Korean has a rather extensive honorifics system built into the language itself. Through various speech levels, personal pronouns, bound nouns (의존명사), such as adding “ssi” after a name (note that “ssi” serves an honorific purpose, and is NOT an exclamatory particle like “yah” or “ah”), and certain honorific nouns, verbs, and adjectives, a speaker is able to reflect the level of familiarity or the difference in social rank between the addressee and himself. (In response to a question by one of our readers- No, unlike Japanese, the Korean language doesn’t differentiate between genders. So there’s no masculine speech or feminine speech in Korean.)
But this is a K-drama blog, and not a Korean language lesson. To be able to learn how to speak Korean fluently using all the various honorifics would take much more than one blog entry. However, I find that many K-drama viewers often wonder about the different speech levels spoken by characters in dramas. As this is actually pretty easy to figure out even if you never learn the language itself, the purpose of this post then is to serve as a relatively fool-proof cheat sheet to figure out the speech levels used by characters in any given K-drama. Even if you don’t care to learn Korean, I can guarantee you that just being able to distinguish between the different speech levels will help you better enjoy the dramas and get more out of them.
When I look through various blogs and sites, this is one of the most frequently encountered question-types I see about the Korean language, and I’m sure it’ll look familiar to you as well. Someone will ask, “How do you say ‘thank you’ in Korean?” One person answers, “It’s ‘gomawuh’ (고마워).” Then a second person retorts back, “Wait, I thought it was ‘gomawuhyo’ (고마워요).” A third person asks, “If that’s thank you, then what’s ‘gamsahapnida’?” And now, everyone is left confused.
A K-drama veteran would probably be able to tell right away that all three mean the same thing- “Thank you.” They are just different ways to say “thank you” in three different speech levels. People often casually describe two of these forms as “formal speech” that is used when speaking or referring to elders or strangers, and the remaining one as informal/casual speech. I know I’m guilty of this as well. But technically, this is not an accurate way to separate the categories.
In fact, there are seven different speech levels in Korean as shown below:
Five of these levels (hasoseoche, hapsyoche, haoche, hageche, and haerache) are categorized as “formal speech” (격식체), regardless of whether spoken to those higher or lower than you in social hierarchy. Think of them as “business wear,” or akin to the language used in newspapers or school essays.
Two of these levels (haeyoche and haeche) are categorized as “informal speech” (비격식체), again regardless of whether spoken to those higher or lower than you in social hierarchy. Think of them as “casual wear,” or akin to the language used in storybooks.
Within the two categories (formal and informal speech), there are different speech levels to reflect various degrees of reverence/respect of the speaker for the addressee. In modern-day Korea, the three most frequently used speech levels are hapsyoche, haeyoche, and haeche. However, all seven levels are used in a sageuk (historical dramas), with the five levels in the “formal speech” category more frequently used than the two in the “informal speech” category.
Of the seven speech levels, I’m going to omit “hasoseoche” from any further discussion than this. Hasoseoche is formal speech used when showing utmost respect/deference for the addressee by the speaker. The only times I’ve seen it used is in a sageuk drama when a character speaks directly to a king, queen, or some higher-ups in the royal family, or in the Bible when referring to God. Examples include “성은이 망극하옵니다” (“Sung eun yi mang geuk ha ob nida”=”Your grace is immeasurable”) and “통촉하여 주시옵소서” (“Tong chok ha yeo joo si ob so seo”=“I beg Your Majesty to take heed”). You can easily spot a hasoseoche because the phrases typically end with “ob nida” or “ob so seo.” But even in a sageuk, characters more frequently use the next speech level below, hapsyoche, when speaking to the king in private.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at the remaining six speech levels, using “I love you” as an example.
Pay special attention to how a phrase ends to figure out the speech level used. Here’s a pop quiz example. The Korean title for the 2004 drama I’m Sorry I Love You is Mianhada Saranghanda. Which speech level is used here? If you guessed haerache, you are correct.
Here’s another example. The Korean title for the 2008 drama I Am Happy is Haengbok hapnida. Which speech level is used here? If you guessed hapsyoche, you are once again correct.
Since we’re on a roll, here’s a challenge. In the 2003 drama Damo, Hwangbo Yoon says his famous line to Chae-ok, “Ahpeunya? Nado ahpeuda.” (“Does it hurt? It hurts me too.”) Which speech level did he use when speaking to Chae-ok? Yup, it’s another example of haerache.
