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honorific forms: the 시 form

# Posted: 6 Mar 2007 03:53 KST - Edited by: _joseph_
... Re-Sideview ...

When talking about someone superior in status, a speaker or writer has to use special nouns or verb endings to indicate the subject`s superiority. Generally, someone is superior in status if he/she is an older relative, a stranger of roughly equal or greater age, or an employer, teacher, customer, or the like. Someone is equal or inferior in status if he/she is a younger stranger, student, employee or the like.

Your girlfriend is not a person higher in status than you, so you do not use 시 when speaking of your girlfriedn.

In the honorofic form we take the verb and put 시 after the verb stem and then we add a variety of endings. Note that if the preceding verb`s stem ends in 받침 we need to say 으시.

어서 오십시오 welcome to our store! please come in!

The honorific form 시 is not required for gangsters 강패들, social outcasts, visiting punk music stars from overseas, disrespectful youth, and foreigners with no knowledge of Korean. But, if you choose to live in Korea, you`d make a lot of people happy to learn the correct, respectful way to properly address people.
The honorific verb is made by adding (으)시다 to the verb stem.
for example: (the polite speech is on the right)

괜찮다 -> 괜찮으시다
좋아하다 -> 좋아하시다
가다 -> 가십니다
이다 -> 이십니다
오다 -> 오십시오.
하다 -> 하십니다.

Remember that this form is made by adding 으 if there is a 받침. And, be careful of irregulars like the ㄹ irregular like the following:

이끌다 + 시 =======> 이끄시다

The endings 십시오 or 십니다 are possible to add onto the stem + 시 to make a complete verb ending.

시 is added when the subject of the sentence is more important (more prominent job, more education, more older) than the speaker.

This is explained in Korean Grammar for International Learners further as having to be applied in the following situation:
A. do not use the 시 form if the hearer you are talking to is more important than the subject of the sentence.

할아버지, 아빠도 가요? grandfather, is Dad going too?

B. the 시 grammatical honorific is used when any part or feature of the more important person is being talked about. This includes parts of their body.

another example:

재미를 느끼셨어요? did you find it interesting, sir?

Here are some practical examples

어머니는 `수고하세요`라고 하십니다

mom says (often) `you did a good job`
다름이 아니라를 공손하게 쓰시고 싶으시다구요

So you want to know how to politely say 다름이 아니라 in English?

Joseph, copying from: 윤두병 Posts: 7 native korean # Posted: 21 Jan 2008 09:29 KST ... Re-Sideview ... An intersesting thing said in this book is 자, 가십시다. Now, this is a monk talking to other monks, and they are always very formal to each other. It seems strange to honorify oneself. But, just thinking of it as specially polite usage of 가자 seems to make me happy enough.
from the book 언제나 떠날 수 있는 놈.

Joseph, copying from:

남자의여자 by 이원호

Posts: 302
native korean

# Posted: 26 Jan 2008 15:23 KST - Edited by: Joseph, copying from:
남자의여자 by 이원호
... Re-Sideview ...

this is originally from here on the zkorean @ paperwindow forums

Quoting: "Charles"

I've seen it used in a Yonsei textbook before. I was like "huh, did that speaker just honor the group, including himself?" I doubt your eyes have deceived you, or that it's a mistake -- honorifics CAN apply to the speaker in certain very narrow circumstances. One of them is "가십시다."

Another one that I can think of is in a cartoon or video game or something where a major villain might use "(으)시다" on himself, to show how high and mighty he thinks he is (meanwhile condescending to the person he's speaking to by using the blunt formality level). I can remember this happening in the Korean language version of Super Mario 64 when a boss introduced himself with honorifics, because he felt he was SO GREAT, he was using honorifics on himself, and yet, he used the blunt formality level to Mario (yes, I remember now, it was Big Bob-Omb). I did a double-take when I saw that, but sure enough, he was using honorifics on himself! Still, no way you'd want to talk unless you wanted to come across as overtly conceited...

이원호 신작 장편소설

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