Korean Honorifics: Suffixes, Titles, Pronouns, Verbs and More

What Are Korean Honorifics?

There are 3 basic dimensions of honorifics in the Korean language: formality, politeness, and honorificity. This means that the type of Korean you speak could change depending on the situation, the status, or the age of the people involved in the conversation.

To get a better understanding of how these affect the Korean language, let’s look at them individually. Ask yourself….

Formality: how formal is the context? How familiar are the parties involved? How serious is the situation?
Politeness: is politeness important in this situation? Is the listener older than the speaker? Is the listener of higher status?
Honorificity: how much respect does the speaker want to convey? How much respect does the listener deserve?

In western culture, we do not have these strict sets of guidelines that dictate the words and terms we use. However, this concept is not completely absent from the English language. Imagine you were having a conversation with someone you admired and respected, for example, a politician, a famous genius, or an accomplished CEO. You would probably adjust your manner of speaking to reflect your respect for that person.

If you had a meeting with the president of your country, even if you hate that president, you would probably speak and behave with elevated manners, compared to how you would speak to a friend or family member. Compare:

To your friend: “Hey buddy, what’s up?”
To the President: “Hello, Mr. President. It’s a pleasure to speak with you.”

This is the general concept of Korean Honorifics, except in Korean culture, the practice is much more common and complex.

Why Do Koreans Use Honorifics?

To show respect to people who are older or of higher status Koreans use honorifics because Korean culture is built on a foundation of Confucianism: which places high importance on social status and age.

This hierarchy is accepted and rarely challenged. Part of acknowledging this hierarchy is through the practice of using honorifics in communication. By doing so, you are showing the respect that the listener deserves according to their position in the social hierarchy. Wealth, success, accomplishment, and age are considered important characteristics that should be recognized.

Age

This hierarchical culture is followed strictly. Not only just for differences in status but differences in age as well: even a 1-year age difference is considered enough to warrant honorificity. This article will tell you more about Korean age.

In many situations, you will see Koreans become overjoyed when they learn that their conversation partner is the same age. They’ll smile, hi-five, giggle, maybe even hug. As strange as it may seem, this is important to them.

This is because they can speak freely and comfortably to people of the same age, so they will refer to each other as 친구 (chingu, meaning friend), even if they are not close. But if their conversation partner is older, they must use a more polite and formal way of speaking. If they don’t, it could be thought of as disrespectful, embarrassing, or socially insensitive.

This disrespectful situation can also be observed in dramas and everyday life. You may witness a Korean ask another person, “Why are you using this language with me?” More precisely, “Why are you using 반말?” The use of 반말 (ban-mal) is strictly for familiar and informal relationships. Using it inappropriately could be disrespectful and make for an interesting situation, but many times it can be used to tease one another or make jokes.

Status

Differences in status or position is another very common reason to use honorifics. Honorifics are usually used vertically; from lower-status to higher-status, or younger to older. Examples:

– Teacher to Student

– Employee to Manager, or any superior in the company.

– Child to parent or grandparent.

– Citizen to Public official.

Commonly, these titles have particular terms that must be used when a subordinate is addressing a senior. The most common ones are 님 (nim) and 씨 (ssi) which are attached to a person’s title or name to signify honorficity. We’ll take a look at some examples later.

Do I Need to Learn Korean Honorifics?

As a beginner, it is not necessary to use all honorifics correctly in every situation. (Click here for the most comprehensive guide for beginners.) But, when speaking with older Korean or people of high status, you should try to imply respect when possible. You can get by in most conversations without using Korean honorifics. Sometimes, it can even be fun to use honorifics with your Korean friends.

오빠 (oppa), 형 (hyeong), 언니 (eonni) and 누나 (nuna) are probably the most common you will hear and use in everyday life, KPOP, and K-Dramas. Koreans love to figure out each other’s age so they can use these honorifics with each other. These honorifics will often be used in place of the person’s name. So, it could be really helpful to understand these honorifics when you hear other people use them.

Suffixes & Titles of Korean Honorifics

Korean Honorific Suffix 님(nim)

The use of 님(nim) is often attached to people’s names or titles, and it roughly translates into Mr. Name or Mrs./Ms. Name.

korean honorifics: 님 on Korean instagram — The Korean version of Instagram adds 님 after user IDs.

