Korean has different levels of respect: depending on the speakers\u2019 ages, societal status, or closeness to each other, Koreans will decide which level of politeness to use and how to behave themselves.<\/p>\n
Did you know that Korean language has seven different levels of speech?<\/strong><\/p>\n Korean has six formal speech forms and one informal speech form, showing different levels of respect in the language. However, \u201c\uac71\uc815\ud558\uc9c0 \ub9c8\uc138\uc694<\/em>!<\/em> (Don\u2019t worry!)\u201d As long as you are aware of the following three levels of politeness, and you use standard polite form, \u201c<\/em><\/strong>–<\/em><\/strong>\uc694<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/strong> ending, you will be fine for now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ex) \u201cSit down\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\uaca9\uc2dd\uccb4<\/em> (Honorific) – \u201c\uc549\uc73c\uc2ed\uc2dc\uc624\u201d<\/p>\n \uc874\ub300\ub9d0<\/em> (Polite) –\u00a0\u201c\uc549\uc73c\uc138\uc694\u201d<\/p>\n \ubc18\ub9d0<\/em> (Informal) –\u00a0\u201c\uc549\uc544\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\uba87 \uc0b4\uc774\uc5d0\uc694<\/em>?<\/em> (How old are you?)\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n You may be shocked to hear when Korean people frequently ask someone, \u201c<\/em><\/strong>\uba87<\/em><\/strong> \uc0b4\uc774\uc5d0\uc694<\/em><\/strong>?<\/em><\/strong> (How old are you?)\u201d right after meeting someone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I mentioned earlier, Korean language has different levels of respect, so the speakers will determine how they will speak to each other depending on their ages: they will decide which level of politeness to use and how to behave themselves.<\/p>\n So beware, someone you just met may ask, \u201c\uba87 \uc0b4\uc774\uc5d0\uc694?<\/em> (How old are you?),\u201d<\/strong> \u201c\uacb0\ud63c \ud588\uc5b4\uc694?<\/em> (Are you married?)\u201d<\/strong>, \u201c\ub0a8\uc790 \uce5c\uad6c<\/em>\/\uc5ec\uc790 \uce5c\uad6c \uc788\uc5b4\uc694?<\/em> (Do you have a boyfriend\/girlfriend?)\u201d<\/strong>, or \u201c\uc5b4\ub514\uc5d0 \uc0b4\uc544\uc694<\/em>?<\/strong> (Where do you live?),\u201d<\/strong> etc. To foreigners\u2019 ears, some questions may sound private or intimate, but Koreans consider these questions will bring closeness to each other, and they consider these are part of becoming better friends.<\/p>\n When someone asks, \u201c\uba87 \uc0b4\uc774\uc5d0\uc694?<\/em> (How old are you?),\u201d<\/p>\n you can answer \u201c\uc800\ub294 25\uc0b4\uc774\uc5d0\uc694.<\/em> (I am 25 years old.)<\/p>\n or \u201c\uc800\ub294<\/em> 80\ub144\uc0dd\uc774\uc5d0\uc694.<\/em> (I was born in [1]80.)\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>\uac10\uc0ac\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4! <\/em><\/strong>(Thank you!)<\/strong><\/p>\n __________________<\/p>\n\n
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