In Korea, the Polite Form of speech is required for many occasions. The politeness of a sentence is usually indicated by the suffix of the sentence-ending verb. In LingoDeer's Korean 1 course, you will learn two forms of polite suffixes: 

  • ㅂ니다/습니다 (bnida/seubnida); and 
  • 아요/어요/여요 (ayo/eoyo/yeoyo).


We will start with the Formal Polite suffix: ㅂ니다/습니다 (bnida/seubnida). 

You will hear this suffix on many formal occasions, such as in news programs, companies or politics. The conjugation of the Formal Polite suffix is relevantly easy, which is great for helping beginners get familiar with the infinitive form of verbs and adjectives in Korean.


Starting from the unit "Polite Form", we will also learn the Informal Polite suffix: 아요/어요/여요 (ayo/eoyo/yeoyo). 

This is more commonly used in daily conversations. However, in order to use the Informal Polite suffix correctly, a solid grasp of the infinitive form of verbs and adjectives is required, which can be hard for beginners. That's why we only tackle it after building a solid foundation through learning the Formal Polite suffix.