In western culture, using Mr. or Mrs. may make the listener feel old, and therefore uncomfortable. This is not true in Korea. 님 is a way to show respect to someone older and is used as the more formal version of a person’s title or relationship.

For example:

– 할아버지 is similar to Grandpa, compared to 할아버님 (which is more formal and respectful) similar to Grandfather.

Sometimes the meaning does not change but simply implies formality and politeness. For example:

– 기사 means Driver. 기사님 also means Driver but is more polite and formal. So that latter is used when speaking directly to the subject.

Korean Honorific Suffix 씨(ssi)

The use of 씨(ssi) is similar to the use of 님 (above) but it is only attached to people’s names (given name, family name, or full name) to represent formality and politeness.

For example, if you are waiting at the doctor’s office, the receptionist may call your name with 씨 attached to the end because it is a professional situation, and therefore more formal. Compare:

– Suzy 수지 (informal) compared to Suzy 수지 씨 (formal)

korean honorfics: 씨 — Image From Online Newsletter of National Institute of Korean Language

Korean Honorifics: Family Titles

You can find a list of honorific family titles in Korean. The general rule is to attach 님 after Korean family member titles to make them honorific titles.

You would use the honorific titles to talk about the listener’s or other people’s family members.

You may also use the honorific titles to talk about your own family members in formal situations, but you should never use 아드님 or 따님 to talk about your own children.

Korean Family Title	Korean Honorifics for Family Title	Meaning
할아버지 halabeoji	할아버님 halabeonim	Paternal grandfather
할머니 halmeoni	할머님 halmeonim	Paternal grandmother
외할아버지 wehalabeoji	외할아버님 wehalabeonim	Maternal grandfather
외할머니 wehalmeoni	외할머님 wehalmeonim	Maternal grandmother
아버지 abeoji	아버님 abeonim	Father
어머니 eomeoni	어머님 eomeonim	Mother
형 hyeong	형님 hyeongnim	Older brother (of a male)
누나 nuna	누님 nunim	Older sister (of a male)
오빠 oppa	오라버니 orabeoni	Older brother (of a female)
언니 eonni	형님 hyeongnim	Older sister (of a female)
동생 dongsaeng	동생분 dongsaengbun	Younger sibling
아들 adeul	아드님 adeulnim	Son
딸 ddal	따님 ddanim	Daughter

Note:

It is not a typo but a truth that the Korean honorific for 언니 is 형님. Even many Koreans do not know this fact. This is not a commonly used word after all.
The only honorific title that doesn’t end with a -님 suffix in the table is 동생분. We add the suffix -분 when calling other people’s younger siblings with respect.

Korean Honorifics: Titles for Non-family

The family member titles for siblings can also be used to address non-family people who are older than you.

You can use 선배(님) to address people who are older or more senior than you in a certain context, and 후배(님) to address people who are younger or less senior than you.

Korean Title	Korean Honorifics	Meaning
형 hyeong	형님 hyeongnim	Older male (to a male)
누나 nuna	누님 nunim	Older female (to a male)
오빠 oppa	오라버니 orabeoni	Older male (to a female)
언니 eonni	형님 hyeongnim	Older female (to a female)
선배 seonbae	선배님 seonbaenim	Somebody older or more senior
후배 hubae	후배님 hubaenim	Somebody younger or less senior

Korean Honorifics: Job Titles

You would also want to use honorific titles to refer to people at work, because you want to show enough respect to your superiors and co-workers on professional occasions. You can simply address them with their job title + 님.

Korean Job Title	Korean Honorifics for Job Title	Meaning
회장 hwejang	회장님 hwejangnim	Chairman
사장 sajang	사장님 sajangnim	CEO
부장 bujang	부장님 bujangnim	Head of department
과장 gwajang	과장님 gwajangnim	Head of section
대리 daeri	대리님 daerinim	Assistant manager
팀장 timjang	팀장님 timjangnim	Team leader
실장 siljang	실장님 siljangnim	General manager

korean honorifics: korean honorific job titles — 미생 (Misaeng): a famous K-Drama show about the Korean workplace.

