Every commercial sign that says 어서 오십시오 ("welcome"), every flight attendant who says 안전벨트를 매 주십시오, every host who bids a departing guest 안녕히 가십시오 is using the third of the four 합니다체 endings: the formal imperative -(으)십시오. It is the most deferential command in everyday Korean — and the reason it can be a command and deeply respectful at the same time is a small piece of engineering hidden inside the ending, which this page pulls apart.
Building the ending
Attach the ending to the verb stem. A vowel/ㄹ-stem takes -십시오; a consonant stem takes -으십시오 (the -으- is a linking vowel that lets the consonant cluster be pronounced).
| Stem ends in… | Add | Example | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| a vowel | -십시오 | 가다 (go) | 가십시오 |
| a vowel | -십시오 | 오다 (come) | 오십시오 |
| a consonant | -으십시오 | 앉다 (sit) | 앉으십시오 |
| a consonant | -으십시오 | 읽다 (read) | 읽으십시오 |
이쪽으로 오십시오.
ijjogeuro osipsio
This way, please.
여기 앉으십시오.
yeogi anjeusipsio
Please have a seat here.
이 서류를 먼저 읽으십시오.
i seoryureul meonjeo ilgeusipsio
Please read this document first.
In 앉으십시오, the ㅈ of the double 받침 ㄵ liaises onto the -으-, giving [안즈십씨오]; in 읽으십시오, the ㄱ of ㄺ liaises, giving [일그십씨오]. The -으- exists precisely to give those trapped consonants a vowel to attach to.
The engineering: -(으)십시오 has -시- baked in
Look closely at the ending. It is not a bare imperative with a politeness coat on top — it literally contains the subject honorific -(으)시- (the same -시- taught on the honorific -시- page): -(으)시- + -ㅂ시오 → -(으)십시오. The command therefore elevates the very person you are ordering.
That is not an accident; it is the whole point. In Korean you would never bluntly command a superior. The only socially usable formal command is one that simultaneously honors its addressee — so the language fused the honorific into the imperative ending itself. When you tell a customer 앉으십시오, you are literally saying "[honored-you] please sit," with the respect built into the grammar.
Making a request: V-아/어 주십시오
For an actual favor — "please do X for me" — Korean layers the benefactive 주다 ("give") onto the main verb: V-아/어 + 주십시오. This is the polite workhorse of formal requests, and it is what you meet on signs and hear from staff far more than the bare command.
잠시만 기다려 주십시오.
jamsiman gidaryeo jusipsio
Please wait just a moment.
줄을 서 주십시오.
jureul seo jusipsio
Please line up.
안전선 뒤로 물러나 주십시오.
anjeonseon dwiro mulleona jusipsio
Please step back behind the safety line.
통화 중이오니 잠시 후에 다시 걸어 주십시오.
tonghwa jung-ioni jamsi hue dasi georeo jusipsio
The line is busy; please call again shortly.
The difference is one of framing: 기다리십시오 directs you to wait; 기다려 주십시오 asks you to do the speaker the favor of waiting. In service Korean, the second is almost always the warmer, more natural choice.
Where it lives — and the greeting split
- Retail and hospitality — 어서 오십시오 (welcome), 안녕히 가십시오 / 안녕히 계십시오 (goodbye), 이용해 주십시오.
- Public safety and announcements — 조심하십시오, 물러나 주십시오, airport and station instructions.
- Cabin and formal service — flight attendants, ceremony ushers, ushers' directions.
- Formal written directives — application forms ("기입하십시오"), official notices.
어서 오십시오. 몇 분이십니까?
eoseo osipsio. myeot bunisimnikka
Welcome. How many are in your party?
안녕히 가십시오. 또 오십시오.
annyeonghi gasipsio. tto osipsio
Goodbye, and please come again.
One classic pairing to memorize: to a person leaving, you say 안녕히 가십시오 ("go in peace"); to a person staying while you leave, 안녕히 계십시오 ("stay in peace"). The command distinguishes them because 가다 (go) and 계시다 (honorific "stay/be") are different verbs.
