Casual speech (반말, banmal) is the informal register used among close friends, family members of similar age, and peers. It's characterized by dropped particles, shortened endings, and relaxed grammar.
When to Use Casual Speech
Appropriate contexts:
- Close friends of similar age
- Younger siblings
- Children (from adults)
- Among peers in informal settings
- After mutual agreement to speak casually
Never use with:
- Strangers
- Older people (unless very close)
- Superiors or authority figures
- Customers or clients
- Formal situations
Basic Casual Endings
-아/어 (Statement)
Present tense casual:
- 가 (go - from 가다)
- 먹어 (eat - from 먹다)
- 좋아 (good - from 좋다)
- 예쁘 (pretty - from 예쁘다)
- 해 (do - from 하다)
Usage:
- 나 집에 가 (I'm going home)
- 이거 먹어 (Eat this)
- 날씨 좋아 (The weather's good)
-지 (Soft statement/tag)
Seeking agreement or stating gently:
- 맞지 (Right?)
- 그렇지 (Isn't it so?)
- 좋지 (It's good, right?)
- 알지 (You know, right?)
Usage:
- 이거 맛있지? (This is delicious, right?)
- 재미있지! (It's fun!)
-네 (Realization/Observation)
Discovering something:
- 예쁘네 (It's pretty!)
- 맛있네 (It's delicious!)
- 크네 (It's big!)
- 좋네 (It's good!)
Usage:
- 날씨 좋네! (The weather's nice!)
- 진짜 재미있네 (This is really fun!)
Questions in Casual Speech
-어? / -아? (Question)
Simple casual questions:
- 뭐야? (What is it?)
- 누구야? (Who is it?)
- 어디야? (Where is it?)
- 왜? (Why?)
- 언제? (When?)
With verbs:
- 가? (Going? - from 가다)
- 먹어? (Eating? - from 먹다)
- 좋아? (Is it good? - from 좋다)
-(으)ㄴ/는가? (Wondering)
Rhetorical or self-questioning:
- 뭘 하나? (What should I do?)
- 누가 왔나? (Who came?)
- 어디 갔나? (Where did they go?)
-ㄹ래? (Will you?)
Asking intention:
- 갈래? (Will you go? / Want to go?)
- 먹을래? (Will you eat? / Want to eat?)
- 할래? (Will you do? / Want to do?)
Usage:
- 같이 갈래? (Want to go together?)
- 이거 먹을래? (Want to eat this?)
Commands in Casual Speech
-아/어 (Command)
Direct casual commands:
- 가 (Go!)
- 먹어 (Eat!)
- 봐 (Look!/Watch!)
- 와 (Come!)
- 해 (Do!)
Usage:
- 빨리 와! (Come quickly!)
- 이거 봐 (Look at this)
-지 마 (Don't)
Negative commands:
- 가지 마 (Don't go)
- 먹지 마 (Don't eat)
- 하지 마 (Don't do)
- 걱정하지 마 (Don't worry)
Usage:
- 울지 마 (Don't cry)
- 그러지 마 (Don't do that)
Suggestions
-(으)ㄹ까? (Shall we?)
Making suggestions:
- 갈까? (Shall we go?)
- 먹을까? (Shall we eat?)
- 할까? (Shall we do?)
- 볼까? (Shall we watch?)
Usage:
- 영화 볼까? (Shall we watch a movie?)
- 뭐 먹을까? (What shall we eat?)
-자 (Let's)
Proposing action:
- 가자 (Let's go)
- 먹자 (Let's eat)
- 하자 (Let's do)
- 시작하자 (Let's start)
Usage:
- 같이 가자! (Let's go together!)
- 빨리 시작하자 (Let's start quickly)
Past Tense
-았/었어 (Past casual)
Past actions:
- 갔어 (went)
- 먹었어 (ate)
- 했어 (did)
- 봤어 (saw)
- 왔어 (came)
Usage:
- 어제 뭐 했어? (What did you do yesterday?)
- 영화 봤어 (I watched a movie)
Past questions
-았/었어?:
- 갔어? (Did you go?)
- 먹었어? (Did you eat?)
- 봤어? (Did you see?)
Future/Intention
-(으)ㄹ 거야 (Will/Going to)
Future plans:
- 갈 거야 (I'm going to go)
- 먹을 거야 (I'm going to eat)
- 할 거야 (I'm going to do)
Usage:
- 나 집에 갈 거야 (I'm going to go home)
- 뭐 할 거야? (What are you going to do?)