If you are a student, you would also use honorific titles to refer to your teachers and professors at school.

Korean Job Title	Korean Honorifics for Job Title	Meaning
선생 seonsaeng	선생님 seonsaengnim	Teacher
교수 gyosu	교수님 gyosunim	Professor

As the example of using 기사님 to call your driver mentioned before, you would also use honorific titles to refer to other people around you in the society. Here are more examples of honorific job titles in the society.

Korean Job Title	Korean Honorifics for Job Title	Meaning
작가 jakka	자각님 jakkanim	Author
대표 daepyo	대표님 daepyonim	Representative
셰프 syepeu	셰프님 syepeunim	Chef
감독 gamdok	감독님 gamdoknim	Director

Pronouns of Korean Honorifics

In Korean, it is normal to use honorifics pronouns even when speaking about yourself in the first-person (“I”) or in the first-person plural (“We”). This is done to show humility, or imply respect to the listener who may be older of higher status. You can see the differences in the table below.

Point of View	Korean Pronoun	Korean Honorifics	Meaning
1st person	나 na	저 jeo	I
1st person	우리 wuri	저희 jeohi	We
2nd person	너 neo	당신 dangsin	You

It’s important to note that when talking about things such as a family, home, car, etc. it is common to use “Our/We” (우리 wuri, 저희 jeoji) instead of “My”. This may seem a little unnatural at first, but it becomes rather endearing the more you use it. For example:

– “My father works for a company” becomes “Our father works for a company”

Even though the listener is not part of the speaker’s family, the speaker is implying a collective notion within his or her own family.

Nouns of Korean Honorifics

Honorifics are so important that Koreans use honorific nouns to show respect when you talk about things related to a person older or higher than you in status.

As you can see in the table below, the word actually changes entirely. These are also used in official situations or within government work. So it is important to be aware of the different nouns you may hear as a foreigner in Korea. The most common ones are:

– Name: 이름 (informal) ↔ 성함 (formal)

– Person/ People: 사람 (informal) ↔ 분 (informal)

The key point is to understand that you may hear a different word depending on the situation, so it’s great to be aware of these differences which can help you understand.

Korean Noun	Korean Honorifics	Meaning
집 jip	댁 daek	home
이름 ireum	성함 seongham	name
생일 saengil	생신 saengsin	birthday
나이 nai	연세 yeonse	age
병 byeong	병환 byeonghwan	Illness or disease
말 mal	말씀 malsseum	Words (said by somebody)

Verbs of Korean Honorifics

Often, verbs can be changed to show respect and politeness in your sentences. This can be very important when communicating with people who are older or of a higher status. As you can see in the examples below, often you can make the verb honorific by adding -(으)시 after the verb stem.

The following table illustrates how some regular verbs in Korean are made honorific verbs.

Korean Verb	Korean Honorifics	Meaning
가다 gada	가시다 gasida	To go
받다 batda	받으시다 bateusida	To receive
운동하다 undonghada	운동하시다 undonghasida	To do sports or exercise

But, in some cases, the word changes completely.

The most common one you will probably be exposed to is the verb EAT: 먹다 or 드시다. Often Koreans ask “밥 먹었어요?”, which means “Did you eat?” This is basically how Koreans say, “How are you?” But, when speaking to an older person you should use 식사하셨어요?

The following table provides more examples of irregular Korean honorific verbs.

Korean Verb	Korean Honorifics	Meaning
먹다	드시다 / 식사하다	To eat
보다	뵙다	To see
말하다	말씀하다	To speak, say
있다	계시다	To be somewhere or exist
자다	주무시다	To sleep
배고프다	시장하시다	To be hungry
주다	드리다	To give
아프다	편찮으시다	To be sick or be in pain

Useful Phrases with Korean Honorifics

The structure of the first phrase is: verb stem + 아/어/여해 드릴게요. This is commonly used to tell someone that you will do something for them. You can translate it to “I will do … for you.”

For example:

보고서를 써 드릴게요.

I will write the report for you.

If you form this phrase as a question, it will be: verb stem + 아/어/여해 드릴까요? This is commonly used to ask someone if they would like you to do something for them? It translates to “Shall I do … for you?”. For example: