Politeness in Depth · Lesson 3 of 6

The Magic Syllable 시

The honoring 시 has been hiding in 안녕하세요 and 주세요 all along — meet it properly.

11 min

Time for the most satisfying reveal in the whole course. There's a tiny syllable — 시 — that means “I respect the person doing this.” And you've been using it since your very first 안녕하세요.

The honoring 시

Speech levels (last two lessons) raise how formal you sound. The honorific ~(으)시 does something different: it raises the person you're talking about — when that person deserves respect (an elder, a customer, a teacher).

You already know its forms

Here's the reveal: the 세 in the polite commands you've used all along is 시 + 어요, contracted. The respect was baked in the whole time.

안녕하세요

annyeonghaseyo

Hello

= 안녕하시어요 → 안녕하세요. You've been honoring people since day one.

가세요 · 오세요 · 하세요

gaseyo · oseyo · haseyo

please go · come · do

가시어요 / 오시어요 / 하시어요, all contracted to 세요.

주세요

juseyo

please give (me)

주시어요 → 주세요. “Please give” literally honors the listener.

The special forms worth knowing

A few common verbs get a whole new honorific shape rather than just adding 시. Learn these as set phrases — you'll use them constantly:

드세요

deuseyo

please eat / help yourself

먹다 → 드시다 → 드세요. 많이 드세요 = “eat a lot!”, a warm host line.

주무세요

jumuseyo

please sleep (rest well)

자다 → 주무시다 → 주무세요. 안녕히 주무세요 = goodnight to an elder.

계세요

gyeseyo

please stay / (a person) is

있다 → 계시다 → 계세요. You met it in 안녕히 계세요 — it's the honorific “to be”.

팁

Beginner-safe truth: you don't need to conjugate 시 yet. Recognize it, and use the common 세요 forms and special words above. That alone makes your Korean noticeably more respectful.

Try it

Why does 안녕하세요 already count as honorific?Show answer

The 세 is 시 (the honoring syllable) + 어요, contracted. It quietly respects the person you're greeting.

An elder sits down to eat. Warmly invite them to dig in.Show answer

많이 드세요. — 드세요 is the honorific “eat”; 많이 = a lot.

What you just learned

~(으)시 raises the person doing the action — the subject honorific.
The 세요 in 안녕하세요 / 주세요 / 가세요 already contains 시.
Special forms: 드세요 (eat), 주무세요 (sleep), 계세요 (be/stay).
Recognize 시 and use the set forms — no conjugating needed yet.

Quick check

Did it stick?

Three quick questions — instant answers, no grades, no pressure.

1.Why does 안녕하세요 already count as honorific?

2.~(으)시 raises…

3.The honorific “please eat” is…

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The reading path explains the culture and logic that make Korean click — a perfect companion to these lessons.

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