Why you shouldn’t call someone “ssi” in Korean

[@Tujae_]

I've been asking my friends for this explanation, but they're pretty much like "Whatever is fine". But mentally I'm like "I really want to be respectful 😭"

[@talktomeinkorean]

Since they are friends, they are probably really fine with whatever option, but the points in this video will be good general guidelines to follow : )

[@corey_el]

항상 그래요 ㅎㅎ

[@missheju169]

Hi, I know it might not be the same but whenever someone allowed someone else to be unaware of some unwritten rules. To my opinion that person doesn’t care or mind someone’s else ignorance.

[@samon_kurowassan]

Not all Koreans can teach Korean, same with not all Americans can teach English. Teaching, translating, and speaking are all different skills. It's because speaking is mostly intuitive, like right now, I'm not really thinking about grammar rules while writing this.Teaching requires you to be conscious of the rules and dissect sentences.

[@Tujae_]

@@samon_kurowassan Alright. I'm not sure if this is a reply to my post, since it doesn't seem to relate to what I said. Thanks for sharing.

[@briana8404]

I found this out a year ago when I called my Korean coworker “Kim 씨“ who’s more than 10 years older. She also told me I shouldn’t add 씨 to the last name because it’s like extra rude. I was so confused because I thought I was being respectful but I was actually being rude unintentionally

[@deanacass9824]

Also dding "ssi" to last names are usually attributed to those who are servants, so it's basically calling someone your servant when you call their last name + "ssi."

[@SVJY15]

Isn't it because her name sound a lot like Kimtchi ?? 😂

[@starch_trw]

​@@SVJY15 😂😂😂

[@rhadamantesomething3020]

To me, 씨 sounds a lot more impersonal. It's fine if you're talking *about* someone, but directly addressing someone older than you with it kinda sounds like you're doing the bare minimum. Especially at work where it seems to make more sense to just use the person's job title.

[@Ramenenglish]

Also it’s not used with last names just their first names.

[@jadesx96]

Honestly this aspect of the Korean culture is just fascinating from the sheer perspective that as one of the youngest in my office space, my coworkers HATE being reminded that they're older than me! It's like a 180 flip on please treat me like you would someone your own age so you don't make me feel old haha. It's amazing how ingrained the culture of respect is with the Korean language this is why I love learning new languages

[@SweetforS]

Also the culture of being being young as possible. In America, we pretend to be older so we can do things we want (drink, party, consume media). In Korea, they start to believe they are old at 25 (Korean age so actually only 23-24) where over here it’s typically 30. They don’t appreciate being called uncle or aunt because it makes them feel old and they don’t like that. Well I hope they’ll be happy to lose 1-2 years in a couple days.

[@rachelbiju1099]

Yess! Where I come from, people older than you (but not related, and not in a professional setting) are usually called "uncle" or "aunty". Someone who's closer in age but still older will be respectfully addressed "older brother or sister" in my language. But coming to the UK meant that even people who have migrated from my country have adapted. They don't prefer being called by anything apart from their names, regardless of age difference. It was weird in the start, and definitely a personal preference of the people I met with.

[@jessicapeyton5444]

It's the same here. As soon as I became an older teenager people didn't like me calling them "ma'am" because it made them feel old lolll. Now that I'm almost 30 I get where they were coming from haha

[@raquel5401]

that's why I love TTMIK, coming from a really casual culture, I would offend people left and right in Korea and it would be completely unintentional. In my work place we are all very informal with each other, even the CEO of the hospital where I work just goes by his first name.

[@SweetforS]

@@raquel5401 lmao in my university in freshman year, we had a teacher tell us to call him by his first name, and then ppl went absolutely wild with that and gave him a bunch of less than flattering nicknames for him and I’m sure word got around back to him and now the class a year below me said he doesn’t tell them to call him by his first name anymore lmao 💀. I asked “did he tell you to call him [name]?” and she was like “what?”. So yeah 😅

[@cherylschaeffer7832]

This is very interesting as I hadn't heard this explanation anywhere else. I did notice when I joined as a patreon member for Jream 선생님 that she calls all of us ㅇㅇ님. Previously, I was told that 씨 / 님 were the same and that 님 was used more in writing or online where 씨 was more colloquial. Your explanation makes a lot more sense and explaining how the TTMIK team speaks with each other on camera vs off camera was very insightful. 진짜 감사합니다!

[@talktomeinkorean]

So happy to hear that this was interesting and helpful to you : ) Thank you very much!

[@KaptainCanuck]

I understood that -nim was used only with titles and -sshi was only applied to proper names. I learned something not mentioned in all I have read about Korean etiquette. Just think, in Japan and Okinawa, "hai" means YES, but it is also not used in some situations.

[@jeff__w]

3:26 So it sounds like gradually people are defaulting to “님” because, being more respectful, it’s the “safer” option (unless you’re merely listing people, which isn’t viewed as addressing them). That fits with my theory that, if Korean ever tends to “flatten” a bit over time, it will default to the more _formal_ forms just as English did by about 1800 when the informal _thou_ was gradually dropped in favor of the more formal _you_ (which isn’t viewed as formal _or_ informal in modern English).

[@michaelcorbett4236]

I was thinking the same thing. I didn't know "you" was the formal in English until recently. It makes you think. English is always polite even though the words can be shortened and it sounds more familiar. In fact, the way you are more polite in English is often by using correct grammar and full sentences. But I was also thinking about work and also how titles are used in Ireland (and the UK). I'd say we have a permission culture where you ask someone how they want to be called and then respect that by calling them that name rather than an expectation culture of assuming that someone will call you something. It works with neighbours who I still call Mr and Mrs even though I'm mid 40s yet they tell me to call them by their names. Or how your uncles and aunts tell you to stop using uncle and aunt and then after that if you do still say "Aunt..." they look at you funny. My wife (a Filipina) still can't get that. We still use "tito" and "tita" for friends, aunts, uncles when in the Philippines. She would never call older people their names alone.

[@talktomeinkorean]

Good observation about the similarity between what happened with the word for "you" in English : ) I think the Korean language is already "flattening" in some areas and we'll see many more changes to come in the future!

[@jeff__w]

@@michaelcorbett4236 I think things are more informal in the US (and probably Australia) where even in work settings (except very hierarchical ones) everyone calls everyone else by their first names.

[@michaelcorbett4236]

@@jeff__w In Ireland we don't use titles at all normally apart from the neighbours thing. But that comes from growing up. In fact if you do try and insist on titles you get a mountain of jokes about it, even at work. Similarly in England. But we still do ask people how do they want to be called. So I get Mike a lot and have to tell them it's Micky. But I'm also a Dr of Physics (PhD). If someone was to call me Dr Corbett I'd be pretty uncomfortable. Even if everyone was using their title. I'd be a case of "Aye mate good for you, but you can just call me by my name". It's more normal for someone to ask if I use the title or even my full name. But in general Irish people really hate titles and class. We had a lot of that when the English ran the place. Saying that I like the idea of using 님 as it just cuts through nuance for foreigners.

[@jeff__w]

@@michaelcorbett4236 Got it. Thanks. Ireland strikes me as a pretty egalitarian (and friendly) place, even more so than the US. Korea obviously isn’t. (Actually, Ireland is ranked as one of the countries lowest in “power distance,” which is one of those interesting sociological measures, but Korea is _not_ one of the highest.)

[@simonadances3942]

Learned this very recently from a native friend on hellotalk, she saved me from a lot of awkward interactions 😅

[@talktomeinkorean]

That's great! : )

[@harlembeatfreak]

One of the most essential parts I learned first about Korean language is context before everything else. Once you get the context, you can adapt and understand the situation better and know which expressions to use, which is probably why most English speakers are confused in using -ssi, -nim, or even Oppa, Unnie, or Noona appropriately. It's such an interesting language to learn 😆

[@thegaelgallery9708]

This is a good explanation. This is probably the hardest part of the culture for me to adjust to. In my culture you respect elders by taking into consideration possible health or energy limits and speak to them in a way that does not set them apart by age. In society people often see aging as negative so many older ones prefer to be seen as younger and may get offended if i call them by something that implies they are older. I know many in korea can get offended if you call them as older as well, actually. Anyway the point being, in my culture the way to show respect is treating people as equal so considering status so much feels super rude & divisive to me. Not saying one is better, but it may me something that never feels natural even when I learn to use it correctly. So I really appreciate these explanations because certain things that are polite may be complete opposites in different cultures & it may not be something I realize automatically.

[@loyaltysentry3660]

wow, may i ask what culture youre rwefering to? sounds interesting!

[@talktomeinkorean]

감사합니다!!!

[@catenjoyer76]

For me this is the hardest part too. In my culture, we treat strangers and elders the same, by calling them "usted" which is a formal way or saying "you". Elders mostly get more respect due to their age, but that's it. There are so many factors to take into account in Korean, it's going to be hard to memorize all this!

[@mattbaker7284]

​@@catenjoyer76 De dónde es usted?

[@catenjoyer76]

@@mattbaker7284 Argentina 🇦🇷

[@Joshis]

Really helpful to have it explained so clearly! 😀

[@talktomeinkorean]

정말 감사합니다!

[@dan.1433]

This was super interesting, thank you! I’d thought that 씨 was the more formal/polite of the two so it’s useful to know that 님 is in fact more formal/polite

[@AmbiCahira]

When I was on hellotalk I saw Koreans use 님 in voicerooms and livestreams so I just imitated it and it felt nice and respectful so I keep using it. I feel very comfortable with politeness but when I speak casual it feels like I am super disrespectful eventhough the person is both a friend and younger. It feels like I'll piss people off.

[@talktomeinkorean]

It's always be safer and better to be polite! : )

[@soniaw7321]

Your content really helps with my Korean, I appreciate the videos :D

[@talktomeinkorean]

감사합니다!! : )

[@nyangzun]

another fun case of people using -씨 i encountered, between close friends who obviously would speak informally to each other, when play fighting they would switch to calling each other ㅇㅇ씨, rising the level of their speech as if they are not familiar with each other and must speak formally we do something similar to this in my native language (not english) so it was very pleasant to discover, because my language and korean are very different

[@talktomeinkorean]

That's right! Playful formality.

[@julietar4441]

So helpful.. it's the little things that no-one tells us that makes the difference.. ttmik you guys are the best!

[@talktomeinkorean]

정말 감사합니다 ^_^

[@linnsensuppe7433]

I’ve been living in Korea for about a year now and the development from 씨 to 님 is really interesting but also seems a little dangerous to me. Korean society (especially in Seoul) is drifting apart already and I’m curious if this idea of „giving more respect to everyone“ wouldn’t distance people even more from each other. In the situations I’ve been in, meeting new people in university contexts or in general people in their twenties over dinner, drinking etc. that are not in a work context, everyone uses 씨. Using 님 in this situation feels like making the gap even bigger. It’s so hard to make close friends in Korea because of the often distant attitude of people. I’d be interested in some opinions if adding more 님 in more contexts would only intensify this distant feeling.

[@talktomeinkorean]

That's also a valid point of view! Adding 님 to everybody's name definitely has (at least partially) the effect of putting some distance between people, too.

[@sawyerharris3721]

I think putting more respect on everyone's name instead of just those who are older than you might help bring generations together though, as a positive?

[@xalxvx]

i think having them might still be a positive tho, especially in bringing the older & younger generations together :) or maybe if you're not comfortable with it, you could tell them it's fine to call you with just your name or other honorifics like -씨? if they also tell you to drop the honorifics for them then that could be a plus too haha

[@ruchibhade9397]

I thought something similar... I thought 님 would be too formal so I ended up using 씨 to address our group leader who is 10 years older than me and i thought thats respectful🤦‍♀️..but she is in a mixed marriage so I think she herself talks mostly in English and may or may not have understood my mistake in korean Or not sure if it was at all a mistake..we are not too close but we know each other well.. I am sure she does not really care about being addressed with korean honorifics but I like to practice conversing in korean so I try talking with her in korean...her husband is korean..

[@raylue6273]

Interestingly in a club I joined in university everyone called each other 님 but as soon as we had the first dinner together we all dropped titles and spoke casually. From my experience students who don't know each other call each other 님 more than 씨 but no one I've met would've been upset with being called 씨

[@sabatel105]

Your explanations are always so clear, thank you 😊

[@talktomeinkorean]

정말 감사합니다!

[@linos4thcat745]

In my culture, people can be offended if they expect me to show friendliness but instead I show respect and politeness. It is almost rude, like pushing someone away. Is this not an issue in Korean culture? So I thought using -님 might be too formal if you already know the other person, but it is good to know that it isn't.

[@bubby8ball]

In my own experience, it's always better to show politeness and respect first. If someone feels uncomforatble with the higher speech, they will usually tell you what to call them or to lower your speech, but it's understood that higher register is used at first. However, if you assume that you can call address someone more casually and do so, many times they won't correct you to avoid a conflict. They could still be offended, but instead internalize that feeling.