-(으)ㄹ게 (I will)
Promise or commitment:
- 갈게 (I'll go)
- 할게 (I'll do it)
- 먹을게 (I'll eat)
- 올게 (I'll come)
Usage:
- 내가 할게 (I'll do it)
- 나중에 연락할게 (I'll contact you later)
Dropped Particles
Subject Particles
는/은, 이/가 often dropped:
- 나 가 → 나 가 (I go)
- 이거 좋아 → 이거 좋아 (This is good)
- 오빠 왔어? → 오빠 왔어? (Did oppa come?)
Object Particles
을/를 frequently dropped:
- 밥 먹어 (eat rice - 밥을 먹어)
- 영화 봐 (watch movie - 영화를 봐)
- 이거 해 (do this - 이거를 해)
Location Particles
에, 에서 sometimes dropped:
- 집 가 (go home - 집에 가)
- 학교 왔어 (came to school - 학교에 왔어)
Common Contractions
Shortened Forms
Casual shortenings:
- 뭐야 → 뭐 (What)
- 그래 → 그 (Yes/That's right)
- 아니야 → 아니 (No)
Vowel Contractions
Double vowel reduction:
- 이어 → 여 (connection)
- 오아 → 와 (coming)
- 가아 → 가 (going)
Common Expressions
Agreement
Showing agreement:
- 응 / 어 (Yeah/Uh-huh)
- 그래 (Right/Yes)
- 맞아 (That's right)
- 좋아 (Good/Okay)
- 알았어 (Got it/Okay)
Disagreement
Disagreeing:
- 아니 (No)
- 아니야 (No, it's not)
- 그게 아니야 (That's not it)
- 안 돼 (No way/Can't do that)
Exclamations
Casual exclamations:
- 대박! (Awesome!/Wow!)
- 진짜? (Really?)
- 헐! (What!/OMG!)
- 짱! (The best!)
- 쩐다! (Awesome!)
Sentence Endings
-거든 (Because/You know)
Giving reasons:
- 바쁘거든 (Because I'm busy)
- 좋아하거든 (Because I like it)
- 힘들거든 (Because it's hard)
Usage:
- 못 가. 바쁘거든 (Can't go. Because I'm busy)
-잖아 (You know/As you know)
Reminding:
- 알잖아 (You know)
- 있잖아 (You know there is)
- 그렇잖아 (It's like that, you know)
Usage:
- 내일 시험이잖아 (You know there's an exam tomorrow)
-나 봐 (It seems)
Supposition:
- 좋은가 봐 (It seems good)
- 간 것 같아 (Seems like they went)
- 바쁜가 봐 (Seems like they're busy)
Asking Favors
-줘 (Give me/Do for me)
Casual requests:
- 도와줘 (Help me)
- 가르쳐 줘 (Teach me)
- 기다려 줘 (Wait for me)
- 말해 줘 (Tell me)
Usage:
- 물 좀 줘 (Give me some water)
- 같이 가 줘 (Go with me)
-(으)ㄹ래? (Will you/Can you?)
Polite casual request:
- 도와줄래? (Will you help me?)
- 같이 갈래? (Will you go with me?)
Probability/Possibility
-(으)ㄹ 수 있어 (Can)
Ability or possibility:
- 할 수 있어 (Can do)
- 갈 수 있어 (Can go)
- 먹을 수 있어 (Can eat)
-(으)ㄹ지도 몰라 (Might)
Uncertainty:
- 올지도 몰라 (Might come)
- 비 올지도 몰라 (It might rain)
- 늦을지도 몰라 (Might be late)
Common Mistakes
❌ Incorrect: Using casual speech with strangers
Inappropriate register
✅ Correct: Use polite speech (-요) first
Proper etiquette
❌ Incorrect: 가요 (to close friend)
Too formal for casual setting
✅ Correct: 가
Proper casual ending
❌ Incorrect: Mixing 반말 and 존댓말 inconsistently
Confusing register mixing
✅ Correct: Maintain consistent register
Proper consistency
Summary Table
| Function | Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement | -아/어 | 가 | Go/Going |
| Question | -아/어? | 가? | Going? |
| Command | -아/어 | 가 | Go! |
| Don't | -지 마 | 가지 마 | Don't go |
| Suggestion | -(으)ㄹ까? | 갈까? | Shall we go? |
| Let's | -자 | 가자 | Let's go |
| Past | -았/었어 | 갔어 | Went |
| Future | -(으)ㄹ 거야 | 갈 거야 | Will go |
| Will (promise) | -(으)ㄹ게 | 갈게 | I'll go |
| Request | -줘 | 가 줘 | Please go |