Korean Honorifics — ~(으)시 & Special Verbs

Insert ~(으)시 between the verb/adjective stem and the ending to honor the subject (the person doing the action). Add 으시 after a consonant, 시 after a vowel. In 해요체 it becomes ~(으)세요. Use it when the subject is someone older or higher in status than you.

Some verbs have entirely separate honorific forms instead of just adding ~(으)시. Key ones: 있다→계시다 (to be/stay), 먹다/마시다→드시다 or 잡수시다 (to eat/drink), 자다→주무시다 (to sleep), 죽다→돌아가시다 (to pass away), 말하다→말씀하시다 (to speak). Use these special verbs, not the regular ~(으)시 form.

When the subject is honored, the subject particle 이/가 becomes 께서, and the dative 에게/한테 ('to') becomes 께. The suffix ~님 attaches to titles to elevate them: 선생 → 선생님, 사장 → 사장님. These pair naturally with ~(으)시 verbs.

Korean also has humble forms that lower the speaker to elevate the listener. 주다 (to give) → 드리다 when you give to a superior; 묻다 (to ask) → 여쭤보다; 보다/만나다 (to see/meet) → 뵙다/뵈다. These are about the OBJECT being a superior, not the subject.