-습니다 / -ㅂ니다

Quick answer: -습니다 / -ㅂ니다 means the formal style — for announcements, interviews and strangers.

How to form it

In Korean: 받침 O → -습니다　　받침 X → -ㅂ니다　　물음은 -습니까 / -ㅂ니까

What to know

요 and 습니다 are both polite; the difference is distance, not respect. Use 습니다 when you are on show — a presentation, an interview, a first meeting with someone senior — and 요 the rest of the time. Mixing them inside one conversation is normal in Korean.

Examples

• 제 고향은 부산입니다.
  My home town is Busan.
• 회가 유명합니다.
  It is famous for raw fish.
• 한국어를 배우러 왔습니다.
  I came to learn Korean.

Where it's taught

HanDa Level 2 (TOPIK I), Lesson 2: 제 고향은 부산인데 회가 유명합니다 — My home town is Busan, and it is famous for raw fish. Also in the Level 2 book.

Learned in the same lesson: -(으)ㄴ데 / 는데.

Go deeper: our full article on this pattern.