Subject Honorification -(으)시-

-(으)시- is the primary subject honorific marker in Korean. It's inserted into verbs and adjectives to show respect for the person performing the action or being described.

What is -(으)시-?

Basic Function

Shows respect for the subject:

• The person doing the action
• The person being described
• Not about the listener (that's speech level)

Example:

• 학생이 가요 (Student goes - neutral)
• 선생님이 가시요 (Teacher goes - respectful)

When to Use

Use -(으)시- when the subject is:

• Parents, grandparents, elders
• Teachers, professors
• Bosses, supervisors
• Customers (in service)
• Strangers (when being polite)
• Anyone older or higher status

Formation Rules

After Vowel Stems: -시-

Add -시- directly when stem ends in vowel:

• 가다 → 가시다 (go)
• 오다 → 오시다 (come)
• 서다 → 서시다 (stand)
• 배우다 → 배우시다 (learn)
• 주다 → 주시다 (give)

After Consonant Stems: -으시-

Add -으시- when stem ends in consonant:

• 먹다 → 먹으시다 (eat)
• 읽다 → 읽으시다 (read)
• 입다 → 입으시다 (wear)
• 앉다 → 앉으시다 (sit)
• 받다 → 받으시다 (receive)

ㄹ Irregular

Stems ending in ㄹ drop the ㄹ before -시-:

• 살다 → 사시다 (live)
• 만들다 → 만드시다 (make)
• 알다 → 아시다 (know)
• 팔다 → 파시다 (sell)

Note: ㄹ drops, then add -시- (not -으시-)

ㅂ Irregular

Some ㅂ stems change to 우:

• 돕다 → 도우시다 (help)
• 춥다 → 추우시다 (be cold)

ㄷ Irregular

ㄷ changes to ㄹ before -으시-:

• 듣다 → 들으시다 (listen/hear)
• 걷다 → 걸으시다 (walk)

With Different Speech Levels

해요체 (Standard Polite)

-(으)시 + -어요:

• 가시다 → 가세요 (please go / goes)
• 먹으시다 → 드세요 (please eat / eats - uses special verb)
• 읽으시다 → 읽으세요 (please read / reads)
• 앉으시다 → 앉으세요 (please sit / sits)

Most common form in daily life

합니다체 (Formal)

-(으)시 + -ㅂ니다/습니다:

• 가시다 → 가십니다 (goes - formal)
• 먹으시다 → 드십니다 (eats - formal, special verb)
• 읽으시다 → 읽으십니다 (reads - formal)
• 앉으시다 → 앉으십니다 (sits - formal)

Used in very formal situations

해체 (Casual)

-(으)시 + -어/아:

• 가시다 → 가셔 (goes - casual but still respectful)
• 계시다 → 계셔 (is/stays - casual but respectful)

Rare combination: Used in families when speaking casually but still showing respect to elders

Tense with -(으)시-

Present Tense

-(으)시 + present ending:

• 가세요 (goes / please go)
• 먹으세요 (eats / please eat)
• 읽으십니까? (do you read? - formal)

Past Tense: -셨-

The marker becomes -셨- in past:

• 가셨어요 (went)
• 먹으셨어요 (ate)
• 읽으셨어요 (read)
• 오셨어요 (came)
• 계셨어요 (was/stayed)

Formation: -(으)시 + -었 = -셨

Future with -(으)시-

-(으)시 + future markers:

• 가실 거예요 (will go)
• 하실 거예요 (will do)
• 오실 거예요 (will come)
• 먹으실 거예요 (will eat)

Continuous Aspect

-(으)시 + -고 계시다:

• 가시고 계세요 (is going)
• 읽으시고 계세요 (is reading)
• 하시고 계세요 (is doing)

계시다 is honorific form of 있다

With Different Verb Types

Action Verbs

Regular pattern:

• 가시다 (go)
• 오시다 (come)
• 먹으시다 (eat - but prefer 드시다)
• 자시다 (sleep - but prefer 주무시다)
• 일하시다 (work)
• 공부하시다 (study)

Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives)

Also take -(으)시-:

• 좋으시다 → 좋으세요 (is good / you like)
• 예쁘시다 → 예쁘세요 (is pretty)
• 건강하시다 → 건강하세요 (is healthy)
• 바쁘시다 → 바쁘세요 (is busy)
• 피곤하시다 → 피곤하세요 (is tired)

Existence Verbs

있다 has special honorific form:

• ❌ 있으시다 (grammatical but less common)
• ✅ 계시다 (preferred honorific)

Usage:

• 선생님이 계세요 (Teacher is here)
• 할아버지께서 계십니다 (Grandfather is here)

Question Forms

Yes/No Questions

-(으)시 + question ending:

• 가세요? (Are you going?)
• 먹으세요? (Are you eating?)
• 계세요? (Are you here?)
• 좋으세요? (Is it good? / Do you like it?)

