How to Conjugate Korean Verbs: Polite

There’s nothing easier than making informal Korean verbs into polite Korean verbs. (If only making everything polite were so simple!) First, make the informal form. Then, simply add 요 to the end of the verb. Ta-da!

The Polite form is used most often in Korean. Commonly, it’s used among friends, especially acquaintances but sometimes also with close friends. It’s OK to use this form for almost every daily interaction you have, but you’ll need to understand the honorific polite when it’s spoken to you by business owners and you’ll also be appreciated if you use the formal with people much older than you as well as people in positions of authority.

Polite Verbs

	Vowel closest to -다	English meaning	Dictionary form	Base	Informal form	Polite form
If the verb ends in a consonant after dropping -다	ㅏ	receive; get	받다	받-	받아	받아요
	ㅗ	be good	좋다	좋-	좋아	좋아요
	ㅓ	take off [clothes]	벗다	벗-	벗어	벗어요
	ㅜ	die	죽다	죽-	죽어	죽어요
	ㅡ	be late	늦다	늦-	늦어	늦어요
	ㅣ	wear [on feet]	신다	신-	신어	신어요
If the verb ends in a vowel after dropping -다	ㅏ	go	가다	가-	가	가요
	ㅐ	pay	내다	내-	내	내요
	ㅗ	see	보다	보-	봐	봐요
	ㅓ	stand	서다	서	서	서요
	ㅡ	write	쓰다	쓰-	써	써요
	ㅣ	wait [for]	기다리다	기다리-	기다려	기다려요
	ㅟ	rest; relax	쉬다	쉬-	쉬어	쉬어요

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