Pretty easy, right? Of course, there are exceptions, but if you follow these rules, you’ll be able to figure out the correct speech level 90% of the time. (And yes, I’m just making up random percentages now! But it sounds just about right.)
Now that we can figure out the different speech levels, what do they all mean? As a reminder, here’s the earlier chart again:
1. Hapsyoche is a very respectful/polite form of formal speech. In contemporary Korea, it is commonly used when speaking to strangers or to elders, by those in the service industry when speaking to their customers, in a formal business setting such as when giving a business presentation, when speaking to people ranked high in a social setting (i.e., CEO of a company or a president of a nation), and by anchormen during a news program. In a sageuk, hapsyoche is used to elders, including to one’s own parents or professors, to anyone ranked higher in the social rank, and even to those ranked lower when speaking to them with high degree of respect.
2. Haoche is formal speech used almost exclusively in a sageuk and became practically extinct in modern-day Korea. It is used when addressing those in the same rank as yourself or lower (rank may be based on social standing or age), but speaking up and giving the addressee a moderate degree of respect/politeness. (It should not be used when speaking to those ranked above you!)
For example, in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Lee Sun-joon and Kim Yoon-hee/Kim Yoon-shik were classmates, and thus, they mostly used haoche to each other. In contrast, Gu Yong-ha and Moon Jae-shin were their sahyungs (seniors), and thus, both Lee Sun-joon and Kim Yoon-hee solely used hapsyoche when speaking to them. (Note: Due to the recent rise in popularity of sageuk dramas among younger folks, netizens sometimes use haoche level to each other when chatting online.)
3. Hageche is formal speech used when speaking to those in the same rank as yourself or lower, and is a way to speak down to them but with some degree of respect/politeness. For example, in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Gu Yong-ha generally used hageche to his friend, Moon Jae-shin, and to his juniors, Lee Sun-joon and Kim Yoon-shik. In contemporary Korea, someone in a higher-ranking position may speak to someone lower (like his employees) in the hageche speech level (i.e., A director of a company to a lower-ranking employee.)
4. Haerache is formal speech used when speaking to those in the same rank as yourself or lower, but with no added degree of respect/politeness. (Note that even though there’s no added degree of respect, it wouldn’t be “disrespectful” to use haerache as long as it’s used appropriately.) For example, in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Moon Jae-shin used mostly haerache to the rest of the Jalgeum Quartet members. (If you contrast this with Gu Yong-ha’s use of hageche to them, you can say this indicates the different personalities of the two characters. At least in his speech, Moon Jae-shin appears much more brash than Gu Yong-ha.) Lee Sun-joon switched back and forth between haoche and haerache when speaking to Kim Yoon-shik.
5. Haeoyoche is informal, but polite speech. It is used very frequently in just normal, everyday lives. Common Korean phrases like “annyeonghaseyo” and “gomawuhyo” belong in this category. Regardless of the relative rank (higher, lower, or at the same level) of the addressee to the speaker, haeyoche is used when speaking respectfully/politely.
6. Haeche is informal speech with no added degree of respect/politeness. It is the speech level people refer to by “banmal,” or when characters in a drama suggest that they “drop their speech” and speak casually to each other. It is used between close friends or family, by adults when speaking to children or minors, between children when talking to each other, and also by adults when speaking to those who they knew since their childhood (regardless of how “close” they were in childhood or now as adults). For example, whether they were friends or not, high school classmates would typically speak in haeche form to each other. And when they reunite 10, 20, 30 years later, they typically go right back to speaking in the haeche speech level.
Now that we’ve established the six different speech levels, keep in mind that people use the different speech levels pretty fluidly, and switch back and forth between different speech levels even when speaking to the same addressee.
Let’s take a look at scenes from different dramas to see how the different speech levels come into play.
You can tell a haeyoche because the sentences typically end with “yo.” In fact, haeyoche is normally just haeche with “yo” tagged on.
For example, in I’m Sorry I Love You, Cha Moo Hyuk is a Korean adoptee. Although he learned Korean from his Korean girlfriend while in Australia, he unfortunately didn’t learn honorifics. As he often gets in trouble in Korea for not using proper speech, Eun-chae decides to teach him honorifics. At first, she teaches him the hapsyoche speech level (ends with “nida”). Then, she explains to Moo-hyuk, “If you get stuck, just add ‘yo’ at the end of the expression instead.” Of course, we all now know that she’s teaching him the haeyoche speech level.
