English has one all-purpose word for the person you're talking to: you. Korean, remarkably, mostly does without it. Where English says "you," Korean fills the slot with the person's name + 씨, their title + 님, or their social role — and choosing the right one is itself a graded act of respect, not a stylistic nicety. This page is the reference table for those address terms, the tools you reach for instead of a second-person pronoun. Get one wrong and you don't just sound foreign; you can sound rude.
The master table
| Term / suffix | Attaches to | Register | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -님 | titles, roles, kin terms | deferential (up) | 사장님, 교수님, 고객님, 부모님 |
| -씨 | given name or full name | polite-neutral (across) | 민수 씨, 김민수 씨 |
| 선생님 | (stands alone) | all-purpose respectful | 선생님, 이거 얼마예요? |
| job title + 님 | rank words | workplace deference | 부장님, 과장님, 팀장님 |
| 여러분 | (stands alone, plural) | addressing a group | 여러분, 안녕하세요 |
| kinship as address | kin terms (relatives & non-) | warm / familiar | 형님, 어머님, 이모, 오빠 |
| vocative -야 / -아 | bare given name | intimate (down / close) | 민수야, 지영아 |
| 너 / 당신 | — | see caution below | (not neutral "you") |
The governing fact behind the whole table: Korean almost never uses a bare given name except downward — to a child, a much younger person, or a close friend. So English's breezy "Hey, John" at the office becomes 민수 씨 or 김 과장님, never bare 민수.
-님: the deferential lift
-님 is the highest-frequency honorific suffix, and it attaches to titles and roles to address anyone above you — by their position, not their name. 선생님 (teacher), 사장님 (boss/owner), 부장님 (department head), 교수님 (professor). It is also enormously productive in commercial and online life: 고객님 (customer), 회원님 (member), 손님 (guest), and even full names at service counters (홍길동 님).
부장님, 잠깐 시간 괜찮으세요?
bujangnim, jamkkan sigan gwaenchaneuseyo
Sir, do you have a moment? (to your department head)
고객님, 이쪽으로 오세요.
gogaengnim, ijjogeuro oseyo
This way, please. (a clerk to a customer)
손님, 주문하시겠어요?
sonnim, jumunhasigesseoyo
Are you ready to order, sir/madam? (a server to a guest)
-님 also rides on kin terms toward respected elders — 부모님 (parents), and, deferentially, 어머님/아버님 (someone else's mother/father, or your in-laws).
부모님께 안부 전해 주세요.
bumonimkke anbu jeonhae juseyo
Please give my regards to your parents. (부모님)
-씨: polite-neutral, on a name
-씨 attaches to a person's name — full name (김민수 씨) or given name (민수 씨) — and marks level, horizontal respect: the default for peers, colleagues, and classmates at a mild social distance.
민수 씨, 이거 좀 도와줄 수 있어요?
minsu ssi, igeo jom dowajul su isseoyo
Minsu, could you help me with this for a sec? (colleague)
김민수 씨 계세요?
gimminsu ssi gyeseyo
Is Mr. Kim Minsu here?
Two limits define -씨, and both surprise learners. First, it is not for a clear superior — calling your boss 민수 씨 sounds presumptuously flat, as if you'd leveled the hierarchy. Second, -씨 on a bare surname (김 씨, 이 씨) is not polite: it reads as curt and slightly demeaning, the way a foreman might bark a laborer's family name. Attach 씨 to a given or full name — never a lone surname.
선생님: the safe default, and 여러분 for groups
선생님 literally means "teacher," but its second life is far more useful: it is the all-purpose polite address for any adult you have no other title for — a stranger you need to flag, an older person whose job you don't know, someone at a desk. When you're unsure how to address a respectable adult, 선생님 is almost never wrong. (To flag a stranger before any address term, 저기요 "excuse me" is the neutral opener.)
선생님, 이거 어떻게 하는지 잘 모르겠어요.
seonsaengnim, igeo eotteoke haneunji jal moreugesseoyo
Excuse me, I really don't know how to do this. (to a stranger)
For a whole audience, the address word is 여러분 ("everyone / all of you") — the group counterpart to "you," heard in speeches, classrooms, and announcements.
여러분, 잠깐 주목해 주세요.
yeoreobun, jamkkan jumokae juseyo
Everyone, may I have your attention, please?
Kinship as address — even for non-relatives
Korean addresses people by kin terms far more than English does, and often for people you're not related to (fictive kinship). Toward an older person you can use the kin word that fits — with the wrinkle that some depend on the speaker's gender: a man calls an older male friend 형(님), a woman calls him 오빠. For in-laws and respected elders, the -님 forms 어머님/아버님/형님 add deference.
