Level 1 / Lesson 6: -(으)세요 (Giving Commands / Asking Questions)
안녕! Hi, friends! Welcome to this next Level 1 lesson! I hope these lessons have been helping you out so far! This lesson is an important one because it deals with politely/formally giving commands and asking questions. We attach this -세요 to the ends of verbs to do this! Let’s start!
Using -(으)세요 to Give Polite Commands
Let’s discuss how we can use this pattern to give commands. You hear this sentence ending all the time, especially with those you meet for the first time. The formula for this is quite simple:
verb stem + (으)세요 = Please [verb]
Add 으 to verb stems ending in consonants.
Just add 세요 to those ending in vowels.
-세요 is a shortened version of -셔요, which comes from the suffix -시. In a nutshell, -시 is used to make verbs and adjectives more polite (I may elaborate in a future lesson, but for now let’s just focus on -세요).
If, for example, you are a receptionist at a doctor’s office and want to tell a patient to take a seat in the waiting room, you could say the following:
1. 거기 앉으세요 = Please sit there / Sit there (polite)
앉 + (으)세요 = 앉으세요 = Please sit (could also be translated as just “sit,” but it’s more polite than simply telling someone to sit down)
거기 앉으세요 = Please sit there.
2. 오늘은 공부하세요 = Please study today
공부하 + (으)세요 = 공부하세요 = Please study
오늘은 공부하세요 = Please study today.
3. 많이 드세요 = Please eat a lot
드시다 = polite version of 먹다, which means “to eat”
Because 드시다 is already a politer version of a verb, it can be just be conjugated as 드세요. Don’t say 먹으세요!
Waiters/waitresses will often say this phrase when they serve food to customers, so it’s good to know!
I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase “주세요” as well, which literally means “please give [me]”. You can attach 주세요 after any noun to politely ask for it. Let’s look at an example:
4. 계산서 주세요 = Please give me the bill
주 + (으)세요 = 주세요 = Please give me
계선서 주세요 = Please give me the bill / May I have the bill, please?
5. 짜장면 일인분 주세요 = Please give me one serving of jjajangmyun
짜장면 = jjajangmyun (Korean black bean sauce noodles)
일이분 = one serving (simply attach 이분 to a Sino-Korean number to say the number of servings you want. If you want two servings, for example, say 이인분)
주 + (으)세요 = 주세요 = Please give me
짜장면 일이분 주세요 = Please give me one serving of jjajangmyun / May I have one serving of jjajangmyun, please?
Using -(으)세요 to Politely Ask Questions
-세요 can also be attached to the ends of sentences to ask questions politely. These can be open- or close-ended. For instance:
1. 어디 가세요? = Where are you going?
가 + (으)세요 = 가세요 = Please go
Because there is a question mark on the end of this sentence, it simply becomes a more polite question rather than a command. Thus, “가세요?” would mean “Do you go?” or “Are you going?”
어디 가세요? = Where are you going?
2. 확실하세요? = Are you sure?
확실하다 = to be sure / to be certain
확실하 + (으)세요 = 확실하세요 = Please be sure
-(으)십시요: An Even More Formal Version of -(으)세요
-(으)십시요 is the same thing as -(으)세요, but is a very formal way of giving commands. You may not hear it as much as -(으)세요, but I just wanted to make note of it so you could recognize it in case you do come across it. It’s still a pretty common sentence ending, so it’s good to know! The formula for adding it to verbs is pretty much the same:
Verb stem + (으)십시요 = Please [verb]
Add 으 to verb stems ending in consonants.
Just add 십시요 to those ending in vowels.
The meanings of these two versions are the same, but those ending in -(으)십시요 are incredibly formal, so you should definitely use it when giving commands to those who deserve an extreme amount of respect.
That’s it for this lesson! I hope it helped! It’s good to know how to give commands and ask questions politely in Korean, so definitely keep these patterns in mind! 많이 공부하세요! Please study a lot! 질문을 하세요! Please ask questions too, if you have any! See you in the next lesson! 안녕!
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