(Note that in the Korean military, officers are only allowed to speak at the hapsyoche speech level when speaking to senior officers. Even haeyoche level is considered rude and disrespectful.)
In 49 Days, Shin In-jung and Song Yi-kyung speak in haeyoche level (ending with “yo”) to each other. But suddenly in the middle of the conversation, In-jung drops her speech to the haeche level (without “yo”), and takes on an accusatory tone. (Mind you! This is not because she suddenly becomes chummy with Yi-kyung during their conversation. The only purpose for that speech drop is because she’s being rude.) And in response, Yi-kyung also drops her speech level. Then they proceed back up to the haeyoche level, before dropping speech back down once again. Can you tell when the two speech drops occur?
Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean that you get a free pass to speaking in haeche. When Shin Ji-hyun first meets Han Kang’s mother, Ji-hyun introduces herself in the haeyoche level. This is a natural thing to do because Han Kang’s mother is an elder to Ji-hyun. But you’ll notice that Han Kang’s mother also uses the haeyoche level to Ji-hyun. As they proceed in their conversation though, you’ll notice that Han Kang’s mother occasionally drops the “yo” as they feel they are getting closer, right in the middle of the conversation!
In contrast to using the haeyoche form (ending with “yo”) during most everyday occurrences, hapsyoche (ending with “nida”) is used by people in the service industry when speaking to their customers. Notice that in Baby-Faced Beauty, the sales lady uses hapsyoche to her customer (Jang Nara), whereas Jang Nara responds in haeyoche to the sales lady.
Likewise, hapsyoche is used in many other formal settings, like during a business presentation.
However, when hapsyoche is used in non-business settings, you’ll stick out like a sour thumb…
and make your date do this…
Now, let’s turn to a sageuk. I have Sungkyunkwan Scandal readily accessible from my computer so most of the examples are taken from it.
Throughout the drama, Lee Sun-joon and Kim Yoon-hee typically spoke in the haoche level. Haoche level is characterized by sentences ending with “oh” or “so.” However when having an argument or having a more intimate conversation, they also occasionally decided to screw with the politeness and dropped right down to haerache (characterized by sentences typically ending with “da”) or haeche (no endings).
In this clip, both Sun-joon and Yoon-hee start their conversation in the haoche level. When Yoon-hee gets mad, she drops right to the haeche level (informal speech with no degree of respect), whereas the confused and flabbergasted Sun-joon being the proper one he is drops to the haerache level (formal speech with no degree of respect). When Yoon-hee (a yangban/nobleman) calls the boatman (a commoner), she calls him using the haoche level. Finally, when Sun-joon desperately tries to stop Yoon-hee and asks, “What are you doing?” he drops from formal speech (haerache) to informal speech (haeche). Did you catch all the speech level changes?
Here’s an example where Sun-joon speaks in hapsyoche form (ending in “nida”) to Yong-ha, and Yong-ha speaking in hageche form (ending in “geh” or “neh”) to Sun-joon.
Here’s another example of a conversation between Left Prime Minister and War Minister. They both speak in hapsyoche level to each other, but notice that when Left Prime Minister makes it known that he’s angry at War Minister, he drops his speech to the haoche level. In contrast, no matter how angry War Minister gets, as a lower ranking official, he wouldn’t dare drop his speech to the haoche level when speaking to Left Prime Minister. Well, at least not in front of his face, of course!
And now there you have it, folks! Now we’re all pros at being able to distinguish the various Korean speech levels, right? Of course, I’ve simplified this and there are still other nuances, but these rules should work majority of the time. Have any questions? Feel free to ask away!
42 comments
2 pings
Skip to comment form ↓
liz
May 6, 2011 at 10:49 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thank you so much to explain this, this was so easy and fast to learn ^^~~
Just one thing I still don’t get (sorry for asking) the ”sshi” at the end of names, is it formal, or can also be informal? And why even married couples use ”sshi” ? When they use Sshi does it mean they aren’t that close or intimate? Kisses and sorry for my confusion…
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I hope you don’t mind that I’ll have to delay answering your question. The use of “ssi” is actually pretty complicated, and I think it deserves its own separate blog entry. However, a quick answer is that just because “-ssi” is added after a name does NOT mean that the relationship isn’t close or intimate. That’s an incorrect assumption. I’ll try to work on the post on “ssi” in a not so distant future!
