If the statement ending -(스)ㅂ니다 is 합니다체 standing at attention, then -(스)ㅂ니까? is 합니다체 raising its hand. It is the interrogative twin of the declarative, formed the same way, differing by a single syllable — 니다 becomes 니까 — and it is the ending behind the most iconic phrases of Korean service and broadcasting: 어떻게 오셨습니까?, 안녕하십니까?, 무엇을 도와드릴까요? (the last in its softer 해요체 cousin). This page teaches how to build it and, more importantly, the structural idea it embodies: in this register, the morphology carries the question, not the tone of your voice.
Building the ending
Take the stem and swap in the question ending. The vowel/consonant split is identical to the declarative.
| Stem ends in… | Add | Example | Question form |
|---|---|---|---|
| a vowel | -ㅂ니까? | 가다 (go) | 갑니까? |
| a vowel (ㄹ-stem) | -ㅂ니까? (ㄹ drops) | 살다 (live) | 삽니까? |
| a consonant | -습니까? | 먹다 (eat) | 먹습니까? |
| a consonant | -습니까? | 있다 (be/have) | 있습니까? |
The copula asks with 입니까? ("is it…?"). Just like the statement, the ㅂ nasalizes before ㄴ, so every one of these is pronounced with → [감니까], 습니까 → [슴니까], 입니까 → [임니까].
실례합니다, 화장실이 어디입니까?
sillyehamnida, hwajangsiri eodiimnikka
Excuse me, where is the restroom?
이 자리에 앉아도 됩니까?
i jarie anjado doemnikka
May I sit here?
다른 질문 있으십니까?
dareun jilmun isseusimnikka
Do you have any other questions?
The core idea: the ending is the question mark
This is where a 합니다체 question differs from everything English trains you to do. English turns a statement into a question in two ways: it reorders words ("You are going" → "Are you going?") and it raises the pitch at the end. Korean 해요체 does the second of those — 가요 is both "goes" and "goes?", and only the rising intonation tells them apart.
합니다체 does neither. It changes the ending itself. 갑니다 (statement) and 갑니까 (question) are different words, so the sentence type is fixed by grammar the instant you choose the ending. You do not need to raise your pitch, and you do not need a question mark: a 합니다체 question parses as a question on paper, in a flat monotone, in a printed exam prompt — anywhere.
회의가 몇 시에 끝납니까?
hoeuiga myeot sie kkeunnamnikka
What time does the meeting end?
언제쯤 출발하십니까?
eonjejjeum chulbalhasimnikka
About when will you be leaving?
In 끝납니까, the ㅌ of 끝 nasalizes to [ㄴ] before 나, so the whole thing is [끈남니까] — two nasal assimilations feeding each other.
Pairing with the honorific -시- for maximum deference
Formal questions are constantly aimed upward — at customers, guests, elders, superiors — so they very often carry the subject honorific -시-, which elevates the person you are asking about. Because 시 ends in a vowel, it takes the -ㅂ니까 allomorph: 가시 + ㅂ니까 → 가십니까 [가심니까].
어디 가십니까?
eodi gasimnikka
Where are you off to?
식사하셨습니까?
siksahasyeotseumnikka
Have you eaten?
실례지만, 성함이 어떻게 되십니까?
sillyejiman, seonghami eotteoke doesimnikka
Excuse me, may I ask your name?
That third line is the textbook-correct way to ask a stranger's name in a formal setting: 이름 (plain "name") is replaced by the honorific noun 성함, and the verb carries -시-. Asking 이름이 뭐예요? instead is not wrong, just markedly more casual — a register mismatch at a bank counter or a first business meeting.
Where you hear it
- Service, opening a transaction — 어떻게 오셨습니까? ("How may I help you?"), 무엇을 찾으십니까? ("What are you looking for?").
- News anchors' questions — to correspondents and interviewees.
- The military and uniformed report — questions up the chain of command.
