Korean does not have a neutral way to say "I ate". Every finite verb carries an ending that positions you relative to whoever is listening, and choosing one is not optional. Textbooks list six speech levels; two of them do most of the modern work, two more appear in specific contexts, and two are largely historical.
The same sentence, moving up the scale
Take 가다, to go, in the present tense:
| Form | Level | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| 갑니다 | 합니다체 — formal polite | news, announcements, business, the military |
| 가요 | 해요체 — informal polite | most daily conversation with adults |
| 가 | 해체 — plain, 반말 | close friends, younger people, family |
| 간다 | 한다체 — plain declarative | writing, books, newspapers, inner thoughts |
| 가네 | 하네체 — familiar | an older speaker to a younger adult; dated |
| 가오 | 하오체 — archaic | historical drama, almost nowhere else |
Notice the last two before dismissing them: if you watch sageuk, the historical drama genre, you will meet 하오체 constantly, and it is often the first thing that makes subtitled Korean sound strange to a learner who only knows 해요체.
해요체 is the one to learn first
The -요 level is polite without being stiff, and it is what you should default to with any adult you do not know. Shops, taxis, restaurants, colleagues, a friend's parents — all 해요체.
Its formation is regular once you know the verb stem's final vowel:
| Verb | Stem | Rule | 해요 form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 먹다 (eat) | 먹- | stem vowel ㅓ → add 어요 | 먹어요 |
| 살다 (live) | 살- | stem vowel ㅏ → add 아요 | 살아요 |
| 보다 (see) | 보- | ㅗ + 아요 contracts | 봐요 |
| 하다 (do) | 하- | irregular, memorise | 해요 |
| 마시다 (drink) | 마시- | ㅣ + 어요 contracts | 마셔요 |
The rule is that stems ending in ㅏ or ㅗ take 아요, and everything else takes 어요, with 하다 as the one high-frequency exception. Contractions then smooth the result.
해요체 does double duty. The same form serves as statement, question, request and suggestion — only intonation separates them. 가요 can mean "I'm going", "Are you going?", "Please go", or "Let's go". This is a genuine convenience for beginners, since one form buys four functions.
합니다체 for formal settings
The formal polite level is what you hear from news anchors, in company presentations and in customer service. It distinguishes statement from question, which 해요체 does not:
| Function | After a vowel | After a consonant |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | 갑니다 | 먹습니다 |
| Question | 갑니까? | 먹습니까? |
It is not a higher grade of politeness so much as a different register — more distant, more official. Using it with a friend would be as odd as writing a text message in the style of a press release.
반말 is not something you switch to unilaterally
The plain style is for close friends, people clearly younger, and family. The important point for a learner is social rather than grammatical: dropping into 반말 is a mutual step, usually proposed explicitly — 말 놓을까요?, shall we drop the formality? Doing it on your own initiative with someone you have just met reads as presumptuous, which is precisely the impression a polite learner is trying to avoid.
Honorifics are a separate axis
Speech level marks the listener. The honorific infix -시- marks the subject of the sentence, and the two combine independently:
| Korean | Reading | What it encodes |
|---|---|---|
| 가요 | gayo | polite to listener, neutral subject |
| 가세요 | gaseyo | polite to listener, elevated subject |
| 가십니다 | gasimnida | formal to listener, elevated subject |
So you can be formal about someone you are not elevating, or casual with a friend while elevating their grandmother. A small set of verbs replaces itself entirely rather than taking -시-: 먹다 becomes 드시다, 자다 becomes 주무시다, 있다 becomes 계시다.
The practical shortcut
Learn 해요체 thoroughly, add 합니다체 for formal situations, recognise 반말 without producing it until someone invites you to, and treat 한다체 as a reading skill for books and articles. That covers essentially all of modern Korean, and it takes far less effort than the six-level table suggests.
See Korean verbs with their endings
The free English-Korean Dictionary gives dictionary forms alongside conjugations, so you can find 하다 and see how it becomes 해요 and 합니다. No connection needed.
Open the dictionary appFrequently asked questions
Which Korean speech level should I learn first?
해요체, the polite informal level ending in -요. It is appropriate with almost any adult stranger, it is what you will hear most in daily life, and its endings are the base for a great deal of other grammar. Add 합니다체 second for formal settings.
Is it rude to use 해요체 with someone older?
Generally no. 해요체 is polite; it is simply less formal than 합니다체. It is entirely normal with an older shopkeeper, a colleague, or a friend's parent. What would be rude is 반말, the plain style, with someone you do not have that relationship with.
What is the difference between speech levels and honorifics?
Speech levels are about the listener — how formal you are being toward the person you are speaking to. Honorifics, chiefly the infix -시-, are about the subject of the sentence — raising the person you are speaking about. They are independent, so you can combine them freely.