On my earlier days of studying Korean, i have been introduced to some words that are called honorific. These are words that are used when talking to someone with high social status, government official, foreign guest, teachers etc.
When honorific words are used the polite (-요) or formal (-ㅂ니다/습니다) style of speech. Many of the honorific words I learned before are actually verb such as 주무시 (chumushi) instead or 자 (ja) for the word sleep or 드시 (dushi) instead of 먹다 (mokta) for the verb eat. Apart from these verbs, there are noun that are considered honorific. Here are some of the examples:
|
Regular Noun |
Honorific Noun |
English Meaning |
| 집 (jip) | 댁 (daek) | House |
| 나이 (nai) | 연세 (yeonse) | Age |
| 사람 (saram) | 분 (bun) | Person |
| 밥 (bap) | 진지 (chinji) | Rice |
| 아이 (ai) | 자 녀분 (cha nyeobun) | Children |
| 자 제분 (cha chebun) |
These are the nouns preferred when talking to an esteemed person.
It Started with Hangul 