- Formal interviews — the interviewer's questions, the candidate's answers.
- Set greetings — 안녕하십니까? is literally "are you at peace?", a 합니다체 question frozen into a greeting.
고객님, 어떻게 오셨습니까?
gogaengnim, eotteoke osyeotseumnikka
How may I help you, sir/ma'am?
자리 있습니까? 네 명입니다.
jari itseumnikka? ne myeong-imnida
Do you have a table? For four.
Note 명입니다 → ㅇ 받침 of 명 stays [ŋ] before the vowel of 입 (hence the hyphen, myeong-imnida), and the ㅂ of 입 nasalizes to [ㅁ] before 니.
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping the statement ending and just raising your pitch. This is the deepest English-transfer error. You must switch the ending; intonation alone does not make a 합니다체 question.
❌ 지금 출발합니다?
Incorrect for this register — you can't turn -ㅂ니다 into a question with rising pitch.
✅ 지금 출발합니까?
jigeum chulbalhamnikka
Are you leaving now?
2. Using -습니까 on a vowel stem. Vowel stems take -ㅂ니까; only consonant stems take -습니까.
❌ 어디 가습니까?
Incorrect — 가- is a vowel stem, so it's 갑니까.
✅ 어디 갑니까?
eodi gamnikka
Where are you going?
3. Forgetting the ㄹ-drop. A ㄹ-stem drops its ㄹ before the ending in questions too.
❌ 이 근처에 사십니까? — 아니요, 서울에 살습니까...
Incorrect — 살- drops the ㄹ, giving 삽니다 / 삽니까.
✅ 이 근처에 사십니까? — 아니요, 서울에 삽니다.
i geuncheoe sasimnikka? — aniyo, seoure samnida
Do you live near here? — No, I live in Seoul.
4. Reading a hard [p] in 니까. As with the statement, 갑니까 is [감니까], not [갑니까].
❌ 뭘 드시겠습니까?
Fine to write — but say [드시겓씀니까], never a hard p.
✅ 뭘 드시겠습니까?
mwol deusigetseumnikka
What would you like to have (eat)?
5. Asking upward with a plain noun instead of the honorific. In a formal question, elevate both the verb (with -시-) and the relevant noun.
❌ 이름이 뭡니까?
Blunt in a formal setting — plain 이름, no -시-.
✅ 성함이 어떻게 되십니까?
seonghami eotteoke doesimnikka
May I have your name, please?
Key Takeaways
- The 합니다체 question is -(스)ㅂ니까?: vowel stems and ㄹ-stems (ㄹ drops) take -ㅂ니까, consonant stems take -습니까, and the copula is 입니까.
- Unlike 해요체 (and English), 합니다체 marks the question morphologically — the ending, not the intonation, makes it a question, so it works even in flat, printed, monotone contexts.
- It very often carries the honorific -시- (가십니까, 되십니까) because formal questions usually point upward.
- Pronounce the ㅂ as [감니까], 습니까 [슴니까], 입니까 [임니까].
- The four 합니다체 endings mark four moods; this is the question. Next: -(으)십시오 commands.
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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)십시오: Formal CommandsTOPIK 1 — The 합니다체 imperative -(으)십시오 — the most deferential everyday command, which bakes the honorific -시- into the ending so it elevates the very person it directs, and which pairs with the warmer 해요체 request -(으)세요.
- One Ending, Four Jobs: 해요 by IntonationTOPIK 1 — In 해요체 a single -아/어요 form serves as statement, question, command, and proposal — split not by morphology but by intonation and context, which is why Koreans lean on cues like 같이, 좀, and -나요 to keep flat text unambiguous.
- Formal Questions: -(스)ㅂ니까?TOPIK 1 — The 합니다체 question ending -(스)ㅂ니까? — the one register where Korean marks a question with a distinct ending — its batchim allomorphy, ㄹ-elision, copula and honorific forms, and where it belongs.
- 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.