How to Conjugate Korean Verbs: Honorific Polite

The honorific polite form is used often in the Korean business world. You’ll hear it when from people speaking to business clients and customers, to teachers and elders, on semi-formal occasions and also from time to time among friends. 

Honorific Polite Verbs

To make the honorific polite form, first drop the dictionary -다 ending to reveal the verb base. If the verb base ends in a vowel, add 세요. If the verb base ends in a consonant, add 으세요. Here’s a table with examples.

	English meaning	Dictionary form	Base	Honorific polite form
If the verb ends in a consonant after dropping -다	receive; get	앉다	앉-	앉으세요
	be good	좋다	좋-	좋으세요
	to lack; not have	없다	없-	없으세요
	pick [fruit]	줍다	줍-	줍으세요
	be late	늦다	늦-	늦으세요
	read	읽다	읽-	읽으세요
If the verb ends in a vowel after dropping -다	to do; make	하다	하-	하세요
	be finished	끝내다	끝내-	끝내세요
	come	오다	오-	오세요
	learn	배우다	배우-	배우세요
	be fast	빠르다	빠르-	빠르세요

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