Let's: -(으)ㅂ시다 / -자 (and Everyday -아/어요) | Korean Grammar

English has one word for proposing joint action — "let's" — and it is register-neutral: "let's go" works whether you are talking to your best friend or the company president. Korean instead has a genuine grammatical mood, the propositive ("let's ~"), and like everything else in the language it comes in a form per speech level. This page teaches the two dedicated propositive endings — formal -(으)ㅂ시다 and intimate -자 — plus the everyday fact that in ordinary polite speech you often just reuse the plain -아/어요. It also delivers a social warning that trips up every learner: the "polite" -(으)ㅂ시다 is not safe to aim upward.

Formal-polite: -(으)ㅂ시다

-(으)ㅂ시다 is the propositive of the formal 하십시오체. Its allomorphy is the familiar batchim split:

After a vowel stem or ㄹ-stem: -ㅂ시다 (갑시다, 시작합시다).
After a consonant stem: -읍시다 (먹읍시다, 앉읍시다).

우리 같이 점심 먹읍시다.

uri gachi jeomsim meogeupsida

Let's have lunch together. (먹다 → 먹읍시다)

시간이 없으니까 지금 시작합시다.

sigani eopseunikka jigeum sijakapsida

We're out of time, so let's start now. (시작하다 → 시작합시다)

힘냅시다! 거의 다 왔어요.

himnaepsida! geoui da wasseoyo

Let's hang in there! We're almost there. (힘내다 → 힘냅시다)

Here is the trap. -(으)ㅂ시다 is often glossed "formal polite," which misleads learners into thinking it is the safe, respectful "let's." It is not. It carries a top-down, take-charge tone — the voice of a leader rallying a group, a chairperson moving a meeting along, a coach. Among peers, colleagues, or people junior to you it is fine and even brisk. Aimed up at an elder, a boss, or a customer, it sounds presumptuous — as if you were issuing the group's marching orders to your own superior. See formal proposals -(으)ㅂ시다 for the register in depth.

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Do not let the label "formal polite" fool you: -(으)ㅂ시다 is commanding, not deferential. It is great for rallying equals or juniors (힘냅시다!, 시작합시다), but to a senior it sounds bossy. To propose something to someone above you, use the softer options below.

Proposing to a superior: -(으)시죠 and -(으)ㄹ래요?

So how do you say "let's…" to someone senior? You defer. Two everyday tools:

-(으)시죠 (가시죠, 드시죠) — the honorific -시- plus the soft suggestive 죠 (from 지요). It proposes joint action while raising the other person: "shall we, sir?" This is the go-to upward "let's."
-(으)ㄹ래요? (가실래요?) — frames it as their preference: "would you like to (go)?", leaving them room to decline. See -(으)ㄹ래요: volition.

부장님, 이제 그만하고 저녁 드시죠.

bujangnim, ije geumanhago jeonyeok deusijo

Director, let's wrap up and have dinner. (deferential 드시죠, not 먹읍시다)

선생님, 저쪽으로 가실래요?

seonsaengnim, jeojjogeuro gasillaeyo?

Teacher, shall we head over that way? (offering, not commanding)

Plain/intimate: -자

Among close friends, or downward to juniors and children, the propositive is -자. It attaches straight to any stem, no buffer vowel: 가자, 먹자, 놀자, 하자. This is the "let's" of the 반말 world.

이제 그만하자. 나 너무 피곤해.

ije geumanhaja. na neomu pigonhae

Let's stop now. I'm exhausted. (하다 → 하자)

심심한데 나가서 놀자.

simsimhande nagaseo nolja

I'm bored — let's go out and hang. (놀다 → 놀자)

배고프다. 우리 뭐 좀 먹자.

baegopeuda. uri mwo jom meokja

I'm hungry. Let's grab something to eat. (먹다 → 먹자)

Like all 반말, -자 is licensed only with people you may address casually. Aim it up and it is as jarring as any other misplaced intimate form.

