Learn Korean with KoreanClass101.com! Up until now our Beginner Lesson series has been focusing on the Formal Politeness Level. In today’s lesson we introduce a new politeness level, the Standard Politeness Level. This politeness level is used very often is considered, well… the standard language when meeting people. In today’s lesson, we go over specific relationships that use different politeness levels and why! After listening, remember to stop by KoreanClass101.com and leave us a post!
This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Beginner Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
21 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #14 - Just How Polite is ‘Polite’?”
KoreanClass101.com says:
November 9th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
In what situations have you used the Formal Politeness Level? What situations have you used the Standard Politeness Level?
maxiewawa says:
November 19th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
This is hot off the presses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKzXg9vlNOU
Many KoreanClass101 listeners might not be familiar with JapanesePod101’s zany intros… here’s Aika and my take on it.
Anyone who’s interested in doing it in a different language (other than Japanese and Korean) let’s do it!
Carl Kenner says:
November 19th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Why doesn’t the employee say “anyong hasimnida” instead of “anyong haseyo”?
선현우 says:
November 19th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Oh, that’s a good point, Carl Kenner! But 안녕하세요 is used almost everyday so it’s used as a fixed expression. Literally, if you say “안녕하세요?”, you would be asking if the other person is doing well(안녕하다), but no one really takes it as a question, so it’s still 안녕하세요.
But, of course you can also say 안녕하십니까, and 안녕하십니까 is very polite too. It’s most often used in a speech or in an annoucement. 
Carl Kenner says:
November 20th, 2007 at 7:57 am
Ah, I didn’t realise it was a question, because I can’t tell in the yo form. 
선현우 says:
November 20th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Yes, Carl, it is originally a question but no one takes it as a question any more.
seoulsista says:
November 20th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Hey that’s a funny video!! I want to make a funny video like that too
Keith says:
November 20th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Maxie - Great intro 
Don’t worry, we’ll get our own up soon enough
Austin - Hilarious! hahah 
오스틴 says:
November 20th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Keith, 현우…
This video reminds of a scene in the movie Airplane where some characters converse in “Ebonics” or urban English..so how easy is it for you to understand some of those sentences?…Some were OK, but others… man…
I’m not sure I would have gotten that they were headed to 남산 to meet some girls if it weren’t for the subtitles….
사라 says:
November 21st, 2007 at 3:23 am
I’m happy that we’re getting into the 이에요 and 여요, it was what I was introduced to before coming here so I’m a lot more comfortable using that~
Keith says:
November 21st, 2007 at 5:56 pm
사라… I agree! I think we’re all glad that we’re starting with the standard politeness level
Our next few beginner lessons will still contain the formal politeness level, but starting from around beginner lesson 20, we will have all standard politeness level
선현우 says:
November 21st, 2007 at 11:45 pm
오스틴,
I wouldn’t understand half of the video above if it hadn'’t had the subtitles They tried to make it sound like English so much that I wouldn’t know what kind of meaning to expect from those lines
Lucie says:
June 30th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Hi !
I hope this comment is still going to be read, because it’s an old podcast.
First of all, thank you for your wonderful job, it helps me learning much faster ! You all have nice voices to hear
Secondly : I was looking at the vocab and saw this example :
지금은 사장님이 안 계십니다.
My question is : what is the translation of 계십니다 exactly because I couldn’t find it in my (online) dictionnary ?
Merci !
Lucie
Austin (오민) says:
June 30th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Lucie:
You’ll find in if you use the dictionary form:
계시다
http://endic.naver.com/endic.nhn?docid=2056830&rd=s
Basically it is the formal version of: 있다 When talking about your boss, grandmother, teacher, etc… you should use that form. But you can conjugate it in several different levels depending on who you’re talking to:
A: 선생님 계셔?
A: 선생님 계세요?
A: 선생님 계십니까?
All three mean “Is the teacher there” but they are in order from most intimate to more formal
The negative form is: 안 계시다
B: 선생님은 안 계셔
B: 선생님은 안 계세요
B: 선생님은 안 계십니다
Alex says:
July 27th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I have a question about one of the examples in the PDF. It says:
지금 mwo(how do you type that one???) 를 먹어요
My question is what is the 를 for? It seems like a particle, but I don’t think I’ve learned that one yet. What is it used for? Thanks:) And if you could show me how to type out “mwo” that would be great, too
선현우(Hyunwoo Sun) says:
July 28th, 2008 at 2:36 am
Alex ,
You’re not far away! You can learn about this “object-marking particle” 을/를 in the next lesson of Beginner Series
http://www.koreanclass101.com/2007/11/26/beginner-lesson-15-to-eat-or-not-to-eat/
를 is attached to words that end in a vowel and
을 is attached to words that end in a consonant
And mwo (= what) is spelled “뭐”, and 뭐 comes from 무엇, which means the same thing.
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Category: Beginner Lessons |
Grammar: copula, Standard Politness Level | Function: understanding korean social dynamics, using the standard politeness level | Topic: boss, politeness levels, social dynamics | Politeness Level: Formal, standard
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