For this week's class, we focused on common honorific suffix and titles. We know that in Korean, there are honorifics and informal languages, unlike English and Chinese. Even though there are honorific titles in both English (ma'am) and Chinese, but we don't really use them on a daily basis when meeting someone with higher titles.
씨 (shi)
When added to a name, this essentially means Mr./Mrs./Miss. It’s the most common and general honorific, and your go-to for someone who you’re unfamiliar with but is at a relatively equal social and conversational standing.
This suffix should always be attached after the first name of the individual, and not their surname.
For example, you could say:
- 김영철 씨 (Kim Young-chul shi, or basically “Mr. Kim Young-chul”)
- Or to be more casual, 영철 씨 (Young-chul shi, or “Mr. Young-chul”)
But you would not say 김 씨 (Kim shi). Attaching the suffix to the last name is seen as inappropriate or straight-up rude, so it’s best to avoid it altogether.
군 (goon) / 양 (yang)
Two honorifics that are not as common as 씨 but still about the same in meaning. 군 is used for younger and unmarried males and 양 is for younger and unmarried females. You’ll typically hear these at formal occasions, particularly weddings. One point of distinction from 씨 is that you can attach these two after the first or last name; doing the latter won’t give off a rude connotation like with 씨.
However, though you may occasionally hear these titles used by older folk, nowadays they may be seen as condescending for younger individuals since they can suggest that the listeners are to be submissive or assume certain gender roles. Therefore, while these two titles are useful to know, we recommend you not try to use them in everyday conversation.
님 (nim)
If you want to go the extra mile in respect, 님 is your honorific. This is a step above 씨 and generally for those of a profession or notable skill or status, such as a 선생님 (seon-saeng-nim — teacher) or a 목사님 (mok-sa-nim — pastor). It may also be heard during client interactions if an employee wants to be extra polite.
선배 (sun-bae) / 후배 (hu-bae)
These are for those who are your seniors or juniors respectively, either in age or experience, and are commonly heard in the workplace or at school. Because these aren’t age-restricted, you can call someone a senior even if they’re younger, should they be more experienced or at a higher position, and someone a junior if they’re older but less experienced. These honorifics can also be stand-alones, meaning they can be a pronoun by themselves—you can just call someone 선배 or 후배.
귀하 (gwi-ha)
This honorific is very formal and one you’ll likely see more often in writing than in conversation. 귀하 translates to “dear” and so you’ll see it most often in formal letters or when a company is addressing a valuable client, often with the full name like so: 윤희철 귀하 (Yoon Hee-chul-gwi-ha).
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