Korean grammar patterns › Level 1
-(으)세요
please do (polite request); honorific present
Level 1 · TOPIK I · beginner
How to use it
1) A polite request or instruction: 'please do'. 2) The honorific present (-(으)시- + -어요) for describing or asking about someone you respect: 어디 가세요?
Forming it
| 가다 | → 가세요 |
| 읽다 | → 읽으세요 |
| 만들다 | → 만드세요 |
| 걷다 | → 걸으세요 |
Special honorific verbs: 먹다/마시다 → 드세요, 자다 → 주무세요, 있다 (be somewhere) → 계세요. ㄹ-stems drop ㄹ: 만들다 → 만드세요. Requests only with verbs.
Examples
추우니까 따뜻한 옷을 입으세요.
It's cold, so wear warm clothes.
할머니는 매일 아침 공원을 걸으세요.
My grandmother walks in the park every morning.
Compared with similar patterns
-(으)십시오 is the formal command used in announcements and formal speech. -(으)시- is the honorific marker that -(으)세요 contains; it combines with any tense or ending.