A1
해요 — the everyday polite form
How the Korean 해요 form is built, how it compares with 합니다 and the plain form, and why one form covers statements and questions alike.
Korean verbs end in 다 in the dictionary. To speak, that ending is replaced — and the replacement carries how polite you are being.
먹어요.
Meogeoyo.
I eat.
학교에 가요.
Hakgyoe gayo.
I go to school.
How it is built
Drop 다, then add 아요 if the stem’s last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, and 어요 otherwise. 하다 verbs become 해요.
| 먹다 → 먹어요 | stem vowel ㅓ |
| 살다 → 살아요 | stem vowel ㅏ |
| 가다 → 가요 | 가 + 아요 contracts |
| 공부하다 → 공부해요 | every 하다 verb |
Vowel stems contract: 가아요 becomes 가요, 오아요 becomes 와요. The contraction is not optional.
Three levels, not two
| 합니다 | formal — announcements, the military, the news |
| 해요 | polite — almost everything |
| 해 | plain — close friends, children, younger family |
해요 is the one to live in. 합니다 is not more polite so much as more formal and more distant, and using it with a friend sounds strange rather than respectful.
One form does a lot
The same 해요 form is a statement, a question, a suggestion and a mild command. Intonation and context separate them.
같이 가요.
Gachi gayo.
Let’s go together.
어디 가요?
Eodi gayo?
Where are you going?
The 요 cannot be dropped for politeness
Dropping 요 gives the plain form, which is a real change in register rather than a casual shortening.
선생님, 어디 가?
선생님, 어디 가세요?
Speaking plainly to a teacher is not informal, it is rude. 요 is the minimum, and 세요 adds the honorific — see existence for 계시다.