Korean grammar · Level 1 · 1급
V/A-(으)시-
Showing respect
When the person doing the action is older or senior — a grandparent, a teacher, a customer — add -(으)시- to the verb. In the 해요 style that gives -(으)세요, the same shape as the polite request in Unit 8; context tells you which it is. The past is -(으)셨어요.
| When | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ends in a vowel | -세요 | 가다 → 가세요 · 보다 → 보세요 |
| ends in a consonant | -으세요 | 읽다 → 읽으세요 · 앉다 → 앉으세요 |
| past | -(으)셨어요 | 가셨어요 · 읽으셨어요 |
| nouns | 이세요 / 세요 | 선생님이세요 · 할머니세요 |
Examples
할머니께서 매일 산에 가세요.
My grandmother goes up the mountain every day.
아버지는 회사원이세요.
My father is an office worker.
선생님께서 책을 읽으셨어요.
The teacher read the book.
Practise it in context · Level 1, Unit 10
Let me introduce my family
A dialogue with audio, practice that checks itself, Hoya’s mistakes, a reading and a writing task.
Open the unit →