honorific

1. Listener honorific

As we have learned, to be polite to the listener, we change the closing endings.

2. Subject honorific

If the subject is an elder, you need to pay attention to two things.

1. Use honorific markers; topic 은/는→께서는, subject 이/가→께서
2. Use honorific verbs;

Case 1. If there is a special honorific verb, memorize it and use it; 친구가 바나나를 먹어요 → 할아버지께서 바나나를 드세요 Case 2. If there is no special honorific verb, follow the ‘honorific suffix -시-’ rule; 친구가 책을 읽어요 → 할아버지께서 책을 읽으세요

(For case 2, please refer to the pre-ending -시- page for more details, and for now, let's learn the honorific verbs first.)

3. Object honorific

Some sentences have a recipient(indirect object) like, “저는 친구한테 꽃을 줘요. (I give flowers to my friend)”. '꽃' is the direct object of the sentence, while '친구' is the recipient of the action.

If the recipient is older or needs to be respected, you should pay attention to two things.

1. Use honorific person marker; 한테(에게) → 께

2. Use honorific verbs; 저는 할아버지께 꽃을 줘요 → 저는 할아버지께 꽃을 드려요