Korean Names and Titles: What to Call Someone When You Are Not Sure

Language guidance checked: September 29, 2026.

You join a new Korean team and are introduced to 박지현 팀장님. Ten minutes later, one coworker calls her 팀장님, another says 지현 님, and her English email signature simply says “Jihyun Park.”

Which one should you use?

The useful answer is not a single Korean honorific that works everywhere. Start with the title or form of address already used in that setting, and when the relationship is unclear, ask.

Korean names and titles reflect role, familiarity, age, seniority and the culture of a particular workplace or group. The National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL) explicitly notes that forms of address are not fixed by one absolute rule and that workplace conventions can differ. Its guide 우리, 뭐라고 부를까요? discusses workplace and everyday relationships in that context.

If you are unsure, use this order:

1. Use an established job title if you know it.
2. Copy the respectful naming style already used by the group.
3. If neither is clear, ask: 어떻게 불러 드리면 될까요?
4. Stay slightly formal until the other person suggests something more casual.

Guessing someone's age or family-style relationship is less reliable than asking how they want to be addressed.

Jump to: Quick guide · 씨 vs 님 · Workplace · Public places · Friends and age · Email and chat · If you get it wrong

The quick answer: what should you call someone?

Your manager has a known title

Use the title with 님: 팀장님, 부장님, 과장님. Add the name when needed to distinguish between several people.

Your company uses names instead of ranks

Follow that system. If colleagues consistently say 민지 님 or use English names, do the same.

A coworker has no formal title

Name + 님 is a useful respectful option in workplaces that use it. Name + 씨 can work among peers, but do not assume it is appropriate for someone senior.

You do not know a public employee's name or title

선생님 can be a polite fallback in some public-service situations. You can also avoid a title entirely and begin with 실례합니다 or 죄송한데요.

A professor

교수님 is normally the straightforward choice when you know the person is a professor.

A teacher or instructor

선생님 is the normal title.

An older new acquaintance

Do not immediately assign 오빠, 언니, 형 or 누나. Use a more neutral form first and let the relationship develop.

Why Korean forms of address can feel difficult

English lets you avoid the problem surprisingly often. You can use “you,” a first name, or Mr./Ms. without knowing someone's exact workplace rank.

Korean conversations often avoid a direct equivalent of English “you” and instead use a person's name, job title, relationship title or no explicit form of address at all.

That is why translating English word-for-word can create awkward Korean.

If your English sentence begins:

“Could you check this?”

the Korean version does not need to begin with a translated “you.”

You can simply say:

이 부분을 확인해 주실 수 있을까요?

Could you check this part?

The relationship is expressed through the sentence ending and context rather than a repeated pronoun.

This is also why learning Korean titles is more useful than trying to find one word that always means Mr., Ms. or “you.”

Start with the person's role before their age

When you meet someone through work, school, a clinic or another institution, the role is usually more useful than estimating age.

Korean government cultural material describes Korean forms of address as commonly using name + title, such as a name followed by 선생님 or a professional title. See the Korea.net cultural explanation of Korean name-and-title usage.

If you hear someone introduced as:

김민수 과장님

you do not need to calculate whether he is older than you. You already have a role-based form you can use: 과장님.

If the company later tells everyone to use first names, switch with the group.

씨 vs 님: they are not Korean versions of Mr. and Ms.

씨

씨 is respectful, but its range is narrower than many Korean learners expect.

The NIKL dictionary explanation says 씨 is used after an adult's surname, full name or given name to address or refer to that person respectfully. It also notes that outside formal or impersonal contexts it is difficult to use toward a superior and is generally used for peers or people junior to the speaker. See the NIKL explanation of 씨.

That means:

민수 씨 can sound natural between peers.

김민수 씨 can be a respectful neutral reference in appropriate contexts.

But calling your much more senior manager 민수 씨 simply because an English dictionary translated 씨 as “Mr.” can sound too casual.

Do not use 씨 as your universal emergency honorific.

님

님 generally carries stronger honorific force than 씨.

When it follows a person's name as an independent honorific noun, standard spacing is:

홍길동 님
길동 님

NIKL explains that the 님 used after a person's name is written separately and expresses greater respect than 씨. See its 2025 explanation of 님.

