Korean

Syllable

요 • ‎(yo)

1. A Hangul syllabic block made up of ㅇ and ㅛ.

Etymology 2

Of native Korean origin.

Noun

요 • ‎(yo)

1. bedspread

Etymology 3

Particle

요 • ‎(yo)

1. (Sentence-final particle for verbs and adjectives in the 해요체 (haeyoche, “polite”) speech level)

   해요‎ ― haeyo ― does

Usage notes

In the 해요체 (haeyoche, “polite”) speech level, there is no explicit marker to distinguish between indicative, interrogative, imperative, and hortative moods. The mood distinction is made with punctuation (e.g. “?”, “!”) and pitch (e.g. rising for interrogative) only.

The modern pronunciation of this particle is more open than the syllable 요 and can be described as 여.

Derived terms

• 죠 ‎(jyo) (contraction of -지요)