Sentence Endings

🎭 The Art of Korean Politeness: Sentence Endings

Imagine You Have Different Outfits…

Think about how you dress differently for different places. You wear your fancy clothes to a wedding, casual clothes to play with friends, and pajamas at home. Korean sentence endings work the same way!

In Korean, the ending of your sentence is like your outfit—it shows how much respect you’re giving to the person you’re talking to.

🎩 Formal Endings: 습니다/ㅂ니다

Your Wedding Tuxedo/Gown

This is your fanciest outfit. You use it when:

• Talking to your boss
• Giving a presentation
• Speaking on TV
• Meeting someone important for the first time

How It Works:

If the verb stem ends with a consonant → add 습니다

• 먹다 (to eat) → 먹 + 습니다 = 먹습니다 (I eat)
• 읽다 (to read) → 읽 + 습니다 = 읽습니다 (I read)

If the verb stem ends with a vowel → add ㅂ니다

• 가다 (to go) → 가 + ㅂ니다 = 갑니다 (I go)
• 보다 (to see) → 보 + ㅂ니다 = 봅니다 (I see)

💡 Memory Trick:

Consonant = 습 (both have a “ㅂ” sound hiding inside!) Vowel = ㅂ (the ㅂ slides right onto the vowel!)

😊 Informal Polite Endings: 아요/어요

Your Nice Casual Clothes

This is your everyday nice outfit—respectful but friendly! Use it with:

• Teachers (in casual settings)
• Older strangers
• Shop workers
• New acquaintances

The Golden Rule:

Look at the LAST VOWEL in the verb stem:

More Examples:

• 오다 (to come): 오 has ㅗ → 와요 (comes)
• 배우다 (to learn): 우 is not ㅏ/ㅗ → 배워요 (learns)
• 마시다 (to drink): 시 has ㅣ → 마셔요 (drinks)

🌟 Special Case: 하다 verbs

하다 (to do) → 해요 (do/does)

• 공부하다 → 공부해요 (studies)
• 운동하다 → 운동해요 (exercises)

👕 Casual Endings: 아/어

Your Comfy Home Clothes

This is what you wear with your closest friends and younger people. Same rules as 아요/어요, just drop the 요!

When to Use:

• With close friends your age
• With younger siblings
• When talking to yourself!

📖 Plain Endings: -ㄴ다/는다

Your “Writing” Clothes

This is special—it’s mostly for writing, like:

• Diaries
• News articles
• Books
• Describing facts

The Pattern:

Action verbs:

• Stem ends in vowel → add ㄴ다: 가다 → 간다 (goes)
• Stem ends in consonant → add 는다: 먹다 → 먹는다 (eats)

Descriptive verbs (adjectives):

• Just add 다: 크다 → 크다 (is big)
• 예쁘다 → 예쁘다 (is pretty)

❓ Question Endings

Raising Your Eyebrow

Want to ask something? Change your ending!

Formal Questions:

습니까?/ㅂ니까?

• 먹습니다 → 먹습니까? (Do you eat?)
• 갑니다 → 갑니까? (Do you go?)

Polite Questions:

Just raise your voice at the end of 아요/어요!

• 가요? (Do you go?)
• 먹어요? (Do you eat?)

Casual Questions:

Same—just raise your voice!

• 가? (Going?)
• 먹어? (Eating?)

Plain/Written Questions:

(으)ㄴ가? / 는가? / 나?

• 가다 → 가나? / 가는가? (Does one go?)

👆 Imperative Endings (Commands)

Pointing Your Finger

Telling someone to do something:

Formal Command:

-(으)십시오 or -세요

• 가다 → 가십시오 / 가세요 (Please go)
• 읽다 → 읽으십시오 / 읽으세요 (Please read)

Polite Command:

-아요/어요 (same as statements, but said firmly)

• 가요! (Go!)
• 먹어요! (Eat!)

Casual Command:

-아/어

• 가! (Go!)
• 먹어! (Eat!)

Very Casual (Between close friends):

-아라/어라

• 가라! (Go already!)
• 먹어라! (Eat!)

🤝 Propositive Endings (Let’s…)

Holding Hands

Suggesting doing something together:

Formal:

-(으)ㅂ시다

• 가다 → 갑시다 (Let’s go)
• 먹다 → 먹읍시다 (Let’s eat)

Polite:

-아요/어요 (with “let’s” tone)

• 같이 가요 (Let’s go together)

Casual:

-자

• 가자! (Let’s go!)
• 먹자! (Let’s eat!)

✅ Confirmation Endings: 지요/죠

Nudging Someone

These endings mean “right?” or “isn’t it?”—you’re checking if someone agrees!

지요 is formal, 죠 is the short form.

Examples:

• 맛있다 (delicious) → 맛있지요? / 맛있죠? (It’s delicious, right?)
• 가다 (to go) → 가지요? / 가죠? (You’re going, right?)
• 알다 (to know) → 알지요? / 알죠? (You know, right?)

When to Use:

• When you expect the listener to agree
• When confirming something you both know
• When gently persuading someone

🎯 The Big Picture

graph TD
    A["Choose Your Level"] --> B{Who are you<br>talking to?}
    B -->|Boss/Stranger| C["🎩 Formal&lt;br&gt;습니다/ㅂ니다"]
    B -->|Acquaintance| D["😊 Polite&lt;br&gt;아요/어요"]
    B -->|Close Friend| E["👕 Casual&lt;br&gt;아/어"]
    B -->|Writing| F["📖 Plain&lt;br&gt;ㄴ다/는다"]

🎪 Quick Reference Chart

🌟 Remember!

1. Look at WHO you’re talking to → Pick your “outfit” (formality level)
2. Look at the LAST VOWEL → Decide between ㅏ/ㅗ or other
3. Look at WHAT you want to say → Statement, question, command, suggestion, or confirmation

Korean politeness isn’t hard—it’s just picking the right clothes for the right occasion!

Once you practice, switching between levels becomes as natural as changing outfits. Start with 아요/어요 (the polite form)—it works in 90% of situations and keeps you safe! 🎉