Commands and the Imperative in Korean: A Clear Guide
In Korean, commands can be expressed using the imperative form. There are different forms for informal and formal situations. Understanding these forms is essential for effective communication.
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The rule
To give a command in Korean, you typically use the verb stem followed by specific endings. For informal commands, you can add '-์/์ด' to the verb stem, while for formal commands, you use '-์ธ์' or '-์ญ์์ค'. To make negative commands, you use '์ง ๋ง์ธ์' or '์ง ๋ง' depending on the level of formality.
Commands and the Imperative at a glance
| Verb | Informal Command | Formal Command | Negative Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| ๊ฐ๋ค (to go) | ๊ฐ | ๊ฐ์ธ์ | ๊ฐ์ง ๋ง์ธ์ |
| ๋จน๋ค (to eat) | ๋จน์ด | ๋์ธ์ | ๋จน์ง ๋ง์ธ์ |
| ํ๋ค (to do) | ํด | ํ์ธ์ | ํ์ง ๋ง์ธ์ |
| ๋ณด๋ค (to see) | ๋ด | ๋ณด์ธ์ | ๋ณด์ง ๋ง์ธ์ |
| ์๋ค (to sleep) | ์ | ์ฃผ๋ฌด์ธ์ | ์์ง ๋ง์ธ์ |
Common verb conjugations for commands
Examples you can say out loud
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Frequently asked questions
How do I know when to use informal or formal commands?
Use informal commands with friends or people younger than you, and formal commands with elders or in professional settings.