이모님, 여기 콜라 한 병 추가할께요.
Yimonim (addressing a woman server at a Korean restaurant who is in the age of the mother’s speaker), we would like to order another bottle of coke here. |
형님
형님 (hyeongnim) is the honorific version of an older brother.
형님 is used to address someone older who is close to the speaker, but not the speaker’s actual older brother.
형님, 그동안 잘 지내셨어요?
(Addressing someone older who is close to the speaker) How have you been?
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MORE RESOURCES
Want to learn more? Check out these other free resources:
- Learn about honorifics verbs in Korean
- Learn about honorifics in Japanese
FAQs
What are honorifics?
Honorifics are used to show respect in the Korean language.
They are based on the relationship between the speaker/addressee, and depend on social status, age, gender and degree of intimacy.
What are some Korean honorifics?
1) The Korean honorific 씨 is generally used when the person being addressed is at equal or younger age, and it can be used in both familiar and unfamiliar relationship.
2) The Korean honorific 님 is more formal than 씨.
Its use is similar as that of 씨, but it shows higher respect and politeness.
The honorific 님 is can be added to a person’s name, but also to a name of a profession or a relationship.
How to respectfully address a parent in Korean?
To respectfully address a parent you have to use the formal words for father and mother.
Father: 아버님 (abeonim)
Mother: 어머님 (eomeonim)
Any other formal words I should know in Korean?
Here are some example of formal words you should learn.
Birthday
Formal: 생신 / Informal: 생일
Home
Formal: 댁 / Informal: 집
Name
Formal: 성함, 존함 (very formal) / Informal: 이름
Where to learn more Korean grammar?
Have a look at our Korean Grammar Bank here. You can find free lessons for levels up to B1.
Can I learn Korean with LTL?
Yes!
We offer courses abroad in Seoul with both group and individual classes, as well as online on our Flexi Classes platform.
Contact us if you’d like to sign up.