민녕
August 20, 2012 at 8:29 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
hi! im Korean.
And i was really surprised and thanks to you and other people cuz they all interested in Korean and want to know more about it! thank you again!(Im really proud of my country:D) i learned English when i was 5 years old but it is still difficult language to me, but attractive as well! anyway it was really hard to understand for me cuz has lots of English.. but i think i understood all:) hehe… i wanna answer your questiokn! can i? um… ok! ‘ssi’ is same meaning of ‘Ms’ or ‘Mr’. it is usually used in poblic place or in bussiniss(i mean it is usually formal). and u can only use this to someone who is younger or same age with you. it is rude to use older person! careful:) And there are more words such as ‘gun’, ‘nim’, ‘yang’ etc. ‘gun’ and ‘yang’ is same meaning with ‘ssi’ but ‘gun’ is only used to call male, ‘yang’ is only used to call female, ‘nim’ is the most respecful word among those things. and it is formal. you can see ‘nim’ in the word god(hanenim), sun(hetnim), moon(dalnim), mother(oumounim), father(abuonim), teacher(sunsaengnim)… god, sun, moon, mother, father, teacher etc are be able enough to be respect. so we put ‘nim’ in the end. oh.. we use ‘ssi’ to each other if marry too. of course the married man and woman should say honey(yeobo) to each other, but it can be a little strange to honeymoon couple. so they use ‘ssi’ until ‘yoebo’ is not hearing and saying strange anymore.. did you understood? i think my english is poorTT sorry, but if you or anyone who has question, just feel free to ask me! i can help you and i feel proud of it as well:D thanxXD
Softy
May 6, 2011 at 11:42 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Wow blue – during SKKS I did it and once in a while when I am translating these days – but you got me questioning again whether I really am Korean or not cuz I didnt know any of this. Dummy me just thought there were two categories formal and informal. No wonder ppl call you master blue- you really live up to that praise. Thanks blue
Suddenly, i’m so glad you have a blog again.
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:25 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Softy, don’t feel bad! I wasn’t aware of all the different categories myself. (I used to call them formal, informal, and old-fashioned speech.) But I became curious one day and being the nerd that I am, decided to read up on Korean grammar and am just now sharing my finding. And I think it every time I read your transcaps, but your Korean has improved so much over the last several months! So proud of you, dear!
kcomments
May 7, 2011 at 2:41 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh Blue, this is so very useful, thanks for taking your time writing up all these. My head did spin a bit cuz all those hao.. hap… really look similar to me, but I got a general view, making me appreciated all those Ko-En translators even more. Your examples really help, boy, I cracked up(again) at Choi Daniel ^^
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:27 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hehe, yup, I expected the names of the categories to confuse many people because they sound (and are spelled) so alike. As for translating from Ko-En, it actually wouldn’t make it any harder because when translating, translators just ignore all the different speech levels. For example, the six different ways of saying “I love you” would all be just “I love you” in English. This is one example of things that get lost in translation.
Bella
May 7, 2011 at 8:30 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Holy freaking mackeral that is one awesome and LONG post!!
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:28 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Belllllaaaaa!!! Where are you??? Come back!!!
solbay2
May 7, 2011 at 9:57 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Uwaa, this is probably the most interesting (and informative! I don’t think I can ever watch another drama without noticing the speech things that you said) k-drama related blog post I have ever read. Also, you made me want to rewatch SKKS, lol
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:29 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Yay, glad you found it interesting and helpful!
Iviih
May 7, 2011 at 12:27 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi ^^ thank you for this! I’m watching Damo right now, and after I read this I get why they get angry sometimes with the person and say ”How dare you speak with me like that?”
Now I understand that the problem isn’t what they said (sometimes), but the way they said it.
It is very interesting!! I catch myself wondering ”they are using hapsyoche here, oh he must be a important person.”
Btw, I’m loving Damo.
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:43 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You’re welcome! But when people get angry and say “How dare you speak with me like that?” it is usually because of what was said, than how it was said. But it is also true that depending on what people say (especially when being rude), they frequently choose a less respectful speech level to say these things as well.
snow
May 7, 2011 at 3:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
very very useful post! didn’t know there are so many levels of speech in korean, very interesting! thanks for this!
