2 · Sentence endings with attitude · about 6 minutes
Isn't it?: -지요 and -죠
the ending of shared ground
-죠 treats a sentence as something the listener will agree with: “isn't it?”, “of course”, and a gentler way to ask.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need4
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- 그럼요of course; sure
- 성함name (honorific)
- 경기match; game (in sport)
- 당per
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
Understand
RememberPut -jyo on the bare stem when you expect the listener to agree.
- Signal words
- -죠
- -지요
- 그렇죠
- -겠죠
- -으시죠
The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Korean: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| after a vowel | 비싸다 → 비싸죠 |
| after a consonant | 좋다 → 좋죠 |
| past | 오다 → 왔죠 |
| after a noun | 학생이죠 / 친구죠 |
| a polite invitation | 앉다 → 앉으시죠 |
| the full form, in writing | 좋지요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
-죠 is short for -지요 and goes straight onto the stem.
이 옷 정말 예쁘죠?This outfit is really pretty, isn't it?
With a rising tone it asks for agreement, like an English tag question.
내일 회의는 세 시에 시작하죠?Tomorrow's meeting starts at three, doesn't it?
With a falling tone it presents something as obvious: “of course”.
그럼요, 저도 그 노래 알죠.Of course I know that song too.
After a question word it makes the question softer.
실례지만 성함이 어떻게 되시죠?Excuse me, may I have your name?
With -(으)시- it is a polite invitation.
이쪽으로 앉으시죠.Please, have a seat over here.
Example sentences
오늘 정말 덥죠?It's really hot today, isn't it?
한국 음식 좋아하시죠?You like Korean food, don't you?
어제 그 경기 보셨죠?You watched that match yesterday, didn't you?
11 more example sentences
당연히 알죠. 매일 쓰는 말인데요.Of course I know it. It's a word I use every day.
화장실이 어디죠?Where's the toilet, please?
내일은 비가 안 오겠죠?It won't rain tomorrow, will it?
이 길이 시청 가는 길 맞죠?This is the way to City Hall, isn't it?
주말에는 보통 집에서 쉬시죠?You usually rest at home at weekends, don't you?
그분 정말 친절하시죠?She's really kind, isn't she?
저도 처음에는 어려웠죠.Of course it was hard for me too at first.
몇 분이시죠?How many are you, please?
자, 그럼 시작하시죠.Well then, shall we begin?
내일도 오시죠?You're coming tomorrow too, aren't you?
민지 씨도 대학생이죠?Minji, you're a university student too, aren't you?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
-죠 replaces the polite ending; it is not added on top of it. Take the bare stem, 맛있-, and attach -죠 — the same way -네요 is attached.
Quick check
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Practise
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Your progress
What your lesson on this topic shows:
The lesson decides this, not a button: passed at 80% on the first try, mastered when you pass it again on another day.
Next on the path: 52 · Money: 원, 만 and 얼마예요Back to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
-지요 goes straight onto the stem, like -네요, and in speech it is almost always contracted to -죠: 비싸죠, 좋죠, 왔죠. After a noun it is 이죠 after a consonant and 죠 after a vowel: 학생이죠, 친구죠. The full form -지요 appears in writing and in careful speech.
The core meaning is shared ground: the speaker treats the sentence as something the listener knows or will accept. With a rising tone it asks for agreement, like an English tag question: 오늘 덥죠?, “it's hot today, isn't it?”. English has to build every tag to match its verb — isn't it, don't you, didn't they, won't it; Korean says -죠 each time.
With a falling tone it presents something as obvious: 그럼요, 알죠, “of course I know”. After a question word it softens a question, which is why staff in shops and offices use it: 성함이 어떻게 되시죠?, “may I have your name?”. And with -(으)시- it becomes a polite invitation: 이쪽으로 앉으시죠, “please, sit here”.
The typical slip is to put it on the polite form instead of the stem — 맛있어죠 instead of 맛있죠. The other is tone: a rising -죠? about something the listener cannot be expected to know sounds presumptuous, so keep it for what really is shared. Among friends the ending is -지: 맛있지?.
A closer look
One ending for every tag question
An English tag question copies the verb and flips the polarity: “you're coming, aren't you?”, “she didn't call, did she?”. Korean does none of that. 오시죠?, 전화 안 했죠?, 비싸죠?, 가겠죠? — the ending stays the same and the tone does the asking.
To agree with such a question, Koreans answer 네, 맞아요 or simply 그렇죠. To disagree politely, they often begin with 글쎄요, “well …”, rather than a flat no.
Exceptions and special cases1
Exception
When a noun ends in a vowel
then 이 usually drops in speech: 친구죠, 제 거죠; after a consonant it stays: 학생이죠.
저분이 새로 오신 선생님이죠?That's the new teacher, isn't it?
Why? It is the same contraction as in 친구예요 against 학생이에요.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Two short replies: 그렇죠 and 맞죠
그렇죠, “exactly, that's right”, agrees with what has just been said. 맞죠?, “right?”, after your own statement checks that the listener is still with you.
그렇죠. 저도 같은 생각이에요.Exactly. I think so too.
Worth knowing
Among friends
Without 요 it is intimate, and it keeps both uses: a rising tag question and a falling “of course”.
이거 진짜 맛있지?This is really good, isn't it?