What is the difference between the honorifics 씨 vs 시 when used at the end of a name?
씨 as an honorific: https://blogs.transparent.com/korean/honorific-titles/
시 as an honorific: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%EC%8B%9C
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Sign up to join this communityWhat is the difference between the honorifics 씨 vs 시 when used at the end of a name?
씨 as an honorific: https://blogs.transparent.com/korean/honorific-titles/
시 as an honorific: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%EC%8B%9C
I did not leave an answer immediately because that kind of question usually arises when one is unable to distinguish between certain sounds, rather than when one does not know usage differences. English speakers who do not know Korean will transliterate both 시 and 씨 as si, but ㅅ and ㅆ sound clearly different to Koreans' ears. I would say that to differentiate ㅅ from ㅆ, you need to sense the difference in aspiration time although there are some other acoustic cues. Of course, there are situations (for example, emergencies) when a person cannot always pronounce a word in the correct way; in such cases, you will have to use contextual cues.
You can use the bound noun 씨 to call and mention someone (usually, a colleague or stranger who is/seems not older or higher than you, an adult around your age who is not close to you, or your boyfriend/girlfriend) deferentially as follows:
As you may have noticed, the bound noun 씨 follows a full name, first name, or last name; however, it might be rude to use 씨 with a last name since it can imply that you do not remember her/his full name or that you do not want to call her/him politely.) This is one of the correct ways to call and mention "you" or someone else. This 씨 may translate into Mr., Miss, Mrs., or Ms., but I would not translate it because it is not a gender-specific word. You should note that I have dealt with the bound noun 씨 not the suffix -씨. The suffix -씨 (attached to a last name or some other types of nouns) is irrelevant to honorifics.
The more deferential one is 님. I mentioned that some hate to use or hear 씨. They think that 씨 lacks courteousness even when they are lower in rank or much younger than their interlocutors. This article and this post may be interesting to you. Because of such a perception gap, some companies use English names or allow 님 only.
Ironically, 님 can also be informal especially in cyberspace as there are countless strangers whose ages are unknown. On the Web, people sometimes use it as a pronoun or interjection (I mean, without a name) as follows:
This is a non-standard way to call and mention "you." You might ask: "Isn't there the word 당신 to call 'you' politely?" No, 당신 is not an honorific in conversation when you speak to someone who is not your life partner, when you do not use 하오체 (which is seldom used these days), and when it does not refer back to the subject of the sentence. You can even start an argument using the word 당신. The advisable way to call "you" politely is to use her/his name with an honorific bound noun.
The pre-final ending -시- never comes right next to a name, which is a noun, because it has to be placed between the stem of a verb, adjective, or 이다 and another ending. One might bring this:
which cannot disprove my statement because there must be the omission of the stem 이 of the postposition 이다. Technically, it has come right next to the omitted 이-; the original sentence is "성함이 혹시 이영희이십니까?" The postposition 이다 has no significant meanings; it is quite natural to avoid the repetition of the "ㅣ"(이) sound.