TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-(으)오/-소
Ending of the 하오체, an old-fashioned semi-formal style: one form serves statements and questions, and with -(으)시오 commands. Heard in period dramas, between older spouses, and in written notices such as 손대지 마시오.
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: A past event needs 았/었, and after 았/었 the ending is -소.
Examples
나는 그 사람을 믿소. 그러니 더는 의심하지 마시오.I trust him. So doubt him no longer.
여보, 이 늦은 시간에 어디 가오?Dear, where are you going at this late hour?
이곳에 쓰레기를 버리지 마시오.Do not dump rubbish here.
Don’t mix up
-(으)오/-소vs-아요/어요The modern polite style: 어디 가요? 어디 가오? is old-fashioned and semi-formal.-(으)오/-소vs-(으)십시오-(으)십시오 is a formal polite command to a person: 들어가십시오. -(으)시오 on signs is impersonal: 출입하지 마시오.How to build it
vowel stem+오
ㄹ-stem drops ㄹ+오
consonant stem+으오 or, more commonly, 소
after 았/었, 겠: 소
N+이오 (after a vowel: 요)
command: V+(으)시오
가다 → 가오; 알다 → 아오; 먹다 → 먹으오 / 먹소; 있다 → 있소; 했다 → 했소; 학생 → 학생이오; 누구 → 누구요; 들어오다 → 들어오지 마시오
- Intonation decides the sentence type: 어디 가오? (question) / 집에 가오. (statement). Commands use -(으)시오 or -오: 이리 오시오.
- After 았/었 and 겠, and usually after consonant stems, the form is -소: 왔소, 하겠소, 좋소, 있소. -으오 (먹으오) sounds even more archaic.
- With nouns: 이오 after a consonant, 요 after a vowel (누구요? 나는 의사요) — this 요 is 이오 contracted, not the polite 요.
- Today it lives mainly in notices (-(으)시오: 밀지 마시오) and fiction; in real conversation it sounds stiff or elderly.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 나는 어제 시장에 가오.
Right: 나는 어제 시장에 갔소.
A past event needs 았/었, and after 았/었 the ending is -소.
Practise -(으)오/-소 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(이)라 (예스러운 서술)An archaic plain (해라체) statement ending attached to 이다 and 아니다: 'X is Y.' It sounds solemn and old, as in classical texts, proverbs, historical-drama narration and poetry; modern Korean uses -(이)다.
- -(으)리오An archaic, literary rhetorical-question ending: 'how could …? who would …?'. The question implies the opposite (누가 알리오 = nobody knows). Found in classical poetry and prose, speeches and period dramas.
- -나 (의문)A question ending without 요 with two uses: the 하게체 question an older speaker asks an adult junior ('are you …?'), and a casual question to oneself ('did I …?', 'is it …?').
- -네 (하게체 서술)Statement ending of the 하게체: an older speaker telling an adult junior (son-in-law, grown-up former student) a fact or an intention, plainly but with courtesy. Old-fashioned; today mostly heard from elderly men and in novels and dramas.
- -그려Added after another sentence ending (-네, -구먼, -세, -ㅂ시다…) to give an old-fashioned emphatic or exclamatory touch: '…, indeed / you know'. Now found mainly in novels, period dramas and the speech of very old people.
- -던가 (회상 의문)A 하게체 question ending asking the listener about something they saw or experienced in the past: 'was it …? did you find that …?'. Old-fashioned, used by older speakers to adult juniors.
- -구려 (권유·명령)A 하오체 ending after an action verb that gently urges or advises the listener: 'do …, why don't you …'. Old-fashioned; heard from elderly speakers (often between spouses), in period dramas and novels.
- -던가 (혼잣말·추측)Used when talking to oneself about the past: the speaker wonders about something remembered only vaguely, or makes a tentative guess about it: 'was it …?', 'I wonder if …'. Reflective; common in essays, lyrics and inner monologue.
- -구려/-는구려Exclamatory ending of the old-fashioned 하오체: the speaker remarks on something just realised, with feeling: '…, I see / how …!'. Today heard mostly from elderly speakers (for example between older spouses) and in period dramas and novels.