[@soutakanaka463]

I taught English in Asan for 2 years and for like 6 months, I used TTMIK/Korean Unnie/Miss Vicky. It's best to learn the basics of Korean from this channel but how I really learned Korean (especially using the Chungnam satori) was by talking to locals and asking people what to say. It made my Korean sound very native. The best way to learn Korean is to learn the bases from KZbin channels like Korean Unnie and TTMIK, and then talking to Korean people and asking tons of questions.

[@sugaaakookiesss]

This is really interesting and very good to know. This hasn’t been explained in classes I’ve taken so this is a good thing to keep in mind.

[@NyxNigh]

This was very insightful. I was not aware of this. Thank you

[@leontnf6144]

Hi TTMIK 😊, my question below is solely out of curiosity and I am definitely not trying to appear naive or offensive to certain people. Hope I could get some insights into how the Korean society actually functions. Coming from a Chinese/Southeast Asian culture, we do definitely respect our elders/seniors/superiors. But there just isn't as much complication in the topic of addressing people like that in the Korean/Japanese society. There isn't a technicality like politeness/casual level in our speech, nor a set of vocab (verbs for example) that are meant to be the polite version etc. We just need to form our sentences in a more polite tone when speaking to ppl we respect and we can definitely call people both younger and older by 'you', which Koreans and Japanese are kinda 'forbidden' to do in daily conversations. As mentioned in the video, age plays a big part in addressing people in Korean. However, what happens if both 'age' and 'seniority' come into play? For instance, what would a young CEO aged 35 address the clerk/janitor who are 50 years old. And how would the clerk/janitor address the CEO in this case? Would it still be rude or inappropriate for the CEO to address them by 'ssi'? If a young manager aged 35 has a staff aged 45 that reports to him, how would they call each other in the office? Does the 45 yo employee feel offended if his manager calls him by 'ssi'? Also, we all know society today is constantly evolving to become more 'modernized' or 'westernized' (not saying it's all good). So people are slowly trying to get rid of some societal hierarchy/customs along the way. How about those modern/youthful start-up companies in Korea? Do they strictly adhere to all the rules of addressing people and easily get offended? Or do they not really care as much about formality/hierarchy and people are okay with everyone calling each other 'ssi' 'hyung 'noona' for example? Thanks a lot. 😇

[@talktomeinkorean]

Thanks for the great questions! When "age" and "seniority" both come into play, people just tend to mutually treat with each other with respect and say ㅇㅇ 님. Even if a CEO is younger than another older member, it would still be rude for anyone to address the CEO by "ssi" because it MIGHT imply that they don't want to show very high respect. Similarly, someone working for a younger boss wouldn't feel comfortable being addressed as "ssi". At Korean start-ups, more and more people are just starting to default to using 님, and in private settings, they can call each other 오빠/형/누나/언니 if they want : ) I hope this helps!

[@msanchagrin]

This is very interesting. I am American, and when I was a child, my parents would not allow me to address them as "you". Also, my father would not allow me to refer to my mother as "she" because, my father said, "your mother is not a cat". I had to refer to my mother as "Mom". So I could not say "She said" when referring to my Mom, I had to say "Mom said". Of course, I am almost 59 now, so this was a while ago. During English classes in college, the focus was learning to be more simplified and direct in writing, and now I realize a lot of these rules of respect were undone.

[@leontnf6144]

@@msanchagrin I guess that's just how mankind and society evolve over time. 😅 Like how back in the days, there were royals, lords, elites, masters, peasants and slaves, where your status and background pretty much dictated your life. Today, we live in a world where all people are equal, no race or background supremacy and there shouldn't be age supremacy too, but respect towards elders should still be practised nonetheless. In terms of addressing people, the western society has definitely become much lax about it. However, that's not the case still in Japan and Korean society. Their languages have all the rules about politeness level and salutations. When inappropriately used, people can really get annoyed or angry about it. Another example, in Korea, a person aged 25 can never be a 'friend' to a person aged 40. Simply due to their age and societal gap, they can never really call each other 'friends'. I guess in the west a 30 year old person can definitely befriend a 60 year old person if they get along really well, become very casual and chatty. It can never happen in Korea. Societal status, hierarchy and age still play a big part in their lives. At times, you would feel like you can't have your own voice or opinion when you are the younger one, the older one is always right. That's why sometimes employees just don't voice out their thoughts even if they disagree with their bosses or have better ideas of doing things. They just gotta swallow and take in whatever their bosses say. And children can never correct their parents even if they say something not sensible; pointing out and correcting elders can be considered talking back and is rude. I am from Malaysia and did spend a year in the UK for my university. I still remembered how I kept calling my university professor 'sir' and they insisted us call them by their first names alone. 😂 This will never happen especially in Japan and Korea, and many Asian countries. Also in the UK, it is not uncommon in a family setting where you can call your parents' siblings without salutations like aunt and uncle, and just by their first names. Guess the same can happen in the US too. But not in many Asian countries.