When -님 is attached to a title or status, it is joined to the word:

사장님
교수님
팀장님

You may see companies write name + 님 without a space in internal systems or branding. For ordinary standard Korean writing, the NIKL explanation above treats the name-following 님 as a separate word.

What to call people at a Korean company

This is where one rigid etiquette chart becomes especially unhelpful.

Traditional companies may rely heavily on job ranks. Startups may use English names. Another company may remove ranks from everyday speech and use name + 님 for everyone.

NIKL's workplace guidance specifically notes that company culture differs and that some workplaces now use forms such as a person's name plus 님 instead of hierarchy-focused titles.

If the person has a title

For someone senior to you, a common pattern is:

박 팀장님
박지현 팀장님
or simply
팀장님

For example:

팀장님, 이 자료 먼저 확인해 주실 수 있을까요?

Team leader, could you check this material first?

The title may sound repetitive in English, but repeating titles in Korean conversation can be normal.

If the company uses name + 님

Suppose everyone in your team says:

지현 님
민수 님

Follow that convention even if you know everyone's official rank.

The workplace itself is giving you the answer.

If colleagues use English names

A company may introduce employees as Alex, Mina or Chris even though their legal Korean names are different.

Use the name they introduce themselves with in that setting.

Do not switch to someone's legal Korean name because you found it on an HR document if everyone around you uses a chosen workplace name.

If you hear different people using different titles

This often happens.

A senior executive may call someone 김 과장, while a junior employee says 김 과장님. Those two speakers have different relationships with the same person.

Do not copy the senior executive's less-honorific version merely because you heard it first.

Copy the form used by people in a relationship similar to yours.

Ask during your first week

This is one of the easiest questions you can ask a coworker:

회사에서는 서로 어떻게 부르나요?

How do people address each other in this company?

Or ask the person directly:

제가 어떻게 불러 드리면 될까요?

How should I address you?

This is more reliable than searching for that person's age or trying to reverse-engineer the hierarchy from LinkedIn.

선생님: much broader than “school teacher”

선생님 literally makes many learners think only of a classroom teacher, but its actual use is wider.

NIKL explains that 선생님 can respectfully refer to a teacher and can also be used with a person's surname or professional role. It may also be used politely for an older or otherwise respected adult. See the NIKL dictionary explanation.

This is why you may hear 선생님 in contexts that have nothing to do with a school.

NIKL's 2026 guidance also says that when the title of a person working in a public institution is unknown, 선생님 can be used as a polite form of address. See its public-institution example.

Still, do not mechanically call everyone 선생님. If you know the specific title, that can be clearer.

At a bank, government office, shop or service counter

You often do not need a title at all.

Instead of guessing whether the employee is a manager, you can get their attention politely:

실례합니다.

Excuse me.

or:

죄송한데요, 이것 좀 도와주실 수 있을까요?

Excuse me, could you help me with this?

This avoids unnecessary guesses about age, gender or rank.

If the staff member's title is clear—such as 과장님—you can use it.

In service settings, you may hear businesses address customers as:

• 손님 — guest/customer,
• 고객님 — customer, respectfully,
• 회원님 — member.

NIKL cites these as forms businesses may use for customers. They describe your role as the customer; they are not titles you should normally use to address the employee helping you.

At university or school

If you know someone is a university professor, 교수님 is normally the simplest choice.

If there are several professors:

김 교수님
박 교수님

For school teachers or instructors, 선생님 is the normal title.

In an English-speaking university environment, a professor may tell international students to use “Professor Kim,” “Dr. Lee,” or an English name. Follow the person's stated preference.

A class taught by someone does not automatically tell you that person's official academic rank. If the syllabus or department calls them 강사, 연구원 or another title, check how students normally address them rather than upgrading the role yourself.

오빠, 언니, 형 and 누나: relationship words, not generic honorifics

These four words originally describe an older sibling relationship:

• 형 — an older male relative or close older male addressed by a male speaker,
• 누나 — an older female relative or close older female addressed by a male speaker,
• 오빠 — an older male relative or close older male addressed by a female speaker,
• 언니 — an older female relative or close older female addressed by a female speaker.