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You’re welcome! Glad you found it interesting!
Nytah
May 8, 2011 at 2:03 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks so much for the post!
Slowly but surely, i will learn korean!
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:46 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You’re welcome! And good luck with learning Korean! I’m not saying it just because I’m Korean, but I do think it is a fun language to learn.
anais
May 9, 2011 at 1:22 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
you absolutely rock. the amount of work that must have gone into this!
anais
May 9, 2011 at 1:23 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Especially love the clip from Soulmate. Totally spot on!
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
As soon as I saw the Soulmate clip, I knew I had to use it!
thundie
May 9, 2011 at 3:02 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
This post just clinched it: You’re officially my favorite kdrama blogger! What did we do to deserve you? Chants: “We’re not worthy, not worthy!!”
blue
May 9, 2011 at 8:51 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Aww, thanks, Thundie! It means a lot coming from you, as my favorite K-drama blogger and the one who inspired me to start blogging in the first place.
Kristal
May 10, 2011 at 10:20 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Wow. Thanks for the time and effort you put into this post!
eshi
May 15, 2011 at 6:59 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
wow so informative thankyou for explaining it all
helterskelter
May 15, 2011 at 10:00 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What an interesting and detailed post! Thanks!
wap
May 25, 2011 at 9:40 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
insightful! thanks
now wonder sometimes the eng sub doesn’t make sense at all.
birdscout
October 16, 2011 at 8:27 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Wow! I am speechless! *Trying to say “thank you” in the most formal way possible to show my utmost respect! while bowing at a 90 degree angle*
This post is brilliant. I, too, thought there was only banmal, jondaemal, and old-fashioned speech, but I would get confused as heck because I could hear the different levels being spoken but couldn’t really understand the nuances distinguishing the different levels of honorifics.
Growing up in a Korean family outside of Korea, we mostly spoke banmal and
Kor-english at home. When I learned how to turn banmal to jondaemal by adding the “yo”, I thought I was so clever. Thirty years later when I became a kdramas addict I realized just how many subtleties I still had to learn!
Thank you for this informative post!
bashful
October 23, 2011 at 1:25 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Blue!
First, advance Happy First Year Anniversary to your neat blog! May you have many more anniversaries!
I stumbled upon your blog because of your “Tree with Deep Roots” Episode 1 recap. Thank you for that recap which led me to this awesome “Korean Language and culture series”. Thank you so much for providing this valuable resource. I can’t wait to go back and re-read it.
I’m curious about the word “agassi”. Please correct me if I spelled it wrong.
Is it an honorific word? Is it only used to address a rich young lady? Or, can it be used to address any young lady? The only time I heard this term used was in the “Take care of that young lady” drama starring Yoon Eun-hye. When you get a chance, please enlighten me on the usage of the word “agassi”.
Kamsahamnida!
hangukeo haksaeng
November 24, 2011 at 11:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I always hear this in sageuk dramas and it is usually used by servants to address the young mistress of a noble family. It is often translated as “young lady” or “miss”.
hangukeo haksaeng
November 24, 2011 at 10:50 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I got this link while reading a post from another KDrama blog. I thought Koreans only use hapsyoche, haeyoche and haeche; I didn’t know there were seven existing speech levels in Korean!!! Being a beginner, I often get confused when I hear people churning out sentences in mixed hapsyoche or, say, haoche. My reaction was always like, “Hey, he/she was using jondae, right? How come I’m hearing other suffixes?”
Neomu kamsahamnida for writing this article, I really learned a lot!!! Keep up the good work!
ivytwines
January 29, 2012 at 12:57 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Blue and Bella,
I stumbled upon your blog when looking up why Choi Kang Hyuk calls Yang Eun Bi “manura” instead of “anae” in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. But after reading several of your “Korean language and culture series” posts, I have to say THANK YOU to both of you for helping me learn these great distinctions! You have no idea how interesting it is to me (a non-korean-speaking but otherwise language lover nerd), and how much more it makes me enjoy watching k-dramas.
You both rock!
one tiny suggestion though:
I love the use of video clips to illustrate your lessons — outstanding idea! Especially since I’ve seen most of these dramas so it’s something I can relate too. But can you at least give us the answers to the questions? Like after the clip, or at the end of the post, can you let us know the time stamps of when the speech levels changed? I think I caught most of the, but the bunch of different level changes in the first Sungkyunkwan Scandal clip were hard to follow.