[@samant7951]

Coming from a Chinese/South East Asian as well, I've worked in a Korean company before and the boss was about ten years younger than the manager. The boss would address the manager as 형님 and the manager would address the boss as 사장님. They would use (I think) mutual politeness levels when in conversation, but I think it might be specific to their situation/personalities as they are quite friendly with each other 🤔

[@talktomeinkorean]

That's so interesting!!

[@dragonfly264]

Huge cultural differences in some areas. Regionally in the US, Southerners are raised to address adults as Sir or Ma’am. That doesn’t change when you are an adult yourself. You are still expected to address elders as Sir and Ma’am. BUT, in areas like the Pacific Northwest, if you address older people here as that, they can get extremely insulted. 😮

[@GeeeTii]

Making a mental note of this if I ever go to the northwest (I'm from the south).

[@SifuHallyu]

Can confirm. Was raised in TX, from CA and went back as an adult. You call me sir, I'm looking at you real dirty. Sir...no. nope.

[@nailartguy3363]

I’m from Texas and some adults still get a bit upset when they are called sir or ma’am (especially by someone who is only a bit younger than them).

[@efiglez7122]

Thank you so much for the explanation, I always had this doubt and it's very helpful to know it 👍🏻

[@jetstream2467]

Ok, 🙌🏾👊🏾with the Corrine Bailey Rae vinyl in the background! Yassss!

[@youtubeuser9693]

TTMIK 덕분에 한국말 그리고 한국 문화까지 오랫동안 많이 배우고 있습니다. 항상 고마워요 현우 선생님!

[@ccqch]

Really good lesson! Thanks for sharing the knowledge 😊

[@DieezahArts]

Thank you for explaining... I had noticed the use of 님 during these meet-ups I'm attending (Korean cultural and language exchange) online so I just started mimicking the behavior but I didn't know the difference between that and 씨 so thank you for the clarification.

[@keeoui]

Thank you for explaining it so clearly and easy to understand! I was wondering, is there a difference between calling somebody by their first name+님 vs by their last+first name+님? Does one show more respect than the other? Or is it even uncommon to say for example "선현우님"?

[@talktomeinkorean]

Wow, that's a great question! Between the two forms, (like 현우 님 vs. 선현우 님), using the full name (like 선현우 님) sounds more formal and official. So with people that you know personally and work closely with, it's more natural to just use the first name and 님 (like 현우 님).

[@keeoui]

@@talktomeinkorean alright, got it ! Thanks a lot 😁

[@stillwithyou7072]

Thank you, this is really interesting and good to be aware of. Being from the UK where everyone is on first name basis at the office this is a big difference in culture so knowing this is very helpful. 🙂

[@susandioo310]

I thought 씨 is the polite word for stranger. This video saved me 😅. Thank you TTMIK for saving me .

[@talktomeinkorean]

Happy to help!

[@O-Demi]

This was very informative, thank you! I've just began studying Korean last September, and the nuances of respectful speech are quite mind-boggling! Here you really need to understand the culture to understand the language.

[@thuhien1402]

really helpful and easy to understand, thank you. turns out that back then to now, i still think using 씨 is formal enough to call someone, not being aware that it’s might be rude and offend some people

[@usduchess1009]

NOTED. Sometimes it’s unintentional rudeness but once it’s corrected I try not use offend people, and remember. I’m in a study group who also uses this so I was like…whoa use 님 not 씨 but I, for the most part use it cause of their title in the group. Im older than some of them… also since it’s more of a school setting I have to speak more politely anyway. Thanks for the mini lesson. I always try to keep everyone at TTMIK’s advice in mind. 💕

[@talktomeinkorean]

Thanks!! I'm glad you found this information useful!

[@lunallenalunallena]

Where did you find a Korean study group? Online or in person?