-(으)십시오 vs -(으)세요: a register choice, not a politeness choice
Its softer cousin is the 해요체 request -(으)세요 (앉으세요, 오세요). They share the identical -시- core — both elevate the addressee — so this is not a "more polite vs. less polite" pair. It is a register pair: -(으)십시오 is crisp, public 합니다체; -(으)세요 is warm, personal 해요체.
| 합니다체 (formal) | 해요체 (warm) | Typical setting |
|---|---|---|
| 어서 오십시오 | 어서 오세요 | dept. store vs. a small café |
| 여기 앉으십시오 | 여기 앉으세요 | an airport gate vs. a friend's mom's living room |
| 기다려 주십시오 | 기다려 주세요 | a PA announcement vs. asking a coworker |
A flight attendant says 앉으십시오; a friend's mother telling you to sit down for dinner says 앉으세요. Choosing between them is choosing the social costume, not measuring out respect. For the warm side of the pair, see -(으)세요 and the everyday imperative.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a casual imperative where the setting demands 합니다체. In service and public contexts, the plain 앉아 / 앉아라 (or even the warm 앉아요) is under-polite.
❌ 손님, 여기 앉아요.
Under-formal at a formal counter — 해요체 to a customer being seated ceremonially.
✅ 손님, 여기 앉으십시오.
sonnim, yeogi anjeusipsio
Please have a seat here, sir/ma'am.
2. Dropping the -으- after a consonant stem. The linking vowel is obligatory; without it the ending is unpronounceable.
❌ 이 서류를 읽십시오.
Incorrect — a consonant stem needs the linking -으-.
✅ 이 서류를 읽으십시오.
i seoryureul ilgeusipsio
Please read this document.
3. Doubling the 시. The ending already contains -시-, so adding another is redundant.
❌ 이쪽으로 오시십시오.
Incorrect — -십시오 already has -시- in it; you can't say -시-십시오.
✅ 이쪽으로 오십시오.
ijjogeuro osipsio
This way, please.
4. Adding 제발 to mean 'please.' The deference is in the ending; 제발 means "I beg you" and sounds desperate.
❌ 제발 여기서 기다리십시오.
Sounds like pleading — 제발 is not the 'please' of a polite request.
✅ 여기서 기다려 주십시오.
yeogiseo gidaryeo jusipsio
Please wait here.
5. Aiming 십시오 at an intimate. To a close friend or a subordinate you are casual with, 합니다체 commands sound robotic or mock-formal.
❌ 야, 여기 좀 앉으십시오.
Register whiplash — casual 야 then a ceremonial command.
✅ 야, 여기 좀 앉아.
ya, yeogi jom anja
Hey, sit here a sec.
Key Takeaways
- The 합니다체 command is -(으)십시오: vowel/ㄹ-stems take -십시오, consonant stems take -으십시오.
- The ending has the honorific -시- baked in, so it elevates the addressee — which is why there is no separate word for "please."
- For a favor, use V-아/어 주십시오 (기다려 주십시오), the warmest natural formal request.
- -(으)십시오 (formal) and -(으)세요 (warm) share the same -시- core: choosing between them is a register choice, not a politeness one.
- Watch the mechanics: keep the -으- on consonant stems, don't double the 시, and don't reach for 제발.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- 합니다체: The Formal Polite Style (-(스)ㅂ니다)TOPIK 1 — The formal-polite declarative -(스)ㅂ니다 — its batchim allomorphy, the ㄹ-drop, the [슴니다] pronunciation trap, and why 합니다체 is a distinct register, not just 'more polite 해요체.'
- -(으)ㅂ시다: Formal Proposals ('Let's')TOPIK 1 — The 합니다체 propositive -(으)ㅂ시다 — the formal 'let's,' which completes the four-mood set but carries a faint downward/peer vector, so it is not safe upward to a clear superior.
- -(으)세요: When -(으)시- Meets 어요TOPIK 1 — -(으)세요 is the everyday 해요체 face of the subject honorific — -(으)시- fused with -어요. It does double duty: a soft 'please…' request (여기 앉으세요) and an honorific statement or question about the subject (어디 가세요?). It is not a dedicated imperative like English 'please'; it is the honorific present that context reads as a request.
- Polite Commands & Requests: -(으)세요 / -(으)십시오TOPIK 1 — -(으)세요 is the everyday courteous 'please do X': it commands while raising the addressee, because it hides the honorific -시- inside. Its crisp formal sibling -(으)십시오 is the language of announcements and service. Includes the suppletive honorifics 드세요, 주무세요, 계세요.
- 해요체 vs 합니다체: Which Polite to UseTOPIK 1 — Both raise the listener, so this is a formality-and-distance choice, not a politeness one: 합니다체 is public and on-the-record, 해요체 is warm and conversational, and fluent speakers slide between them mid-interaction rather than picking one for life.