COMPARE
Everyday polite
You ask a new classmate a normal question after being introduced.
해요체: 오늘 수업 어땠어요?The -요 style is polite without making an ordinary conversation sound ceremonial.
STEP 1
Relationship
What’s your relationship?
KOREAN SPEECH LEVEL GUIDE
Politeness is not a single on/off switch.
Banmal is relational. Casual speech usually becomes natural through a mutually established relationship. Being older, being the same age, or hearing the other person use banmal does not automatically make a unilateral switch appropriate.
해요체 is a practical polite baseline. Everyday -요 speech works across many ordinary interactions, especially when the relationship is new or the preferred level is not yet clear. Vocabulary and honorific markers still matter inside the sentence.
하십시오체 is more formal, not simply “more respectful.” It fits many official, service, presentation, and strongly professional situations, but using it everywhere can sound unnecessarily stiff. Close people can also change levels when they move between private and professional settings.
BANMAL, HAEYO-CHE & HASIPSIO-CHE
Korean speech levels change with relationship and situation.
Banmal is casual, 해요체 is everyday polite, and 하십시오체 is more formal. These labels are useful starting points, but the natural choice also depends on relationship, role, closeness, current speech habits, and whether the setting is private, social, professional, or official.
More formal is not always more natural. 하십시오체 can fit official or strongly professional situations while sounding unnecessarily stiff in ordinary conversation. When the relationship is new or uncertain, everyday polite speech is often a practical place to begin.
SPEECH LEVELS IN USE
Choose the sentence style separately from what you call the person.
The Speech Level Finder recommends a broad conversational starting point: banmal, everyday polite 해요체, more formal 하십시오체, or a context-dependent choice. It is broader than the Banmal Finder, which focuses specifically on whether a casual relationship switch is established. A title and a speech level can also combine in many ways.
COMPARE
Official announcement
You address an audience in a formal presentation or service announcement.
하십시오체 may fit: 지금 시작하겠습니다.The setting supports a formal public style; this does not mean 하십시오체 is required in every respectful interaction.
REAL DIALOGUE
Polite first conversation
The -어요 ending is everyday polite. The relationship can later settle into a different pattern.
오늘 수업 어땠어요?Oneul sueop eottaesseoyo?
How was class today?
COMMON MISTAKES
- Treating 존댓말 and 반말 as the only two fixed forms Korean speakers use.
- Using 하십시오체 everywhere because it appears ‘most respectful.’
- Changing endings while ignoring honorific vocabulary, subject honorification, tone, and the person’s preference.
USE WITH CARE
Real conversations mix styles for stance, humor, quotation, intimacy, and task. Use the result as a baseline, then follow the stable pattern established by the people and setting.
DEEPER GUIDES