-(으)오/소

semi-formal polite command ending

Examples

이쪽으로 오시오.

Please come this way.

문을 닫으오.

Please close the door.

조용히 하시오.

Please be quiet.

When you'd hear it

This 하오체 command ending is old-fashioned in modern Korean and is most often heard in historical dramas, period-style speech, or deliberately theatrical situations. It may also appear in stylized writing or from an older speaker, but it is not a normal polite command in everyday conversation.

What learners get wrong

Do not treat it as a more formal version of -(으)세요: -(으)세요 is the ordinary polite command, while -(으)오/소 sounds archaic, literary, or performative today.

semi-formal polite ending with honorific

Examples

건강하시오.

Please stay healthy.

행복하시오.

Please be happy.

오래 사시오.

Please live long.

When you'd hear it

This is an old-fashioned 하오체 ending, common in historical dramas, period-style writing, and deliberately archaic or ceremonial speech. It is rarely used in ordinary modern conversation, though it can appear in blessings or playful imitations of older speech.

What learners get wrong

Learners often mistake it for a normal modern polite ending like -(으)세요. Unlike -(으)세요, -(으)오/소 can sound historical or theatrical today, so it is not a safe everyday ending for requests or wishes.

semi-formal polite interrogative ending

Examples

어디로 가오?

Where are you going?

무슨 일이 있소?

Is something the matter?

무엇을 찾소?

What are you looking for?

When you'd hear it

This is a dated 하오체 ending, heard mainly in historical dramas, period fiction, and deliberately old-fashioned or stylized speech. It is not normal in contemporary conversation or workplace Korean.

What learners get wrong

Unlike -(으)ㅂ니까?, which is the standard formal question ending, -(으)오/소 signals an old-fashioned 하오체 style. It can sound theatrical or historical even when the question itself is polite.

semi-formal polite declarative ending

Examples

날씨가 참 좋소.

The weather is really nice.

그것을 믿지 않소.

I do not believe that.

우리는 산에 가오.

We are going to the mountain.

When you'd hear it

This 하오체 ending appears in historical dramas, older-fashioned speech, and deliberately stylized writing. In present-day conversation it is uncommon and may sound theatrical or archaic, though some older speakers may still use it.

What learners get wrong

-오 and -소 do not mark different meanings; they are variants chosen by the verb stem, as in 가오 versus 믿지 않소. It is also much more old-fashioned than the everyday polite ending -어요/-아요.

semi-formal polite command ending

Examples

When you'd hear it

What learners get wrong

semi-formal polite ending with honorific

Examples

When you'd hear it

What learners get wrong

semi-formal polite interrogative ending

Examples

When you'd hear it

What learners get wrong

semi-formal polite declarative ending

Examples

When you'd hear it

What learners get wrong

Ask Ipsae about -(으)오/소