Keep up the great, and totally useful/informative, work!
kaekae
February 21, 2012 at 11:15 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks for this. but I am even more confused now. think I need to rewatch SKKS.
I knew about hamnida, yo, and ___ no suffixes but I hadn’t a clue about the rest. I always got a kick out the little scenes where someone doesn’t like someone so says a sentence and then add Yo. Some subtitles didn’t translate that as anything, but some translate it as “jump in a lake…Sir” which I think works.
I think Who are you did the sir – which really worked because the character speaking just got back from the military.
MsScorpion
April 10, 2012 at 7:12 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Bella n Blue,
I just stumbled across your blog a few days ago, and this is my very first time writing a comment here, but I have to say……..
YOU ARE ROCKING THIS PLACE
Your awesome posts on Korean language and culture each and every one is a gem.
I’m currently learning Korean and these posts are really helping me loads though I have to say, this post just made me scratch my head all the way through, I’ll have to study it so I can remember all those different speech levels (and silly me only thought there were 4 levels – shibshyo, da, yo and banmal with no ending) which makes me wonder, you didn’t mention the shipshyo ending, is that another unmentioned level????
Thank you sooooooooo much on all your simple ways teaching us about this amazing language.
blue
April 14, 2012 at 11:27 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi, MsScorpion!
Welcome to Electric Ground! As for your question, there is no “shibshyo” level. I think you may be confusing it with the hapsyoche speech level used in an imperative form. The example endings I gave above were only for declarative and interrogative sentences. But when a hapsyoche speech level is used in an imperative sentence, it often (not necessarily) ends with “shib si oh.” Here is an example: 기다리십시오! (Gi da ri shib si oh! = Wait!)
But there really are only seven speech levels in the Korean language as shown above. Hope that helps!
Kathy Brandow
July 4, 2012 at 10:59 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Blue-I would like to thank you for writing this series. I am the adoptive mother of a Korean little girl, and you have helped me understand your culture better than most books I’ve read. This is important to me, as I want my daughter to be proud of where she comes from, in case she has to deal with the ignorant bullies that America is sadly known for. (She was the recipient of her first racial slur before her second birthday.)
I am enjoying reading your blogs, and one day I hope to share this information with my daughter. Please keep up the good work. Thank you.
orbiter
October 19, 2012 at 9:10 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You just did in one post what my Korean teacher took 3 days. Seriously, you deserve an award for this blog post alone.
Ji
October 21, 2012 at 8:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What would 대감 be in english? would it be like, your excellency.??
Kathy Brandow
November 7, 2012 at 10:09 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hello, Blue-
May I use this link in a paper that I am writing? It would be immensely helpful to future adoptive parents, and others who may be struggling with learning Korean as I did. You will get full credit for all of your work, and it will be documented via the Chicago Manual of Style. I would also be happy to send you a copy if you wish.
Please let me know.
Kathy A. Brandow
blue
November 12, 2012 at 4:01 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Kathy,
I just emailed you!
Kathy Brandow
January 3, 2013 at 9:35 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thank you! You have made learning Korean SO much easier than any books or c.d.s that I have used. My daughter and I will use this when it is time for her to relearn Korean, and I will share this blog with all that wish to learn. I also belong to a group that studies the middle ages, so maybe they would also be interested also. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.
(I’m sorry for such a late reply. I broke my laptop, and I have been at a loss without it.)
I wish you a happy new year surrounded by delicious Korean dramas.
Angelika
December 8, 2012 at 1:41 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I’m learning Korean at university, so this is really helpful
Thank you!
1 2 Next »
Quora
February 20, 2012 at 2:02 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What are all the speech levels of Korean and how are they used?…
You’re lucky I’m procrastinating on my homework so much tonight, Eunji!
The Korean language has seven speech levels, called 말체. Luckily for us language-learners, only three are used in everyday life: * Formal (합쇼체 or 존댓말, as in 감사합니다/”thank you…
My favorite posts by other bloggers | koreanstudentblog
November 2, 2012 at 4:46 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] different formality levels. But despair not, the bloggers Bella and Blue have made a really good overview of the honorific system and spiced it up with video examples from dramas. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the [...]