What is Banmal?
What is Banmal (반말)?
Banmal (반말) is the casual or “intimate” speech style in Korean. It's used with people you are close to, such as friends, siblings, or people who are younger than you.
Using Banmal signifies a close, informal relationship. It drops the politeness markers you find in the formal style, Jondaetmal (존댓말).
When to Use Banmal
With close friends of the same age or younger.
With siblings and younger family members.
With a partner in a romantic relationship.
With children.
Important: You must have an agreement or clear understanding with the other person before switching to Banmal. Suddenly using it can be considered rude.
How to Make Banmal
The Golden Rule of Basic Banmal
The most common and straightforward way to create Banmal is to take the polite 해요 (haeyo) style ending you've already learned and simply drop the final 요 (yo).
Polite Form ( -아요/어요/해요 ) - 요 = Casual Form (Banmal)
Examples
Polite (존댓말) · Transformation · Casual (반말)
가요 · Drop 요 · 가
먹어요 · Drop 요 · 먹어
봐요 · Drop 요 · 봐
공부해요 · Drop 요 · 공부해
있어요 · Drop 요 · 있어
Banmal Questions
Asking Questions in Banmal
In many cases, a Banmal question has the exact same written form as a statement. The only difference is the intonation—you raise your voice at the end of the sentence to signal it's a question.
Statement vs. Question
Sentence · As a Statement (Falling Intonation) · As a Question (Rising Intonation)
밥 먹었어. · I ate. · 밥 먹었어? (Did you eat?)
피곤해. · I'm tired. · 피곤해? (Are you tired?)
시간 있어. · I have time. · 시간 있어? (Do you have time?)