[@sam_jam7]

Thank You SO Much. That's really helpful, I was using "ssi" for a long time although I heard "nim" so many times in Online classes on Hilokal but I didn't realize that I am making a mistake. TTMIK is the best platform to learn Korean Whenever someone ask me about my korean learning journey I must tell them about TTMIK because it is the first platform where I get what I was seeking for . Again Thank You So Much for all for your efforts. ANd If TTMIK team ever read this comment, 그들에게 인사하세요, 저는 여러분 모두를 매우 존경합니다😍

[@talktomeinkorean]

정말 감사합니다!!!

[@Jinxx9081]

I just started learning Korean on Duolingo and ordered your first book. I know Duolingo isn’t that good so I wanted a professional book and I saw yours on the KZbin channel Korean Englishman. Thanks for the lessons, I get very confused with formal and informal and don’t want to offend anyone on accident.

[@talktomeinkorean]

감사합니다!!

[@RyanKarolak]

This is good to know. Most Koreans I have interacted with have been about my age or younger so I think I have been lucky and no one has called me out or thought it was big enough of a problem. Now I know to speak in more nuance and avoid being potentially rude when I really mean to be respectful.

[@RobertLattery]

I had no idea! Thank you for the clarification on this.

[@talktomeinkorean]

Thank you for watching!!

[@justmedidi]

and to think that there's even deeper nuances in formalities as well.. good thing you guys put up this video, but now i feel even more hesistant when using korean because now i feel like there's even more ways that i could accidentally offend someone TT

[@hannahmoren4161]

I feel like textbooks make a huge mistake on this one by calling everyone 씨. I thought it was similar to さん in Japanese. NOPE

[@84rinne_moo]

I thought the same!

[@manshamalhotra8530]

Today I have learnt something really important thank you Talk to me in Korean ☺️😊

[@caseyphoenix22]

현우 선생님 감사합니다. I’m so glad this came up in my feed! I’ve been learning Korean for two months and haven’t learned the honourifics yet. So this was interesting because I didn’t know it was rude to use 씨.

[@talktomeinkorean]

감사합니다!

[@sophiaisabelle027]

Thanks for this piece of advice. We look forward to seeing more videos like this.

[@valeriahgase7]

Thank you for this! It's so useful and I actually didn't know that

[@haleigh11]

Thanks for this lesson. I had been calling my boyfriend's sister-in-law this for a whole weeklong trip that we took together. I'm also traveling to Korea later today, so it's really helpful to have learned this!

[@SteppingStonevlogs]

I am tutored by a lady who is close in age to myself. She doesn't like being addressed as 선생님. She is the only person that I can confidently add 씨 when addressing her, because she explicitly requested that I do so. I also know a lady much older than me, and she has requested that I call her by her name without formalities. That’s highly unusual- she is a very friendly person haha! However, until now I never knew the difference between 님 and 씨. This video taught me a fundamental lesson!

[@talktomeinkorean]

Glad to provide some useful information! The fact that your teacher asked you to use 씨 with her name definitely means that she thinks of you as a closer friend than other strangers might : )

[@rlcg37]

Thanks for the explanation. I've noticed people change from 씨 to 님 when addressing me, which to be honest makes me feel like ummm they have suddenly switched to 아줌마 or 아저씨, with all of the underlying meaning of that (ie, you're old and out of date!). But maybe it's just that change in preference that you mentioned that seems to be growing in the workplace and other settings. It does sound like 님 is better to use on the internet, anyway. This is one of the hardest things for English speakers to get a sensitivity for; culturally we don't like to be the old ones, and even linguistically, we don't have many markers to show status levels, being generally a more lateral rather than hierarchal society. However, both cultures want to be polite and show respect to people! It's just that we have different ways to do this, and so we have to consciously think about this so we don't accidentally offend someone.

[@talktomeinkorean]

Yes, these are tough things to naturally observe and understand correctly, but I think you're understanding it really well : )

[@preciouslafleur5390]

Very helpful video. I was just wondering about this yesterday. Thank you so much for the video, it was very helpful.

[@Minni_oreo]

‘님’ it is.

[@Violety93]

This video is so useful and well explained, thank you

[@charstar386]

After years of hearing ssi I finally understand clearly. Thank you!

[@mangojelly23]

Thank you so much for this video, now I understand BTS Jungkook's "Jimin-ssi" pun 😂😂

[@SeihyunNellaKim]

Wow this is incredibly useful! I never knew this❤ 감사합니다 선생님

[@indigobuni]

Ahh, thank you so much for this explanation. That's why my friend's mom addressed me as 제니퍼님 when I met her for the first time. Interesting, because I'm probably a couple years older than her.

