입니다 / 이에요 / 예요 (to be)

What it means

These endings mean "am / is / are". They attach directly to the end of a noun: A은/는 B입니다/이에요/예요 = "A is B". Korean has no separate word for "is" — it is glued onto the noun, and it comes at the end of the sentence.

How to make it

• Formal and polite, any noun → add 입니다: 학생 → 학생입니다
• Polite everyday, noun ends in a consonant → add 이에요: 학생 → 학생이에요, 민준 → 민준이에요
• Polite everyday, noun ends in a vowel → add 예요: 의사 → 의사예요
• Questions: 입니다 → 입니까?: 무엇 → 무엇입니까?
• 이에요/예요 questions keep the same form with a rising voice: 학생이에요? 의사예요?

When to use it

• Formal situations (presentations, news, first meetings, work): 저는 학생입니다. = I am a student.
• Polite everyday talk (shops, classmates, neighbors): 제 이름은 민준이에요. = My name is Minjun.
• Saying what someone's job is: 우리 언니는 의사예요. = My older sister is a doctor.
• Asking what something is, formally: 이것은 무엇입니까? = What is this?

Compare

• 입니다 vs 이에요/예요: the meaning is the same; only the feeling changes. 입니다 sounds formal and official, 이에요/예요 sounds polite but friendly.
• 입니다 never changes. 이에요/예요 depends on the last sound of the noun: 학생이에요 but 의사예요.

Common mistakes

• ❌ 의사이에요 → ✅ 의사예요 (after a vowel, always 예요)
• ❌ 학생예요 → ✅ 학생이에요 (after a consonant, use 이에요)
• ❌ 학생 이에요 → ✅ 학생이에요 (write it attached to the noun, no space)