# 존댓말 공대말 높임말



## gegen33

Is there any difference between the terms 존댓말 공대말 and 높임말? If so, what is it?


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## Superhero1

They are almost the same and interchangable except for 공대말. 

높임말 is a genuin Korean word, whereas 존댓말 consists of Chinese characters 존대(尊待) and a genuin our word 말.

We usually use 존댓말 and 높임말 like:

웃어른께는 존댓말(높임말)을 사용해야 한다.
높임법을 지켜서 말을 해야한다. (we don't say 존대법)
잘 모르는 사람에게는 존댓말을 사용해야 한다. (you can use 높임말, however 존댓말 is more natural, I don't know the why.)
존댓말로 말 안했다가 크게 혼났어. (we don't say 높임말 in this case.)


You will have no trouble in using 존댓말 only.


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## wildsunflower

"존대법" is still in use, and I believe it will be around for a long time. "높임말" is a newer word. Korean went through many changes since the beginning of the 20th century, if I am not mistaken. It was the time when 한글 started to settle in public usage. There were quite a bit of (often fierce) disputes over the standards of 한글. Since then 한글 was more and more widely used and eventually replaced the original Chinese characters in writing. However, 한자에 기반한 단어 말들, e.g. 존댓말 or 공대말, were regarded with more respect than pure 한글. The dominance of pure 한글 is a recent phenomenon. I believe that is why in some cases pure 한글, e.g. 높임말, feels unnatural.


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