[@sunflowerjules]

This is a great explanation. Super helpful, thank you!

[@태이씨]

This is super helpful, thank you!

[@JemuzuDatsWho]

thank you so much for this, I would have never known!

[@bahar7190]

감사합니다!! Thank you for all your content, they have been very helpful to me in my learning journey!

[@valouMJcalifornia7]

Very interesting and helpful. Thank you so much for that 😊

[@LeeDee5]

All I can hear now is that iconic clip of Jungkook yelling “JIMINSSI!!”

[@deanna1589]

Oh I think sometimes the listener needs to be more understanding that the speaker may still be learning the language rules. Thank you, for this in-depth explanation. I used this with a slightly older Korean friend and now I feel I shouldn’t have used it. Hopefully, he wasn’t offended. Honestly though we had just learned it in class and our 교수님, just said not to use it with last names. I definitely will be more careful about using 써 in the future.

[@sushimaccheese]

Wow, this is very useful and insightful 👍👍 현우 선생님 감사합니다! 🙏

[@anniebeemusicetc]

This is soooo useful! Thank you!!

[@viktoriatoth5809]

Me: * learning basic Korean so I can use it in Korea when travelling as I always thought it's polite to at least try* Also me: *not saying a single word in the end in fear of unintentionally mortally offending somebody * 🤦

[@kaixin6087]

thank you for such a thorough explanation!

[@talktomeinkorean]

Thank you!!

[@zen-rt]

I’ve understood 씨 to be the equivalent of saying Mr or Ms in a semi casual relationship or encounter. The age gap can make a huge difference in the way the title is perceived. Thank you for enlightening me.😅

[@samant7951]

This is a very nuanced lesson! On the same topic, I'm curious about what kind of politeness level is it when an older person addressing someone a lot younger with 군 ? In comparison with 님 and 씨

[@talktomeinkorean]

It's an old-fashioned way of an older person addressing a younger man. It's used less and less frequently these days : )

[@samant7951]

@@talktomeinkorean I see, guess some people still like the traditional ways

[@wongwendy4325]

Thank you for this information. Learning the correct words to address people is so important in Korea. It’s part of the Korean culture. I definitely wouldn’t want to offend anyone 😅

[@iceteeize]

This is always so interesting to me while also being hard to grasp since I come from a culture where we don’t put much emphasis on hierarchy or age. I kept forgetting the last names of my bosses at my previous workplace because we never used them

[@filshadz]

So well explained! 감사합니다 현우님 !

[@AnimeGirl8694]

Thank you for this lesson 👍🏻

[@faladu9991]

Thank you for the very intresting video 현우님 There is a small spelling error in your subtitles at 4:33 writing 'B ut that's...' instead of 'But that's...'

[@talktomeinkorean]

We’ll fix that! Thanks for the heads up! 알려주셔서 감사합니다!

[@josiemize8990]

Thank you! I will definitely keep these notes/teachings in mind for future interactions! This also kind of sounds similar to either ma'am or miss! I'm not a big fan of being called ma'am because it sounds older than I am... 😅

[@krisnaaribowo9074]

Well explained. Good job hyung

[@thesingerperson]

Very useful! 현우 선생님 감사합니다!

[@haleym6394]

Thank you! I really appreciated this information.

[@talktomeinkorean]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tinychangbin]

안녕하세요, 현우 오빠! 감사합니다 🙇 for these helpful videos! i really enjoy them 안녕히 겨세요!

[@promilamardy7821]

This really helped me a lot.

[@orphant78]

Excellent explanation, thank you🙏

[@Randomtalk81folktales]

Thank you for this correction now i understand the difference between the use of 님 and 씨

[@msantiago8274]

Thank you! Wonderful explanation! There’s always something new to learn!

[@talktomeinkorean]

Thanks!! There definitely is always something new to learn : )

[@HandmadeDarcy]

Ah! I was so hoping you were going to give us a magic trick to work out who, and when our interlocutors would be expecting a higher level of formality, other than the age difference. As a 50yr old, I am probably old enough to get away with being less formal with most people I might speak with 😂 but I have just begun to learn Korean so that I can watch Korean movies and TV without (or at least fewer) subtitles, and I am painfully aware that I miss, or am late to realising so many little jokes or insults that revolve around these concepts.

