Grammar
-습니다/-ㅂ니다
Meaning
Beginner-seumnida/-mnida
-습니다/-ㅂ니다 is the formal polite sentence-final ending used to make plain statements. It is one of the two most common Korean speech levels — alongside the more casual -아요/-어요 — and is used in news broadcasts, presentations, military speech, customer service, and other formal contexts.
Form
Attach -습니다 after a stem ending in a consonant, and -ㅂ니다 after a stem ending in a vowel: 먹다 → 먹습니다, 가다 → 갑니다. For ㄹ-final stems, the ㄹ is dropped before -ㅂ니다: 살다 → 삽니다 (not 살ㅂ니다). Questions replace -다 with -까: 먹습니까?, 갑니까? Past tense: stem + -았/었 + -습니다 (먹었습니다, 갔습니다). Future/intention: stem + -겠 + -습니다 (하겠습니다).
Examples
한복은 한국의 전통 의상입니다.
Hanbok is Korea's traditional clothing.
매일 아침 운동을 합니다.
I exercise every morning.
어제 친구를 만났습니다.
I met a friend yesterday.
내일 다시 오겠습니다.
I will come again tomorrow.
Common mistakes & nuance
A common error is forgetting to drop the stem-final ㄹ before -ㅂ니다 (writing 살ㅂ니다 instead of 삽니다, or 만들ㅂ니다 instead of 만듭니다).
Similar grammar
- -(ㄴ/는)다
The same statement with the listener taken out. -습니다 is addressed to someone and is safe to say aloud; -(ㄴ/는)다 is addressed to nobody, which is why newspapers are written in it and why saying it at a person is 반말. The lessons on this site are in -습니다 and the articles they are built from are in -(ㄴ/는)다, so both are worth recognising.
- -아요/어요
The other everyday polite ending. -아요/어요 is polite but relaxed and dominates conversation; -습니다 is the formal register of broadcasts, presentations and service speech. Both are polite — the choice is about distance, not about respect.