Politeness Levels

Question 1

Present tense (으)시다 verb ending (for honorific speech)

Answer 1

(으)세요
으세요 after a consonant
세요 after a vowel

(으)세요 is a part of honorific speech, which is used whenever you’re talking about someone else.

Remember the exceptions: If verb stem ends with a 비읍 (ㅂ):
Remove ㅂ –> add 우 –> add 세요.
Ex: 굽다 ‘to bake’ –> 구우세요.

And If the verb stem ends with a 리을 (ㄹ):
Remove ㄹ –> add 세요.
Ex: 팔다 ‘to sell’ –> 파세요.

Question 2

Past tense (으)시다 verb ending (for honorific speech)

Answer 2

(으)셨어요
으셨어요 after a consonant
셨어요 after a vowel

Question 3

(으)세요 is a part of honorific speech.

Honorific speech is used to show more politeness (‘honor’ or ‘respect’) to whoever we’re talking about.

Who we are talking about might not always be the person who we’re currently talking with.

And talking about a teacher or boss without using honorific speech, no matter who you’re talking with, even if it’s a close friend, could be seen as being disrespectful depending on the situation.

Answer 3

Ex: A polite sentence could be 우리 어머니는 친절해요. ‘My mom is kind.’

But, even more polite 우리 어머니는 친절하세요. ‘My mother is kind.’

Both of these sentences would be appropriate to say to anyone the same age as you or older.

But the second sentence shows even more politeness, and therefore respect, toward your mother. This can be whether she’s in the conversation or not.

Question 4

Age is very important with politeness levels.

Answer 4

You’ll want to speak more politely about someone who’s older than you than you would about someone who’s younger than you.

However, although you will use more polite speech to someone older than you or when speaking about someone older than you, that person doesn’t have to speak the same way to you.

You might use the (으)세요 form when asking a question to someone who’s older than you (or if you just want to be extra polite), but that person could just reply with informal speech.

Question 5

Future tense (으)시다 verb ending (for honorific speech)

Answer 5

(으)실 거예요
으실 거예요 after a consonant
실 거예요 after a vowel

Ex: 우리 할머니도 중국어를 공부하실 거예요. ‘My grandmother also will study Chinese.’
Ex2: 선생님은 나가실 거예요? ‘Will the teacher go outside?’