Formal:

• 가십니까? (Are you going? - formal)
• 먹으십니까? (Are you eating? - formal)

Wh-Questions

With question words:

• 어디 가세요? (Where are you going?)
• 뭐 하세요? (What are you doing?)
• 언제 오세요? (When are you coming?)
• 누구세요? (Who are you?)

Negative Forms

안 + -(으)시-

Simple negation:

• 안 가세요 (don't go / not going)
• 안 먹으세요 (don't eat / not eating)
• 안 오세요 (not coming)
• 안 계세요 (not here)

-(으)시 + -지 않다

Formal negation:

• 가시지 않아요 (don't go / not going)
• 먹으시지 않아요 (don't eat / not eating)
• 하시지 않으세요 (don't do / not doing)

Cannot: 못 + -(으)시-

Inability:

• 못 가세요 (can't go)
• 못 오세요 (can't come)
• 못 드세요 (can't eat)

Commands and Requests

Polite Request: -(으)세요

Please do...:

• 앉으세요 (Please sit)
• 들어오세요 (Please come in)
• 드세요 (Please eat)
• 말씀하세요 (Please speak)

Very common polite imperative

More Polite: -(으)시겠어요?

Would you...?:

• 앉으시겠어요? (Would you like to sit?)
• 드시겠어요? (Would you like to eat?)

Even More Polite: -(으)실래요?

Would you like to...?:

• 앉으실래요? (Would you like to sit?)
• 같이 가실래요? (Would you like to go together?)

Common Expressions

Greetings and Farewells

With -(으)시-:

• 안녕히 가세요 (Goodbye - to person leaving)
• 안녕히 계세요 (Goodbye - you are leaving)
• 들어오세요 (Please come in)
• 환영합니다 (Welcome - but no -(으)시- here)

Dining

Meal-related:

• 맛있게 드세요 (Enjoy your meal - lit. eat deliciously)
• 많이 드세요 (Eat a lot)
• 편히 드세요 (Eat comfortably)

Daily Interactions

Common polite phrases:

• 괜찮으세요? (Are you okay?)
• 잘 하세요 (You do it well / Good job)
• 조심하세요 (Be careful / Take care)
• 건강하세요 (Be healthy / Stay healthy)

Honorific Particles with -(으)시-

께서 (Subject Marker)

Instead of 이/가:

• 선생님께서 오세요 (Teacher is coming)
• 할아버지께서 계세요 (Grandfather is here)
• 손님께서 기다리십니다 (Guest is waiting)

께 (To marker)

Instead of 에게/한테:

• 선생님께 여쭤봤어요 (I asked teacher)
• 할머니께 전화했어요 (I called grandmother)

Example Sentences

Present Actions

• 할아버지께서 신문을 읽으세요 (Grandfather reads the newspaper)
• 선생님이 교실에 계세요 (Teacher is in the classroom)
• 손님께서 기다리세요 (Guest is waiting)
• 아버지께서 회사에 가세요 (Father goes to work)

Past Actions

• 할머니께서 진지를 드셨어요 (Grandmother ate)
• 선생님께서 오셨어요 (Teacher came)
• 사장님께서 말씀하셨어요 (Boss spoke)
• 할아버지께서 주무셨어요 (Grandfather slept)

Future Actions

• 선생님께서 내일 오실 거예요 (Teacher will come tomorrow)
• 할아버지께서 여행 가실 거예요 (Grandfather will travel)
• 부모님께서 방문하실 거예요 (Parents will visit)

Questions

• 어디 가세요? (Where are you going?)
• 뭐 하세요? (What are you doing?)
• 언제 오셨어요? (When did you come?)
• 무슨 일 하세요? (What work do you do?)
• 건강하세요? (Are you healthy?)

