# Son-in-law 사위 / 서방



## Bagmoolgwan

I watch Korean TV dramas with English subtitles. Some things come up frequently, and I am curious about the exact Korean word(s).

FAMILIES: If I try to look up _son-in-law_ in Korean, what comes up is "sawi" or 사위. However, what I always hear is something like "sobang" - but I cannot find that word in my dictionary (I tried 서방,  소방 etc.) What is going on?


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## Hit Girl

Yes, son-in-law is 사위 (sawi). When you talk to your sawi however, you don't address him 사위. Instead, you call him "surname + 서방" (sobang).
If the guy's name is Kim for example, his mother/father in law will call him 김서방. It's just a form of address.


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## Adriana coreana

and when you call sawi as 2nd person, you say jane(자네).
ex: 김서방, 자네 괜찮나?  Kim-so'bang, are you ok?


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## Bagmoolgwan

Thank you for the clarification. Now when I know what is what, I have discerned "uri sawi" or 오리 사위 in what I hear in the drama I am watching. However, the form "surname + 서방" seems to be used not only when addressing (talking to) the chap, but also when he is referred to using the surname (when he is not present). That is, when the parents-in-law are discussing the son-in-law between themselves, they might say "uri sawi" OR "Lee seobang".


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## Hit Girl

Bagmoolgwan said:


> Thank you for the clarification. Now when I know what is what, I have discerned "uri sawi" or 오리 사위 in what I hear in the drama I am watching. However, the form "surname + 서방" seems to be used not only when addressing (talking to) the chap, but also when he is referred to using the surname (when he is not present). That is, when the parents-in-law are discussing the son-in-law between themselves, they might say "uri sawi" OR "Lee seobang".



Yes, you can use both the 'surname + 서방' form and 우리 사위 (our son-in-law) to refer the guy as a 3rd person. 

p.s. 우리 사위 is literally 'our son-in-law'. However, it's also 'my son-in-law'. In Korean, 우리 often replaces 나의 (my).
For example, we rarely say '나의 엄마' (my mother). Instead we almost always say 우리 엄마.


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## Rance

서방 generally refers a married man.
서방님 would be referring to one's own husband.
Hence while 사위 can only be used to call a man by his parents in law, 서방 can be used by other members of the family.


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