지금Right now
How Korea searched for it, 52 weeks, Naver DataLab. Relative to the peak week.
The latest full week is 21% below the year’s average. Peak: the week of Nov 3, 2025.
존댓말jon·daen·mal
Honorific speech. The endings that change with who you are talking to, and the reason strangers ask your age.
것The deal
Polite speech. In Korean the verb ending changes with who you are talking to. The National Institute of Korean Language calls this 상대 높임, addressee honorifics: you raise the listener by choosing a particular ending for the sentence. The opposite is 반말, the plain form you use with friends and people younger than you.
하는 법How to
End your sentence in 요 with strangers and staff and you are fine: 주세요 (please give me), 감사합니다 (thank you), 괜찮아요 (it is fine). Never use plain speech with staff.
말Lines
Say this
아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
One iced Americano, please.
You will hear
몇 분이세요?
How many of you? Asked with the honorific ending.
독자People
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