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Politeness Levels (존댓말/반말)

Casual/Informal (반말)

반말 (banmal) is casual, informal speech used with close friends, family members of the same age or younger, and children. It drops polite endings and uses direct, intimate forms.

What is 반말?

Literal meaning: "Half speech" (반 = half) Implies: Speech without the polite markers

Contrast:

  • 존댓말 (jondaenmal): Polite speech with -요
  • 반말 (banmal): Casual speech without -요

Basic Endings

Present Tense Statements

Pattern: Remove 요 from 해요체

Examples:

  • 가요 → 가 (go)
  • 먹어요 → 먹어 (eat)
  • 해요 → 해 (do)
  • 있어요 → 있어 (have/exist)

Alternative: -ㄴ/는다 form (more masculine)

  • 가다 → 간다 (go)
  • 먹다 → 먹는다 (eat)

Present Tense Questions

Drop 요 and add rising intonation:

  • 가요? → 가? (Do you go?)
  • 먹어요? → 먹어? (Do you eat?)
  • 뭐 해요? → 뭐 해? (What are you doing?)

Alternative question: -니? / -(느)냐?

  • 가니? (Do you go?)
  • 먹니? (Do you eat?)
  • 뭐 하니? (What are you doing?)

Conjugation Patterns

-아/어 Form (Casual Statements)

Same vowel harmony as 해요체, just drop 요:

Bright vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ): -아

  • 가다 → 가 (go)
  • 오다 → 와 (come)
  • 보다 → 봐 (see)

Dark vowels: -어

  • 먹다 → 먹어 (eat)
  • 서다 → 서 (stand)
  • 있다 → 있어 (have)

하다: -해

  • 공부하다 → 공부해 (study)
  • 일하다 → 일해 (work)

-ㄴ/는다 Form (Declarative)

After vowel or ㄹ: -ㄴ다 After consonant: -는다

Examples:

  • 가다 → 간다
  • 먹다 → 먹는다
  • 공부하다 → 공부한다
  • 만들다 → 만든다

Usage: More assertive, often masculine tone, used in writing/narration

Past Tense

-았/었어 Form

Drop 요 from past tense 해요체:

Bright vowels: -았어

  • 가요 → 갔어 (went)
  • 봤어요 → 봤어 (saw)

Dark vowels: -었어

  • 먹었어요 → 먹었어 (ate)
  • 있었어요 → 있었어 (had)

하다: -했어

  • 공부했어요 → 공부했어 (studied)

Past Questions

Add rising intonation:

  • 갔어? (Did you go?)
  • 먹었어? (Did you eat?)
  • 뭐 했어? (What did you do?)

Future Tense

-(으)ㄹ 거야

After vowel/ㄹ: -ㄹ 거야 After consonant: -을 거야

Examples:

  • 갈 거야 (will go)
  • 먹을 거야 (will eat)
  • 공부할 거야 (will study)

-겠어

Intention/will:

  • 가겠어 (I'll go)
  • 먹겠어 (I'll eat)
  • 하겠어 (I'll do it)

Copula (이다)

-이야/야

After consonant: -이야 After vowel: -야

Examples:

  • 학생이야 (is a student)
  • 선생님이야 (is a teacher)
  • 의사야 (is a doctor)
  • 내 친구야 (is my friend)

Negative: 아니야

Not (casual):

  • 학생이 아니야 (not a student)
  • 내 거 아니야 (not mine)

Question Forms

-니? Ending

General questions:

  • 가니? (Do you go?)
  • 먹니? (Do you eat?)
  • 좋니? (Is it good?)

-하니? for 하다 verbs:

  • 공부하니? (Do you study?)
  • 일하니? (Do you work?)

-(느)냐? Ending

More masculine/literary:

  • 가느냐? (Do you go?)
  • 먹느냐? (Do you eat?)
  • 뭐 하느냐? (What are you doing?)

Often shortened to: -냐?

  • 가냐? (Do you go?)
  • 먹냐? (Do you eat?)

-어? Simple Questions

Most common, just drop 요:

  • 좋아? (Is it good?)
  • 괜찮아? (Is it okay?)
  • 알아? (Do you know?)

Commands (반말 Imperatives)

-아/어 (Intimate Commands)

Soft commands to friends:

  • 가 (go)
  • 먹어 (eat)
  • 해 (do)
  • 와 (come)
  • 줘 (give)

-아/어라 (Casual Commands)

Slightly stronger:

  • 가라 (go)
  • 먹어라 (eat)
  • 해라 (do)
  • 공부해라 (study)

Usage: To children, or between very close friends (playful tone)

Negative Forms

안 + Verb

Don't/not:

  • 안 가 (don't go)
  • 안 먹어 (don't eat)
  • 안 해 (don't do)
  • 안 좋아 (not good)

못 + Verb

Can't:

  • 못 가 (can't go)
  • 못 먹어 (can't eat)
  • 못 해 (can't do)

-지 마

Don't (prohibition):

  • 가지 마 (don't go)
  • 먹지 마 (don't eat)
  • 하지 마 (don't do)
  • 울지 마 (don't cry)

Sentence Endings

-아/어

Basic statements:

  • 좋아 (It's good)
  • 맛있어 (It's delicious)
  • 재미있어 (It's fun)

-지

Seeking agreement:

  • 맞지? (Right?)
  • 좋지? (Good, right?)
  • 알지? (You know, right?)