Korea.net's cultural guide notes that these sibling titles may also extend to older friends. See its overview of sibling and older-friend terms.

The important word is relationship.

Do not meet someone five minutes older than you and immediately decide they are your 형 or 언니.

Among friends, people often discuss age and naturally settle on how they will speak to one another.

A useful question is:

제가 뭐라고 부르면 될까요?

What should I call you?

If the person says, “Just call me 언니,” then you have your answer.

Do not guess family or age titles from appearance

Terms such as 아저씨 and 아줌마 exist in ordinary Korean, but they are not useful universal substitutes for “sir” and “ma'am.”

The problem is not that the words are forbidden. The problem is that they carry assumptions about age and social relationship.

If you are asking an unknown person for help, you can usually avoid the entire issue:

실례합니다. 길 좀 여쭤봐도 될까요?

Excuse me. May I ask for directions?

No guessed title is required.

What about 사장님?

You will hear 사장님 frequently in restaurants, shops and small businesses.

When the person is clearly the owner or is being addressed that way by staff, using 사장님 is straightforward.

But you do not need to label every worker behind a counter 사장님. If you do not know their role, a polite request without a title works perfectly well.

Why “당신” is usually not your answer to “you”

Korean dictionaries list 당신 as a pronoun with several context-dependent uses, including second-person and reflexive uses. It is therefore not a simple everyday equivalent of English “you.”

In practical conversation with a coworker, employee, stranger or service worker, it is usually easier to use the person's title, name or no explicit pronoun.

Instead of:

“당신은 언제 오세요?”

you can usually ask:

언제 오세요?

When are you coming?

The subject is understood from context.

This is one of the most useful habits for English speakers learning Korean: do not translate every “you.”

Names and titles in email, KakaoTalk and Slack

Written communication creates one more problem: spacing.

Name + 님

Standard writing:

박지현 님

NIKL explains that when 님 follows a person's name as an honorific noun, it is written separately.

Title + 님

Write the honorific suffix together with the title:

팀장님
부장님
교수님

A simple workplace email opening

박지현 팀장님, 안녕하세요.

Hello, Team Leader Park Jihyun.

If the company uses name + 님 instead:

지현 님, 안녕하세요.

Do not introduce a completely different level of formality in email from the one your team normally uses unless the context requires it.

Should you use someone's full name or given name?

Do not reduce this to “Koreans always use surnames” or “Koreans never use first names.”

Use the person's introduction and the relationship.

For example, if someone introduces herself:

김민지입니다.

then in a formal work context you might later use 김민지 님, 민지 님, or an appropriate job title depending on the organization's convention.

If she says:

“Please call me Mina.”

then Mina is the useful name in that setting.

Administrative documents are a separate issue. Korea standardized foreign names in government documents around a surname-then-given-name format, so the name shown on a Residence Card or certificate may not match the conversational order you normally use. See Korea.net's official explanation of foreign-name formatting.

Do not confuse official-document formatting with the name someone wants colleagues to use.

Customer, patient, guest and member titles are situational

You may hear:

고객님 at a bank or service business.

회원님 at a gym or membership business.

손님 in a restaurant, taxi or shop.

These forms describe a person's role in that specific interaction.

The same person can be 팀장님 at work, 고객님 at a bank and 손님 in a restaurant on the same day.

That is one reason there is no single Korean equivalent of “Mr. Kim” that solves every conversation.

When two Koreans call the same person different things

This is not necessarily a contradiction.

Imagine three employees:

• Director Lee,
• Team Leader Park,
• a new employee.

The director may say:

박 팀장

while the new employee says:

박 팀장님

The difference comes from their relationship to the same person.

Your safest model is usually not “What did the most senior person say?” but:

“What do people in my position say?”

What if you use the wrong title?

Correct it once and move on.

You do not need a long apology about Korean culture.

If someone corrects you:

아, 죄송합니다. 앞으로 팀장님이라고 부르겠습니다.

Ah, sorry. I'll call you team leader from now on.