형님, 이번 주말에 시간 되세요?
hyeongnim, ibeon jumare sigan doeseyo
Brother, are you free this weekend? (deferential 형님)
어머님, 이거 제가 들어 드릴게요.
eomeonim, igeo jega deureo deurilgeyo
Mother, let me carry this for you. (to a mother-in-law)
For the full map of kin and fictive-kin address (이모, 아저씨, 언니, 누나), see titles & kinship address.
Why 너 and 당신 are NOT your "you"
Do not fill the "you" slot with a pronoun by default. 너 is the intimate second person — banmal only, for close friends and juniors; using it upward is jarring. And 당신 is a false friend: it is not a neutral "you." It is intimate (spouses use it for each other), literary/poetic, or — pointedly — confrontational (the "you" of an argument). Reaching for 당신 as a textbook "you" with a stranger sounds either oddly intimate or aggressive. The native move is to drop the pronoun entirely and let an address term or the honorific -시- carry it. (More on the pronoun system: 너 / 당신.)
어디에서 오셨어요?
eodieseo osyeosseoyo
Where are you from? (no 'you' — the honorific -시- carries it)
Common Mistakes
1. Calling a superior 씨. A boss with a title takes title + 님, never name + 씨.
❌ 민수 씨, 이 서류 좀 확인해 주세요.
Said to your 부장 — 씨 flattens the hierarchy. Use 부장님.
✅ 부장님, 이 서류 좀 확인해 주세요.
bujangnim, i seoryu jom hwaginhae juseyo
Sir, could you check this document?
2. -씨 on a bare surname. 김 씨 is brusque; attach 씨 to a given or full name.
❌ 김 씨, 여기 좀 앉으세요.
Surname + 씨 is curt, near-rude. Use the given name.
✅ 민수 씨, 여기 좀 앉으세요.
minsu ssi, yeogi jom anjeuseyo
Minsu, please have a seat here.
3. Using 당신 as a plain "you." With a stranger, drop the pronoun and use -시-.
❌ 당신은 어디에서 왔어요?
당신 is intimate/confrontational, not a neutral 'you' — drop it: 어디에서 오셨어요?
✅ 어디에서 오셨어요?
eodieseo osyeosseoyo
Where are you from?
4. Stacking 씨 onto a title. 씨 goes on names; a title already carries 님.
❌ 선생님 씨, 질문 있어요.
씨 can't attach to a title — 선생님 is already complete.
✅ 선생님, 질문 있어요.
seonsaengnim, jilmun isseoyo
Teacher, I have a question.
Key Takeaways
- Korean fills the "you" slot with address terms, not a pronoun: name + 씨, title + 님, or a social role.
- -님 = deferential lift on titles/roles/kin (사장님, 교수님, 고객님, 부모님) — for superiors, customers, and elders.
- -씨 = polite-neutral, name + 씨 (민수 씨, 김민수 씨) — for peers; never for a clear superior, never on a bare surname (김 씨 is curt).
- 선생님 = the safe all-purpose address for any adult with no known title; 여러분 = addressing a group.
- 너 is banmal-only; 당신 is intimate/poetic/confrontational — neither is a neutral "you." Drop the pronoun and let -시- carry it.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- 씨 vs 님 vs 선생님: How to Address SomeoneTOPIK 2 — The three main respectful ways to name a person to their face — 씨 on a name, 님 on a title, and the all-purpose 선생님 — and how to pick the right height.
- Titles, Kinship & Fictive-Kin Address (부장님, 언니, 이모, 민수야)TOPIK 3 — How Koreans actually address each other day to day — by role and kin term, not by name — and why the right to call someone by their bare name is itself a measure of intimacy.
- Honorific Nouns (높임 명사): Plain → Elevated Reference TableTOPIK 3 — The consolidated table of Korean nouns that swap to a separate elevated form for a respected person — 밥→진지, 집→댁, 이름→성함, 나이→연세, 사람→분, 말→말씀, 생일→생신, 병→병환, 딸/아들→따님/아드님 — plus the two-way word 말씀 and the concord rule that makes an honorific noun pull 께서 and -(으)시- onto the whole clause.
- Second Person: 너, 당신, 그쪽 — and Why 'you' Is a TrapTOPIK 1 — Korean has no safe, all-purpose word for 'you'. 너 is intimate and downward, 당신 is for spouses, ads, or fights, and 그쪽 keeps distance — the polite move is to use a name, a title, or no pronoun at all.
- N님 as Subject and 께서는: The Honorific TopicTOPIK 2 — Two composable building blocks — the suffix 님 turns a role or title into a respectful noun that takes honorific marking, and 께서 combines with the topic particle 는 to give 께서는, the honored-subject counterpart of 은/는.