-잖아

"As you know / Obviously":

  • 알잖아 (You know [already])
  • 좋잖아 (It's good [you know])

-네

Observation/realization:

  • 예쁘네 (Oh, it's pretty)
  • 맛있네 (Oh, it's delicious)
  • 좋네 (Oh, it's good)

Common Expressions

Greetings

  • 안녕 (hi/bye)
  • 잘 지냈어? (How have you been?)
  • 잘 가 (bye - to person leaving)
  • 잘 있어 (bye - when you're leaving)

Thanks and Apologies

  • 고마워 (thanks)
  • 미안해 (sorry)
  • 괜찮아 (it's okay)

Reactions

  • 진짜? (really?)
  • 대박! (awesome!)
  • 헐! (what!/whoa!)
  • 짱이다! (the best!)

When to Use 반말

Appropriate Contexts

  • ✅ Same age friends (after agreement)
  • ✅ Close friends (established intimacy)
  • ✅ Younger siblings
  • ✅ Children
  • ✅ To yourself (self-talk, diary)

Examples of Permission

Older person says: "우리 말 놓자" (Let's speak casually) Or: "편하게 말해" (Speak comfortably)

Between peers: "반말할까?" (Shall we use 반말?)

When NOT to Use

Never Use With

❌ Older strangers ❌ Teachers/professors ❌ Boss/superiors ❌ Parents of friends ❌ Service staff ❌ New acquaintances

Social Consequences

Using 반말 inappropriately is:

  • Extremely rude
  • Shows lack of respect
  • Can damage relationships
  • Major social faux pas

Mixing Levels

Gradual Transition

Stage 1: Full 해요체

  • 어디 가요?

Stage 2: Mixed (친해지는 중)

  • 어디 가?
  • But still: 고마워요 (thanks)

Stage 3: Full 반말

  • 어디 가?
  • 고마워

In Same Conversation

Can switch back to 존댓말 when:

  • Discussing serious topics
  • In front of elders
  • When upset (to show displeasure)

Gender Differences

Masculine Forms

More common among males:

  • -ㄴ/는다 endings
  • -냐 questions
  • -아/어라 commands

Examples:

  • 간다 (go - declarative)
  • 가냐? (do you go?)
  • 가라 (go - command)

Feminine/Neutral Forms

More common, softer:

  • -아/어 endings
  • -어? questions
  • -아/어 commands

Examples:

  • 가 (go)
  • 가? (do you go?)
  • 가 (go - softer command)

Note: These distinctions are becoming less strict in modern Korean

Common Patterns

Daily Conversation

Question: 뭐 해? (What are you doing?) Answer: 공부해 (Studying)

Question: 어디 가? (Where are you going?) Answer: 집에 가 (Going home)

Question: 배고파? (Are you hungry?) Answer: 응, 배고파 (Yeah, I'm hungry)

Making Plans

  • 영화 볼래? (Want to watch a movie?)
  • 밥 먹을래? (Want to eat?)
  • 같이 갈래? (Want to go together?)

Suggestions

  • 이거 먹어 봐 (Try eating this)
  • 저기 가 보자 (Let's go there)
  • 같이하자 (Let's do it together)

Informal Pronouns

First Person

  • 나 (I) - instead of 저
  • 내가 (I - subject) - instead of 제가
  • 나를/날 (me - object) - instead of 저를

Second Person

  • 너 (you)
  • 네가 (you - subject)
  • 너를/널 (you - object)

Possessive

  • 내 (my) - instead of 제
  • 네 (your) - instead of 당신의

Contractions in 반말

Common Shortenings

Full: 뭐 하고 있어? Casual: 뭐 해?

Full: 너는 어디에 가니? Casual: 넌 어디 가?

Full: 나는 학생이야 Casual: 난 학생이야

Particle Dropping

Can drop particles in very casual speech:

  • 밥 먹어? (instead of 밥을 먹어?)
  • 학교 가? (instead of 학교에 가?)

In Writing

Text Messages

반말 commonly used with friends:

  • 뭐 해? (What're you doing?)
  • 나 지금 집이야 (I'm at home now)
  • 내일 봐! (See you tomorrow!)

Social Media

Depends on audience:

  • Personal posts: Can use 반말
  • Public posts: Often use 해요체
  • Close friend comments: 반말

반말 reflects intimacy and equality. It's warm and natural with the right people, but using it incorrectly can be offensive. Always prioritize respect and wait for clear permission before switching from polite speech.