If you realize you guessed incorrectly:

제가 호칭을 잘못 불렀네요. 어떻게 불러 드리면 될까요?

I used the wrong form of address. How should I address you?

Then use the answer consistently.

The National Institute of Korean Language repeatedly emphasizes that forms of address involve relationship, context and mutual respect rather than one mechanical rule. Correcting yourself calmly is usually more useful than pretending you never made a mistake.

The person asks you to speak casually

You may hear:

말 편하게 하세요.

This roughly means “You can speak more comfortably/casually.”

Do not assume it automatically removes every title and speech-level distinction.

You can relax gradually. Listen to how the other person speaks and what they call you.

If you are unsure how far the change goes, there is no problem staying polite a little longer.

What if your Korean workplace has an unusual title system?

Use it.

Some Korean companies deliberately replace ranks with:

• English names,
• name + 님,
• a single shared title, or
• other internal terminology.

NIKL's current workplace guidance recognizes that organizations may create their own respectful naming culture.

You do not need to “restore traditional Korean etiquette” inside a company that explicitly tells employees to call everyone by an English name.

Likewise, do not assume a conservative organization will appreciate first-name address because your previous startup did.

A realistic first day at a Korean company

Your manager introduces three people:

김도윤 부장님
박지현 팀장님
최민지 님

A sensible approach is to use exactly those forms until you learn otherwise.

Later, the team says:

“We don't really use ranks here. Just call everyone name + 님.”

Now change with the group:

도윤 님
지현 님
민지 님

You do not need to decide which system is “more Korean.” The second system is now the relevant workplace rule.

A short cheat sheet to save on your phone

Known manager title:
팀장님 / 과장님 / 부장님

Professor:
교수님

Teacher or instructor:
선생님

Modern workplace using names:
민지 님

Peer when 씨 is normal in the relationship:
민지 씨

Unknown public employee:
선생님 can be a polite fallback, or begin without a title.

Unknown stranger:
실례합니다 / 죄송한데요

When completely unsure:
어떻게 불러 드리면 될까요?

Three habits that prevent most awkward moments

1. Listen before choosing

Pay attention to introductions, email signatures, nameplates and what people in your position say.

2. Do not translate English titles literally

씨 is not a universal Mr./Ms., and Korean does not need a translated “you” in every sentence.

3. Ask instead of guessing

어떻게 불러 드리면 될까요?

is not an admission that you failed Korean etiquette.

It is the fastest way to learn the local rule.

Related AllThingsK8282 guides

If the naming question comes up because you are starting work in Korea, continue with our Writing a Resume for Korean Employers guide, especially when deciding how to write names, job titles and Korean-language ability consistently.

For the social side of work, our Korean Drinking Etiquette guide explains how workplace hierarchy can become less formal at a dinner without disappearing completely.

And if you are reviewing the formal side of a new job, see Korean Employment Contracts: 5 Clauses to Check. A friendly workplace title does not replace clear written employment terms.

The rule worth remembering

There is no prize for correctly guessing someone's age, hierarchy or preferred title on the first try.

Use the clearest role you know. Follow the language of the group. Stay respectful while the relationship is new.

And if you are still unsure, ask:

어떻게 불러 드리면 될까요?

How should I address you?

That one question is more useful than memorizing a page of Korean honorifics without knowing when they apply.

Sources and scope: The National Institute of Korean Language's 우리, 뭐라고 부를까요?, Standard Language Etiquette material, dictionary explanations and recent Online Korean Language Q&A responses support the distinctions among workplace titles, 씨, 님 and 선생님. NIKL repeatedly notes that real forms of address can depend on relationship, context and organizational culture rather than one mandatory system.

Korea.net material is used for broader cultural examples involving title-based address and sibling terms. Internal workplace examples, Korean scripts and the practical decision sequence in this article are editorial guidance rather than official etiquette rules or accounts of a particular workplace.

Sources and linked AllThingsK8282 guides were checked on September 29, 2026. Language conventions continue to vary by generation, workplace, family and individual preference. When a person or organization tells you how they prefer to be addressed, that local preference is normally more useful than a generic etiquette chart.