반말 (also called 해체, the intimate style) is the speech of close friends, people clearly younger within an established relationship, siblings, children, and pets. Here is the good news: for statements and questions, 반말 is simply 해요체 minus 요. 가요 → 가, 먹어요 → 먹어, 해요 → 해, 봤어요 → 봤어. Because every contraction and irregularity lives in the part before 요, it all carries over untouched, so you barely learn a new ending. What you do learn is (1) a handful of moods that are not just 요-less, and (2) the social rule that matters far more than the grammar: 반말 is licensed by who you are talking to, not by what you are saying.
The full paradigm
Columns compare a vowel-stem verb (가다), a consonant-stem verb (먹다), 하다, and the copula (이다). Statements and questions share a form; the imperative, propositive, and suggestion do not.
| Mood | 가다 (go) | 먹다 (eat) | 하다 (do) | 이다 (copula) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statement | 가 ga | 먹어 meogeo | 해 hae | 이야 / 야 iya / ya |
| Question (rising) | 가? ga | 먹어? meogeo | 해? hae | 이야? / 야? iya / ya |
| Past | 갔어 gasseo | 먹었어 meogeosseo | 했어 haesseo | 이었어 / 였어 ieosseo / yeosseo |
| Imperative | 가 / 가라 ga / gara | 먹어 / 먹어라 meogeo / meogeora | 해 / 해라 hae / haera | — |
| Propositive (let's) | 가자 gaja | 먹자 meokja | 하자 haja | — |
| Suggestion -(으)ㄹ까? | 갈까? galkka | 먹을까? meogeulkka | 할까? halkka | — |
What is not just "drop 요"
The copula has its own intimate form. You cannot make 반말 out of 이에요/예요 by removing 요 — that leaves the impossible ×이에/×예. Instead the copula becomes 이야 after a consonant-final noun and 야 after a vowel-final noun: 학생이야 ("[I'm] a student"), 친구야 ("[it's] a friend"). The past follows the same split: 학생이었어 / 친구였어.
The imperative and propositive are dedicated endings. The gentle command is just the -아/어 form (가, 먹어 — the same as the statement), but the blunter, more directive command adds -아라/어라 (가라, 먹어라, 해라). The proposal is -자 (가자, 먹자, 하자) — note this is not the 요-less 해요체 suggestion (같이 가요 → 같이 가), but a form of its own. And a soft "shall we?" uses -(으)ㄹ까? (갈까?, 먹을까?).
Questions reuse the statement form. Like 해요체, 반말 has no separate question ending here — the rising pitch does the asking (가? = "you going?", 먹었어? = "did you eat?").
A note on the written command -(으)라: reported commands, slogans, and exam rubrics use 가라 / 먹으라 / 하라 (멈추라 "halt!"), distinct from the spoken 먹어라. That belongs to the 한다체/해라체 written register, covered on the imperative-across-levels page.
The forms in real sentences
야, 너 지금 어디 가?
ya, neo jigeum eodi ga?
Hey, where are you going right now? (to a close friend)
나 방금 밥 먹었어.
na banggeum bap meogeosseo
I just ate. (past — 먹었어요 minus 요)
쟤가 내 동생이야.
jaega nae dongsaeng-iya
That kid is my younger sibling. (이야 after a consonant)
여기가 우리 학교야.
yeogiga uri hakgyoya
This is our school. (야 after a vowel)
우리 이따가 같이 저녁 먹자.
uri ittaga gachi jeonyeok meokja
Let's have dinner together later. (propositive -자)
심심한데 우리 영화나 볼까?
simsimhande uri yeonghwana bolkka?
I'm bored — shall we watch a movie or something? (suggestion -ㄹ까?)
숙제부터 먼저 해라.
sukjebuteo meonjeo haera
Do your homework first. (blunt command -어라, e.g. a parent to a child)
너 진짜 이걸 혼자 다 했어?
neo jinjja igeol honja da haesseo?
Did you really do all of this by yourself? (past question, rising pitch)
The part that actually matters: who, not what
Every learner must hear this clearly: 반말 is not "rude language." Grammatically, 가 is not a coarser word than 가요 — it is the same verb. 반말 is intimacy-and-hierarchy marking. Used with the right person it signals warmth and closeness; used with the wrong person it signals disrespect, even though not a single word is impolite in itself. You may use it with close friends of similar age, people clearly younger within an established relationship, children, and pets — and with anyone you have explicitly agreed to speak casually with. You should not default to it with a stranger, someone older, a teacher, a boss, a customer, or an in-law, however friendly you feel.