[@raspberrytaegi]

Thank you for the heads up!

[@De_rekening_a.u.b.]

Very helpful! Thanks heaps!

[@haineko1989]

A very good reminder, thank you! We had an introduction to Korean formalities one lesson after the first few starter ones when I attended a language course and our brains almost exploded 😂 We were like "we can learn Korean very well, but probably should speak English just to avoid this problem" 😂

[@tzveeble1679]

Makes total sense. Intuitively guessed those right.

[@talktomeinkorean]

That's great!

[@pourquoipas971]

Very informative , merci beaucoup😊

[@qwertybirds]

I kinda think -씨 is broadly used when someone is an acquaintance of similar age/ rank/ title. Like a work colleague that you are familiar with but aren't particularly close to.

[@ayesha.317]

Hi TTMIK i am a learner from Azerbaijan i have a problem pronouncing the letter ㅇ .Can you please make a video on how to pronounce it easier or can you give me some tips on how to pronounce it? 'Cause it really isn't easy for me.

[@talktomeinkorean]

Hi! : ) We have a detailed course on Korean pronunciation here! talktomeinkorean.com/curriculum/korean-pronunciation-guide/

[@Arraxxon]

To me as a german it feels a little bit like what we use in german language. In german, if there is someone you meet the first time, someone that isn't a direct friend, people you meet on your way, we say "Sie" being polite and formal and respectful. If we know the other person better or being a closer friend, we start using the "Du" term. Surely those aren't used right after a name, just while talking directly to them in a sentence. Other from that we add to not close people depending on gender a "Herr" or "Frau" directly before their last name being formal and respectful and if they are closer and known to us, we just say their first name and nothing else added to it. In Korea this really feels like a dangerzone, because for foreigners not knowing those formal/casual rules by heart it can become very hard and confusing to find the right term in any situation to not offend someone or being rude without any intention.

[@fransmith3255]

Ah! This explains why I never hear anyone using 씨. I work in a Korean School and I never hear it, even in casual chats and conversations over coffee. I always hear 님. Thank you! I always wondered. 🙂

[@talktomeinkorean]

Great to hear that you find this video useful! It really depends on the place and situation, but I guess people at your school definitely prefers 님 much more : )

[@fransmith3255]

@@talktomeinkorean Hehe, I work in a couple very small country schools in 경산남도. 😀

[@tiffanyparkin5674]

So my daughter’s husband is Korean and so obviously his parents are too. How would I address his parents who are about 8 years older than I am? Would I call them by their name + 님 or something else? It seems like in dramas they say the child’s name + 어머님/아버님 (did I spell those correctly?😬). Thanks in advance for your response. ❤️

[@talktomeinkorean]

Since they are your in-laws, you can call the mother 사부인 and the father 사돈 어른. They are very formal terms, but still safer than using their names : ) When you try addressing them by those titles and they say those are too formal, you can take it down a notch and say ㅇㅇ 어머님/아버님 : )

[@tiffanyparkin5674]

@@talktomeinkorean 감사합니다!

[@sirtorchington]

lmao love how you used Soo Min and Min Soo

[@2oqp577]

That will be very useful. Thanks.

[@zoejaneir5907]

Thank youuuuu This might save my life someday!! 😎

[@skapon86]

Thank you so much for that!

[@katiekawaii]

This is very useful! I've never heard (or never noticed) people using [name]님 before, only [title]님, like 선생님 or 선배님, so I'm grateful for this video. :)

[@empressmarowynn]

I'm struggling so hard with the idea of changing so many words depending on the other person's age and relationship to you. I'm so used to things being extremely informal. I barely remember half my friends' last names because we never need to use them and I haven't the foggiest how old pretty much any of them are.

[@speedracer1177]

감사합니다, 현우 선생님. I always get confused on matters like this. With American English there are no structural differences in speech. We have titles of Mr/Mrs/Ms and our polite words of please and thank you, but that is about it in the Midwest.

[@SmokenHash]

I guess I picked this up subconsciously, cuz I always see 씨 as something for peers. Maybe because my professors always have us use it with classmates. But I would never think of addressing my professor or any one with 'authority' over me with it😂 somehow, I've never heard the difference explained in detail though.

[@KaotikBOOO]

현우 아저씨 ~ Because there had to be one, right? 😂

[@talktomeinkorean]

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 좋아요!