Casual/Intimate Speech -아/어 (반말, 해체) | Korean Grammar

Here is the best news in Korean conjugation: once you can build the 해요체 form, you already know almost all of 반말 (also called 해체, the intimate style) — because 반말 is, for the most part, just 해요체 with the 요 sliced off. 가요 → 가, 먹었어요 → 먹었어, 마셔요 → 마셔, 했어요 → 했어. You barely learn a new ending. What you do have to learn is the social side: who you are allowed to use it with. This page covers both — the tiny grammar and the not-tiny etiquette.

The main rule: drop the 요

Take any 해요체 form and remove the final 요. What's left is 반말. Because all the vowel contractions and irregularities live in the part before 요, they carry over untouched.

해요체 (polite)	반말 (intimate)	Gloss
가요	가	go
먹어요	먹어	eat
마셔요	마셔	drink
봤어요	봤어	saw / watched
했어요	했어	did
좋아요	좋아	is good / (I) like it

나 지금 공부해.

na jigeum gongbuhae

I'm studying right now. (반말)

이거 진짜 맛있어.

igeo jinjja masisseo

This is really tasty. (반말)

나 어제 그 영화 봤어.

na eoje geu yeonghwa bwasseo

I watched that movie yesterday. (반말)

That is the whole system for statements. Notice there's nothing new to conjugate — 공부해 is just 공부해요 minus 요; 봤어 is 봤어요 minus 요. If you can already say it politely, you can say it casually.

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반말 is learned by subtraction, not addition. Don't invent a separate set of endings — 90% of 반말 is "the 해요체 form, minus 요." Master the polite present and past, and the intimate style comes almost free.

Two things that are NOT just "drop 요"

1. The copula becomes 이야 / 야. You cannot make 반말 out of 이에요/예요 by removing 요 — that would leave the impossible 이에/예. Instead the copula has its own intimate form: 이야 after a consonant, 야 after a vowel.

쟤가 내 동생이야.

jyaega nae dongsaeng-iya

That kid's my younger sibling. (이야 after a consonant)

여기가 우리 학교야.

yeogiga uri hakgyoya

This is our school. (야 after a vowel)

The past copula follows the same logic: 이었어요/였어요 → 이었어/였어 (그때는 학생이었어 "I was a student back then").

2. Questions use the same form — the pitch does the asking. 반말 has no special question ending in this style. You take the statement form and raise your intonation at the end. So 가 said flat is "I'm going," and 가? said with a rising pitch is "Are you going?"

어디 가?

eodi ga?

Where are you going? (반말 — same form, rising pitch)

밥 먹었어?

bap meogeosseo?

Have you eaten? (lit. did you eat?) (반말)

너 뭐 먹어?

neo mwo meogeo?

What are you eating? (반말)

This is why context and intonation matter so much in casual Korean: the difference between telling and asking is carried entirely by the melody of the sentence, not by the words. (For casual commands and suggestions — 가! "go!", 같이 가! "let's go!" — see 반말 across the moods.)

Who you can use it with — the part that actually matters

Every learner needs to hear this clearly: 반말 is not "rude language." It is intimacy-and-hierarchy marking. Grammatically, 가 is not a coarser word than 가요 — it's the same verb. What makes 반말 risky is social: using it with the wrong person. Used with the right person it signals closeness and warmth; used with the wrong person it signals disrespect, even though not a single word is impolite in itself.

You may use 반말 with:

Close friends of similar age.
Younger siblings and people clearly younger than you within an established relationship.
Children and pets.
People with whom you have explicitly agreed to speak casually.

You should not default to 반말 with a stranger, someone older, a teacher, a boss, a customer, or an in-law — regardless of how the grammar tempts you.

야, 너 오늘 시간 있어?

ya, neo oneul sigan isseo?

Hey, do you have time today? (to a close friend)

말 놓기: switching to 반말 is negotiated

Between two adults who are not yet close, the move from 존댓말 (polite speech) to 반말 is a small social ritual called 말 놓다 or 말 놓기 ("to set the speech down"). Crucially, it is usually proposed by the older or higher-status person — 우리 말 놓을까요? ("shall we drop the formalities?") or 말 놔도 돼 ("you can speak casually with me"). The younger person waits to be invited. Unilaterally dropping 요 with someone senior, even if you feel friendly, reads as presumptuous.

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When in doubt, keep the 요. It is always safe to be a notch too polite, and never safe to be a notch too casual. Let the senior person open the door to 반말; then walk through it. (See when 반말 is licensed and negotiating 말 놓기.)

Common Mistakes

1. Dropping 요 with someone who outranks you. The grammar is fine; the relationship is not.

❌ (사장님께) 어디 가?

Socially wrong — never use 반말 to a boss; say 어디 가세요? or at least 어디 가요?

✅ (사장님께) 어디 가세요?

eodi gaseyo?

Where are you going? (deferential, to a superior)

2. Making the copula 반말 by just deleting 요. 이에요 → 이에 is not a word; the intimate copula is 이야.

❌ 얘는 내 친구예.

Wrong — you can't drop 요 from 친구예요; the 반말 copula is 야.

✅ 얘는 내 친구야.

yaeneun nae chinguya

This is my friend.

3. Same error with a consonant-final noun. 동생이에요 → 동생이에 is impossible; use 이야.

❌ 얘는 내 동생이에.

Wrong — 이에요 minus 요 isn't 반말; use 이야.

✅ 얘는 내 동생이야.

yaeneun nae dongsaeng-iya

This is my younger sibling.

4. Inventing a special "casual conjugation" instead of subtracting 요. Learners sometimes reach for the written plain style 한다체 (공부한다) thinking it's the "casual" form. It isn't — 한다체 is impersonal/written; friend-to-friend speech is 공부해.

❌ 나 지금 공부한다.

na jigeum gongbuhanda

Off — 한다체 (공부한다) is written/blunt, not intimate chat; say 공부해.

✅ 나 지금 공부해.

na jigeum gongbuhae

I'm studying right now.

5. Going straight to 반말 on a first meeting. Even with someone your own age, wait until you've agreed to 말 놓기.

❌ (초면에) 너 몇 살이야?

Too familiar on a first meeting — 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. 가요→가, 먹었어요→먹었어, 했어요→했어. Vowel contractions carry straight over.
Copula is special: 이야 / 야 (동생이야, 친구야) — never ×이에/×예.
Questions reuse the statement form; the rising pitch asks (가? 먹었어?).
반말 is intimacy marking, not rudeness — the error is the person, not the grammar.
Switching to 반말 (말 놓기) is a negotiated step, usually opened by the elder/senior. When unsure, keep the 요.

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