How this differs from English
English has no grammatical intimacy level. It signals closeness through content — nicknames, slang, in-jokes — while the verb stays identical whether you address your best friend or a judge. Korean puts the closeness in the grammar: the very ending of the verb declares your relationship. So an English speaker's instinct — "we're friendly, so I'll relax my words" — is right in spirit but must be executed through a system, and only after the relationship licenses it. And unlike the tempting shortcut of reading 반말 as "the plain/blunt style," friend-to-friend speech is not the written 한다체 (간다, 먹는다) — that register is impersonal and can sound curt out loud. Intimate statements use -아/어 (가, 먹어), not -ㄴ다/는다.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 반말 upward or with a stranger. The grammar is fine; the relationship forbids it.
❌ 지금 어디 가?
Said to a boss, socially wrong — never aim 반말 upward; say 어디 가세요? or at least 어디 가요?
✅ 지금 어디 가세요?
jigeum eodi gaseyo?
Where are you headed now? (deferential, to a superior)
2. Making the copula 반말 by just deleting 요 (×친구예 / ×동생이에). The intimate copula is 야 / 이야.
❌ 얘는 내 친구예.
Wrong — you can't drop 요 from 친구예요; the 반말 copula is 야: 친구야.
✅ 얘는 내 친구야.
yaeneun nae chinguya
This is my friend.
3. Using the 한다체 as if it were casual chat (×나 지금 공부한다). Friend-to-friend, use 해, not 한다.
❌ 나 지금 공부한다.
Off — 한다체 (공부한다) is written/blunt, not intimate chat; say 공부해.
✅ 나 지금 공부해.
na jigeum gongbuhae
I'm studying right now.
4. Jumping to 반말 on a first meeting, even with a peer. Wait until you have agreed to 말 놓기.
❌ 너 몇 살이야?
On a first meeting, too familiar — use 몇 살이에요? until you've agreed to drop the 요.
✅ 몇 살이에요?
myeot sarieyo?
How old are you? (polite, first meeting)
Key Takeaways
- 반말 = 해요체 minus 요 for statements/questions: 가, 먹어, 해, 봤어 — contractions carry straight over.
- Copula is special: 이야 (after a consonant) / 야 (after a vowel), never ×이에/×예; past 이었어/였어.
- Dedicated moods: imperative 가 / 가라, propositive 가자, soft suggestion 갈까? — the propositive and blunt imperative are not just 요-less forms.
- Questions reuse the statement form; rising pitch asks (가? 먹었어?).
- 반말 is intimacy marking, not rudeness — the risk is the person, not the conjugation. When unsure, keep the 요.
Now practice Korean
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- 해요체: The Informal-Polite Conjugation TableTOPIK 1 — The reference table for 해요체, the default everyday polite register: stem + 아/어 by harmony + 요. One ending -아/어요 serves statement, question, and suggestion — intonation disambiguates. The register where the vowel contractions (와요, 줘요, 마셔요, 돼요, 해요) really bite.
- 한다체: The Plain / Written Conjugation TableTOPIK 3 — The reference table for 한다체 (해라체 / plain style) — the impersonal voice of books, news, diaries, narration, and reported speech — where the verb-vs-adjective split is at its sharpest: action verbs take -ㄴ다/-는다 (간다, 먹는다), adjectives stay bare -다 (좋다), and the copula is -(이)다.
- Imperative & Propositive Across All Speech LevelsTOPIK 2 — A focused look-up table for commands (imperative) and suggestions (propositive) — the two moods that vary most by speech level and trip learners most. Rows by level, columns splitting a vowel stem from a consonant stem to show 으-insertion, plus the negative-command row and the crucial 'don't aim -(으)ㅂ시다 upward' caveat.
- Casual/Intimate Speech -아/어 (반말, 해체)TOPIK 1 — 반말 (해체), the intimate style, is mostly 해요체 minus 요 — 가요→가, 먹었어요→먹었어 — with two things to memorize: the copula becomes 이야/야, and questions rise in pitch on the same form. The real skill is social, not grammatical.
- When 반말 Is Allowed (and the Danger of Rushing It)TOPIK 2 — 반말 is trivial to form but socially licensed only in narrow cases — a clearly acknowledged junior, close friends who have mutually agreed to drop 존댓말, family juniors, and children. Using it before it is earned reads not as friendliness but as talking down, which is exactly why unlicensed 반말 offends and why a deliberate drop into it can be a weapon.