The everyday default: plain -아/어요 as "let's"

Here is the reframing that saves beginners a lot of grief. In ordinary 해요체 conversation — the register you actually spend most of your day in — Korean routinely uses the plain -아/어요 present as a "let's." Just as 가요 can mean "I go / am going," it can also mean "let's go," decided by context. You often do not need -(으)ㅂ시다 at all, and to someone you should not command, you often should not use it.

우리 다음에 또 만나요.

uri daeume tto mannayo

Let's meet again next time. (plain 만나요 = 'let's meet')

날씨도 좋은데 같이 산책해요.

nalssido joeunde gachi sanchaekaeyo

The weather's nice — let's take a walk together. (산책하다 → 산책해요)

이제 슬슬 시작해요.

ije seulseul sijakaeyo

Let's get started now. (a gentle 해요체 'let's')

So the everyday map looks like this: with friends, -자; rallying a group of equals or juniors, -(으)ㅂ시다; in normal polite conversation with almost anyone, the unassuming -아/어요; and to a clear superior, the deferential -(으)시죠 / -(으)ㄹ래요?. The neighboring page on -(으)ㄹ까요? adds the softest of all — "shall we?" — which merely asks for agreement.

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The plain -아/어요 form is a hidden "let's." 같이 가요 already means "let's go together" in normal polite talk — no special ending required. Save -(으)ㅂ시다 for when you are genuinely taking charge of a group of equals or juniors.

Only action verbs propose

A propositive invites joint action, so it lives only on action verbs. You cannot propose to jointly be in a state: descriptive verbs (adjectives) do not normally take -(으)ㅂ시다 or -자. ✗맛있읍시다 ("let's be delicious") and ✗피곤합시다 ("let's be tired") are impossible, because being tasty or tired is not something a group decides to do together. The one fringe you will hear is a small set of idiomatic well-wishes — 행복하자 / 행복합시다 "let's be happy," 건강합시다 "let's stay healthy" — where the adjective is stretched into a shared resolution. Treat those as fixed expressions, not a green light to propose any state.

Common Mistakes

1. Aiming -(으)ㅂ시다 at a superior. It reads as commanding your own boss.

❌ (사장님께) 사장님, 이제 갑시다.

Presumptuous to a superior — 갑시다 commands the group. Say 가시죠 or 가실래요?

✅ (사장님께) 사장님, 이제 가시죠.

sajangnim, ije gasijo

Sir, shall we head off now? (deferential)

2. Forming a propositive from a descriptive verb. You can't propose a state.

❌ 우리 다 같이 피곤합시다.

Impossible — being tired isn't a joint action. Propositives are for action verbs only.

✅ 우리 다 같이 좀 쉽시다.

uri da gachi jom swipsida

Let's all take a break together. (쉬다, an action verb → 쉽시다)

3. Using -읍시다 where -ㅂ시다 belongs (or vice versa). The batchim decides.

❌ 우리 같이 점심 먹습시다.

Wrong ending — 먹다 takes -읍시다, not -습시다: 먹읍시다.

✅ 우리 같이 점심 먹읍시다.

uri gachi jeomsim meogeupsida

Let's have lunch together.

4. Using intimate -자 with someone you owe politeness. The mood is right; the register is too low.

❌ (선배에게) 우리 이거 같이 하자.

Too casual for a senior — use 해요, or 하시죠, not the intimate 하자.

✅ (선배에게) 우리 이거 같이 해요.

uri igeo gachi haeyo

Let's do this together. (polite)

Key Takeaways

The propositive ("let's ~") has a form per level: formal -(으)ㅂ시다 (갑시다, 먹읍시다), plain/intimate -자 (가자, 먹자).
In everyday polite talk, the plain -아/어요 doubles as "let's" (같이 가요) — often you need nothing more.
-(으)ㅂ시다 is commanding, not deferential. Great for equals/juniors; to a superior use -(으)시죠 (가시죠) or -(으)ㄹ래요? (가실래요?).
Propositives are action-verb only — ✗피곤합시다 is impossible (idioms like 행복하자 aside).
Allomorph reminder: -ㅂ시다 after vowel/ㄹ, -읍시다 after a consonant (먹읍시다, not ✗먹습시다).

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