Korean Culture & Customs

님

nim

polite address suffix

How you address coworkers matters. -씨 (after a full name) is neutral-polite, -님 is more respectful and now common for colleagues, and 선배 honors someone senior in school or work. Picking the wrong one can feel cold or presumptuous.

Examples

Korean	English
김민수 씨, 이 자료 좀 봐 주세요. gim-min-su ssi, i jaryo jom bwa juseyo.	Mr. Kim Min-su, please take a look at this document.

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