r/LearnKorean / Speaking

I feel like a fake speaker when talking to my Korean relatives

Posted by u/Heritagelearner_289 / May 30, 2026

I grew up hearing Korean at home, but I never mastered the honorifics (존댓말). Now that I'm trying to actually speak it with my grandparents, I feel super awkward because I fluctuate between casual and formal forms, which probably sounds terrible. How do I bridge the gap between 'heritage listening' and actually producing natural, respectful Korean without sounding like I'm reading from a textbook?

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