Pronouns
Korean has pronouns and uses them as little as it can. Subjects are dropped whenever context supplies them, "you" is avoided almost entirely, and where English says "he" or "she" Korean repeats the name or the title. What replaces the pronoun system is the speech level, which is carried by the verb ending and says who is speaking to whom.
I and we: two levels
| plain (반말) | humble / polite | |
|---|---|---|
| 나 | 저 | I |
| 내 | 제 | my (나 / 저 + 의, contracted) |
| 우리 | 저희 | we, our |
저 is used to anyone you speak to in the polite or formal style, which is nearly everyone. 나 is for friends and juniors. Getting this wrong is instantly heard.
You: mostly not said
| word | use |
|---|---|
| 너 | you, to a close friend or a child (plain style only) |
| 당신 | you — in songs, in writing, between spouses, and in arguments; NOT to a stranger's face |
| 그쪽 | "your side" — a neutral you between strangers, slightly cool |
| 자네 | to a junior, by an older man |
In practice the person is addressed by name + 씨 (김민수 씨), by title (선생님 teacher / sir, 사장님 boss, 부장님 department head, 기사님 driver), or by a kin term (언니 / 누나 older sister, 오빠 / 형 older brother, 이모 auntie, 아저씨 / 아주머니 sir / ma'am), and "you" is simply omitted:
(당신은) 어디 가세요? → 어디 가세요? — "Where are you going?" 선생님은 커피 드세요? — "Would you (teacher) like coffee?"
The kin terms depend on the SPEAKER's gender: a woman calls an older man 오빠 and an older woman 언니; a man says 형 and 누나. That is the one thing Vietnamese, with anh and chị for everyone, does not do.
He, she, they
그 (he) and 그녀 (she) exist in writing and translation; speech uses 그 사람 "that person", 그분 "that person" (honorific), the name, or the title. 그들 they. 얘 / 걔 / 쟤 "this / that / that kid" are the casual third-person for people you are being familiar about.
The speech levels
The pronoun choice is half of it; the verb ending is the other half, and the two must agree.
| level | ending | I | you | who |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 반말 plain | -아/어, -야, -자 | 나 | 너, name + 아/야 | friends of your age, children, younger family |
| 해요체 polite | -아/어요 | 저 | name + 씨, title | the default with adults |
| 합쇼체 formal | -습니다 / -ㅂ니다, -십시오 | 저 | title + 님 | customers, audiences, superiors, the very old |
On top of the level sits the honorific -시-, put inside the verb whenever the subject is someone you respect, whatever level you are speaking at: 가요 "(I) go" / 가세요 "(you, respected) go". Some verbs have a separate honorific: 먹다 → 드시다 (eat), 자다 → 주무시다 (sleep), 있다 → 계시다 (be present), 말하다 → 말씀하시다 (speak); and the humble verbs for what you do FOR a superior: 주다 → 드리다 (give), 묻다 → 여쭙다 (ask), 만나다 → 뵙다 (meet).
Possession: 의, usually dropped
나의 책 → 내 책 — my book · 친구 책 — (my) friend's book · 우리 엄마 — my (our) mother
If you speak Vietnamese
The kin-term address is the same instinct: 형/오빠 and 누나/언니 are anh and chị, 아저씨 is chú, 할아버지 is ông. What Vietnamese does with the pronoun and one particle (ạ), Korean does with the verb ending and the humble pronoun 저 — and Korean adds a gender split on the speaker's side that Vietnamese does not have.
Same chapter in: English · French · Spanish · Portuguese · German · Italian · Georgian · Russian · Hindi · Mandarin Chinese · Cantonese · Vietnamese · Japanese · Malay · Turkish