Commands/Requests

• 편히 앉으세요 (Please sit comfortably)
• 천천히 가세요 (Please go slowly)
• 많이 드세요 (Please eat a lot)
• 조심하세요 (Please be careful)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Meeting Teacher

Student: 안녕하세요, 선생님! 어디 가세요?
(Hello, teacher! Where are you going?)

Teacher: 도서관에 가요.
(I'm going to the library.)

Student: 책을 읽으러 가세요?
(Are you going to read books?)

Teacher: 네, 맞아요.
(Yes, that's right.)

Dialogue 2: With Grandparents

Grandchild: 할아버지, 어디 계세요?
(Grandfather, where are you?)

Grandfather: 여기 있어.
(I'm here.)

Grandchild: 진지 드셨어요?
(Did you eat?)

Grandfather: 아직 안 먹었어.
(Not yet.)

Grandchild: 같이 드세요!
(Please eat together!)

Dialogue 3: At Work

Employee: 사장님께서 지금 계세요?
(Is the boss here now?)

Secretary: 네, 사무실에 계세요.
(Yes, [he's] in the office.)

Employee: 회의가 몇 시에 시작하세요?
(What time does the meeting start?)

Secretary: 3시에 시작하실 거예요.
([He] will start at 3.)

Dialogue 4: Customer Service

Employee: 어서 오세요! 무엇을 도와드릴까요?
(Welcome! How may I help you?)

Customer: 이거 좀 보여 주세요.
(Please show me this.)

Employee: 네, 여기 있습니다. 천천히 보세요.
(Yes, here it is. Please look slowly.)

Customer: 감사합니다.
(Thank you.)

When NOT to Use -(으)시-

About Yourself

Never honor yourself:

• ❌ 제가 가셨어요 (I went - wrong!)
• ✅ 제가 갔어요 (I went - correct)

Your Family to Outsiders

Be humble about your family:

• ❌ 우리 아버지께서 오셨어요 (to stranger - wrong!)
• ✅ 우리 아버지가 왔어요 (to stranger - correct)

BUT: To family members, honor elders:

• ✅ (To sibling) 아버지께서 오셨어요 (Father came)

Younger People (Usually)

Generally don't use with younger:

• Friend (same age): 뭐 해? (What are you doing?)
• Not: 뭐 하세요? (too formal)

Exception: Professional settings may use polite forms regardless of age

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 먹으시다 (instead of 드시다)

Not using special honorific verb

✅ Correct: 드시다

Use special honorific verbs when available

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❌ Incorrect: 있으세요 (for existence)

Should use special verb

✅ Correct: 계세요

계시다 is the honorific form of 있다

---

❌ Incorrect: 제가 가셨어요

Honoring yourself

✅ Correct: 제가 갔어요

Never use -(으)시- for yourself

---

❌ Incorrect: 선생님이 가요 (when being respectful)

Missing honorific marker

✅ Correct: 선생님께서 가세요

Use 께서 + -(으)시- for respect

Summary Table: Formation

Stem Type	Example Verb	With -(으)시-	Meaning
Vowel	가다	가시다 → 가세요	go (hon.)
Consonant	먹다	먹으시다 → 드세요*	eat (hon.)
ㄹ irregular	살다	사시다 → 사세요	live (hon.)
Special	있다	계시다 → 계세요	exist (hon.)

*Uses special verb 드시다

Conjugation Summary

Tense	Formation	Example
Present (polite)	-(으)시 + -어요	가세요
Present (formal)	-(으)시 + -ㅂ니다	가십니다
Past	-셨-	가셨어요
Future	-(으)실 거예요	가실 거예요
Question	-(으)세요?	가세요?
Command	-(으)세요	가세요

Key Takeaways

• ✅ Subject honorific: Shows respect for person doing action
• ✅ Formation: -시- after vowels, -으시- after consonants
• ✅ Past tense: -셨- (-(으)시- + -었-)
• ✅ Most common form: -(으)세요 (polite imperative/statement)
• ✅ Use with: Elders, teachers, bosses, customers, strangers
• ✅ Don't use for: Yourself, your family (to outsiders), younger people
• ✅ Special verbs: Prefer 드시다, 계시다, 주무시다 when available
• ✅ Particles: 께서 (subject), 께 (to) for extra respect

-(으)시- is fundamental to showing respect in Korean. Master this marker to speak appropriately to elders and superiors, and always remember: never use it for yourself! When in doubt with someone older or higher status, use -(으)시- to be safe and respectful.