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Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 2 · final ending

-으오

-으오: …O — Old Polite Ending

Ending: …o — the old polite ending of formal speech.

Before this, make sure you know: -아요 / -어요 , 요

How to form it

When Form Example
Batchim stems -으오 먹으오 / 있으오
Vowel stems -오 가오 / 하오 / 보오

-으오 (-오) is an old polite ending — 하오체 colour.

Not café -요. Not modern -습니다. Period formal speech.

Why this is hard

Politeness buttons multiply. Learners glue every polite end to -요. -으오 belongs to an older formal style still heard in drama, fiction, and playful archaic talk — and it sits near -소.

What it does

어디로 가오?
지금 무엇을 하오?
여기 있으오.
잘 보오.

The ending marks older polite address, not a new lexical meaning.

Forms

Batchim -으오; vowel -오.

먹다 → 먹으오
가다 → 가오
하다 → 하오

When not to use it

Do not use it as default modern polite — -요 / -습니다.

Do not invent it as slang decoration in every chat.

Do not confuse neighbouring -소 with this exact coat — related family, separate page.

Neighbours — and why they differ

FormWhy it is not this slot
-요Living polite.
-습니다Modern formal.
-소Related old polite neighbour.

Ask: do I want older formal polite colour? If yes, -으오. If living polite, stay with -요.

Do not confuse it with

요

additive politeness particle (the universal honorific buffer)

-습니다, -습니까

formal polite ending (합니다체) — announcements, first meetings, the news

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 종결어미 (final ending) — Advanced Korean 2, Unit 3, on the theme of final ending. These come with it:

-는구려 how…! — a mild, slightly archaic exclamation -는구먼 oh, so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact -그려 you know / indeed — particle stressing the point to the listener -으리라 I shall… / it will… — resolve, or speculation about the situation -으니4 how dare… / some…! — blaming or scolding with -으니 -거들랑2 you should know… — telling the listener something they do not know (종결) -게3 do it — the 하게체 command -게4 mind you / see here — drawing the point back into view -구려2 do it, won't you — a soft command -네1 plain statement — the 하게체 -네 that just reports -는구만 so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact (casual) -는가2 the question is… — raising the issue rather than asking casually -나2 …? — a bare question to yourself or someone close -던2 was it…? — asking about what you experienced before -던가1 was it…, from experience? — past question from what you lived -던가2 was it…, I wonder? — past question as a guess -라2 plain statement — -라 after 이다-type stems -으리오 how could it…? — rhetorical pushback, often with lament -소 …so — the old polite style of shopkeepers and elders

Words used above

Tap the speaker to hear it read aloud by your browser.

-으오-euoold polite ending
-오-oafter vowel stems
하오체hao-chehao speech level
공손gongsonpoliteness
옛말투yenmaltuolder speech

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. A historical-drama character politely asks another adult where they are going. Which line deliberately uses the older 하오체 colour?

2. You are emailing a client today to say that the document is here. Which sentence is the normal modern formal choice?

3. Which form correctly follows the consonant-final stem 먹- in the older -으오 pattern taught on this page?

Common questions

Speech level?

하오체 / older formal polite — drama, historical writing, playful period talk.

Vs -요?

-요 is living polite. -으오 is period colour.

Vs 합니다?

-습니다 is modern formal. Different century feel.

Should I use it in email?

Usually no — unless you want theatrical old politeness.

Seen in the wild

Lessons where this pattern showed up in real Korean — news, slang, drama lines.

Drama & Film Lines Advanced

Sageuk Speech: Hear It, Don't Wear It