jabi-습니다, -습니까
-습니다: The Formal Ending, and When It Sounds Wrong
Formal polite ending (합니다체) — for presentations, broadcasts, service speech and first formal meetings.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stem ends in a vowel | -ㅂ니다 | 가다 → 갑니다 |
| Stem ends in a consonant | -습니다 | 먹다 → 먹습니다 |
| Stem ends in ㄹ | -ㅂ니다 (ㄹ drops) | 살다 → 삽니다 |
| Question | -ㅂ니까 / -습니까 | 갑니까? / 먹습니까? |
| Past tense | -았/었습니다 | 갔습니다 / 먹었습니다 |
합니다체 is the formal ending. It is what news anchors read, what cabin crew announce, what you use in a job interview, and what a soldier answers with.
It is also the ending learners overuse, because textbooks teach it first and “formal” gets mistaken for “safe.”
Building it
Strip -다 and look at the last letter of the stem.
Vowel → -ㅂ니다 (attached under the syllable)
Consonant → -습니다
ㄹ → drop the ㄹ, then -ㅂ니다
가다 → 가 (vowel) → 갑니다
먹다 → 먹 (consonant) → 먹습니다
살다 → 살 (ㄹ) → 삽니다
공부하다 → 공부합니다The ㄹ-drop is the one to watch. 살습니다 is wrong; it is 삽니다. The same thing happens before -(으)니까 — 살다 becomes 사니까. Korean drops ㄹ before several endings, and this is the first place you meet it.
Questions
Swap 다 for 까 and add a question mark:
갑니다 → 갑니까?
먹습니다 → 먹습니까?
Worth knowing, though in practice 합니다체 questions are rarer than statements — even in formal settings people often soften questions into 해요체.
When it actually fits
Use it for:
- Presentations, speeches, interviews
- The first formal introduction — 처음 뵙겠습니다
- Service speech, if you work in a shop or restaurant
- Written reports and announcements
- Military service, and workplaces that run like it
Do not use it for:
- Friends, however much older
- A friend’s parents (해요체 is right — see -아요 / -어요)
- Casual conversation of any kind
The mistake worth avoiding
Learners reach for 합니다체 with a new Korean friend, thinking more formal means more respectful. It does not read that way.
만나서 반갑습니다. — Pleased to make your acquaintance. (business introduction)
만나서 반가워요. — Nice to meet you. (a person, meeting a person)
Neither is rude. But over coffee with someone your own age, the first one puts a desk between you. Korean speech levels signal relationship, not just respect, and reaching for the formal one says we are not close and will not be.
The exceptions that froze
Some 합니다체 expressions escaped the register entirely. These are used by everyone, in every setting:
| 감사합니다 | thank you |
| 죄송합니다 | I’m sorry |
| 알겠습니다 | understood |
| 수고하셨습니다 | thanks for your work |
| 처음 뵙겠습니다 | pleased to meet you |
You will hear 감사합니다 between close friends without a hint of stiffness. Learn these as vocabulary, not as grammar.
The one-line version
Learn -아요 / -어요 first and use it for almost everything. Add 합니다체 for the frozen expressions above, and switch to it fully when you are standing in front of a room.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
In the Sejong course this appears in 저도 드라마를 좋아합니다 — Sejong Korean 1, Unit 3, on the theme of 일상생활. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. What is 먹다 in 합니다체?
2. What is 살다 in 합니다체?
3. You meet a friend's friend, roughly your own age, at a cafe. Which fits?
Common questions
Is 합니다체 more polite than 해요체?
More formal, not more polite. Both are polite. 합니다체 signals distance and occasion; 해요체 signals ordinary politeness. Using the formal one with a friend creates distance you probably did not intend.
Why do I hear 감사합니다 constantly then?
Some 합니다체 expressions froze into everyday use — 감사합니다, 죄송합니다, 알겠습니다. They no longer carry the formality the ending normally would.
Do Korean men use it more?
There is a real tendency, especially in the military, in service jobs and in hierarchical workplaces. It is about setting and role more than gender, and the pattern is weakening.
Which should I learn first?
해요체. It covers most of what you will say. Add 합니다체 for the fixed expressions above, then for presentations and formal introductions.
Seen in the wild
Lessons where this pattern showed up in real Korean — news, slang, drama lines.
TOPIK Listening: How Speech Level Gives Away the Answer
TOPIK listening mixes announcements, news-like lines, and everyday talk. Catching 합니다체 vs 해요체 — and when speech goes casual — is often enough to eliminate wrong choices.
Why Drama Characters Suddenly Switch to 반말
The switch is not friendship blooming on screen — it is a negotiation. 말 놓다, who gets to propose it, and why unlicensed 반말 reads as an insult.
Korean Future Tense: -겠-, -(으)ㄹ 거예요, and Present
English has will. Korean spreads 'later' across -겠-, -(으)ㄹ 거예요, and plain present. Here is which stance each one takes — including why -(으)ㄹ 거예요 has no Sejong slot.
Korean News Register: 알려졌다, 밝혔다, 보인다
Korean articles lean on a small set of formal endings. Learn what 알려졌다 and 밝혔다 signal — including when good papers try not to overuse them.
How to Read a Korean Weather Forecast
Korean forecasts reuse the same frames every day. Learn -겠- in 비가 오겠습니다, plus temperature, rain chance and fine-dust words, without inventing today's weather.
잘 부탁드립니다: The Phrase With No English Equivalent
Said on your first day, in every introduction, and at the end of any request. It asks the other person to treat you well — and English has nothing that does that.