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높임법
King Sejong the Great.jpg · Ewong17 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

높임법

Honorifics (높임법)

Subject honorific -시-, humble verbs, and titles you will hear every hour.

Raise the other person, not yourself

Korean honorifics mark who you are talking about. Add -시- to the verb stem when the subject is older or in a formal role: 가세요 vs 가요. Special verbs swap entirely: 먹다드시다, 있다 (someone is present) → 계시다.

Humble forms lower the speaker: 드리다 instead of 주다 when you give something to a senior. Names take among peers; customers and elders hear 선생님, 사장님, or a role title — not a bare given name.

안녕히 가세요.
annyeonghi gaseyo.
Go in peace (to someone leaving).
식사하셨어요?
siksahasyeosseoyo?
Have you eaten? (honorific)

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