Learn how to give commands and make suggestions in Korean using -세요, -자, and -ㅂ시다, with politeness levels and example sentences explained.
Telling someone to do something, or suggesting you do something together, requires choosing the right level of politeness in Korean — using the wrong one can sound either rude or oddly formal.
The most common, safely polite way to give an instruction or request, used constantly by teachers, in signs, and in customer service.
| Verb | Command form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 앉다 (to sit) | 앉으세요 | Please sit |
| 오다 (to come) | 오세요 | Please come |
| 기다리다 (to wait) | 기다리세요 | Please wait |
Used between close friends or to people younger/equal in status, -자 means "let's" in a casual, familiar tone.
| Verb | Suggestion form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 (to go) | 가자 | Let's go |
| 먹다 (to eat) | 먹자 | Let's eat |
| 놀다 (to play/hang out) | 놀자 | Let's hang out |
The formal, polite equivalent of -자, appropriate for group settings, meetings, or addressing people you don't know well.
| Verb | Suggestion form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 (to go) | 갑시다 | Let's go (formal) |
| 시작하다 (to start) | 시작합시다 | Let's begin (formal) |
| Form | Politeness | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| -세요 | Polite command | Requests, instructions, signs |
| -자 | Casual suggestion | Close friends, younger people |
| -ㅂ시다 | Formal suggestion | Meetings, group announcements |
Despite being grammatically "formal," -ㅂ시다 is rarely used toward someone of higher status than you (like a boss or elder) because it can sound like you're issuing them a command. In those cases, softer alternatives like -는 게 어때요? ("how about...") are more appropriate.
Can I use -세요 to make a suggestion, not just a command? Not directly — -세요 is for instructing the listener to do something, not for "let's" statements including yourself.
Is there an even more casual way to command someone? Yes — the plain imperative (가! "go!") exists but is very blunt and mostly used with close friends, children, or in exclamations, never in polite contexts.
Choosing the right level of politeness is one of the trickiest parts of Korean for beginners. Klovers' teachers model these distinctions in live conversation so you build the right instincts, not just the right rules.