Korean speech levels

when we use more ..... and what is general Speech level Non-honorific Honorific 합쇼체 보십니다 hapsyoche boshimnida 해라체 본다 보신다 haerache bonda boshinda 해요체 봐요 보세요 haeyoche bwayo boseyo 해체 봐 보셔 haeche bwa boshuh

Hi Enasahmed, There are quite a few levels of speech in Korean so it can be quite confusing! If you are a beginner and aren't sure how to use the different speech levels, the simplest way to remember it is "yo" 요 makes it polite - when in doubt, add "yo" 요! For example: 보다 (boda) is the base form, 봐 (bwa) is like saying "look here!", 봐요 (bwayo) is "please look". To make things more polite you normally add "se yo" (세요), especially to older people you don't know - 보세요 (boseyo). We have just added more audio examples to the Language and Culture lessons which use the more popular levels of speech. Have a look at the "More examples" section at the end of the lesson here: http://members.rocketlanguages.com/lessons/967 I hope that helps to explain!

I wouldn't worry about learning the different names of the honorific forms. Just be sure to know what they are. If its explained the honorifics aren't that difficult. Let's use a simple sentence "Did you see it?" Let's say a student is talking to another student they are familiar with. They would say "봤어?". If a student was talking to a person of the same age that they didn't know they would probably say "봤어요?". The "yo" is a little more polite. But if a student was talking to or even about a teacher they would have to use the honorific form which is usually just adding a "시" to verb root. The student would ask the teacher "보셨어요?" or "보셨습니까?". Even if the student wasn't talking directly to the teacher he would use the honorific to ask another student "Did the teacher see it?" which would be "선생님 보셨어?". Notice the student didn't add "요" to the end? Its because he wasn't really showing respect to the friend rather the teacher. I hope my explaination helped. I know it sounds complicated now but you'll get used to it as you learn. :-)

hello as a Turkish person i am familiar with this levels but the only question i have is about the grammar rules.. is there a basic simple rule like adding yo for respect and for more respect adding seyo ? or do we have to know every level for each word one by one..? and which levels do i need to learn .. by the way rocket language program is awesome but the grammar section can be enriched and improved..

Hi Turkish, The simplest thing to do is to add "yo" 요 - you can't go wrong with doing that! This is the most commonly used speech level and you won't be offending anybody, especially if they recognize you are a foreigner. As a beginner I wouldn't worry too much about the "se yo" format but generally you would add "세요" after the verb (if it ends in a vowel): 하다 (to do) 해요 하세요 Or "으세요" if it ends in a consonant: 있다 (to be/to have) 있어요 있으세요 If you need to look up the different forms of a verb, try using a verb conjugater like this one: http://www.verbix.com/languages/korean.php I hope that helps!