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<\/p>\nSaying “hello” in Korean is a good place to start when learning the language.\u00a0But Korean greetings aren’t as simple as “hello.” They change depending on your relationship with the person you’re greeting and how casual or formal the situation is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Learn how to say “hello” in Korean at various levels of formality in this post, so you’ll be ready to start conversations with ease.
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Pronunciation:<\/strong> An-nyeong-ha-se-yo<\/em><\/p>\n This is the most common polite greeting.<\/strong> You can use it when meeting someone for the first time and when greeting someone older than you, an acquaintance or someone working in a service capacity.<\/p>\n You can also add a question mark<\/strong> to ask \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/strong>: \u201c\uc548\ub155\ud558\uc138\uc694?\u201d\u00a0The phrase literally means something along the lines of “Are you at peace?” It’s often answered with “\uc548\ub155\ud558\uc138\uc694” right back, and commonly accompanied by a quick bow.<\/p>\n Pronunciation: <\/strong>An-nyung-ha-sip-ni-ka<\/em><\/p>\n This is an even more formal greeting than the previous one. Nowadays it’s pretty much only heard on news reports or to greet customers in a very respectful way.<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Yeo-bo-se-yo<\/em><\/p>\n “\uc5ec\ubcf4\uc138\uc694” is quite simple. It’s the standard polite greeting you use in Korean when picking up the phone.<\/p>\n Pronunciation: <\/strong>Man-na-suh-ban-gap-seup-ni-da<\/em><\/p>\n You’ll pretty much only hear this phrase in its formal form because it’s always used when meeting someone for the first time\u2014a situation that calls for formal speech.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, in more casual settings such as when meeting a friend of a friend, you could also say “\ub9cc\ub098\uc11c \ubc18\uac11\uc2b5\uc774\uc5d0\uc694”<\/strong> (It\u2019s nice to meet you).\u00a0<\/p>\n It’s common to leave off the first half and just say “\ubc18\uac11\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Pronunciation: <\/strong>Jal-bu-tag-deu-lib-ni-da<\/em><\/p>\n This is a formal, very polite greeting sometimes used when making introductions, especially in professional settings<\/strong>. It\u2019s usually said with a bow.<\/p>\n It’s a cultural phrase that doesn’t have an English equivalent, but it can express that you hope the person sees you positively or that you get along well, or to say that you look forward to working with them.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can use it at a job interview, when starting a new job, when meeting the boss or other higher-ups in your company or when receiving a promotion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Jeo-gi-yo<\/em><\/p>\n This is a polite way to get the attention of someone you don’t know, such as a member of the waitstaff in a restaurant.<\/p>\n While it isn’t exactly a greeting, it can start a conversation nonetheless. While yelling to waitstaff might seem rude, this is considered normal in South Korea.<\/p>\n You might also use it for other completely normal reasons, like alerting someone to the possible presence of zombies on a train, as happens in the trailer for the popular horror movie “Train to Busan.”<\/a><\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> An-nyeong<\/em><\/p>\n This is a casual greeting you can use with friends, family and those younger than you<\/strong>. It can also be used as a casual farewell.<\/p>\n The trailer for the TV series “Cheese in the Trap”<\/a> includes two examples of “\uc548\ub155” and two of “\uc548\ub155\ud558\uc138\uc694” all within the first 10 seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Mwo-hae<\/em><\/p>\n This is a common casual greeting that you might use with friends<\/strong>, either when talking or texting<\/strong>. It means, “What are you doing?” and is kind of like saying, “What’s up?” To make this greeting more polite, simply add \uc694 to the end.<\/p>\n In the song “\ubb50 \ud574” by Kang Daniel<\/a>, the lyrics ask, “\ub108\ub294 \uc9c0\uae08 \ubb50 \ud574<\/strong>?”\u00a0or “What are you up to now?”<\/p>\n In a scene from the drama “Descendents of the Sun,”<\/a> you can hear one character say to another, “\uc5ec\uae30\uc11c \ubb50 \ud574\uc694<\/strong>?” which means, “What are you doing here?”<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Museun-ir-iya?<\/em><\/p>\n This is a very casual greeting you can use with friends<\/strong>. Like in English, it can serve as a way to ask someone what they\u2019re doing or just to say hi.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you add \uc774\uac8c to the beginning of the phrase, the meaning is more like \u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d or “What’s going on?”: \uc774\uac8c \ubb34\uc2a8 \uc77c\uc774\uc57c (ige museun ir-iya<\/em>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Ya<\/em><\/p>\n This is a very informal<\/strong> phrase you can use to get the attention of your friends<\/strong>, but it can be considered extremely rude under other circumstances.<\/p>\n Depending on context and tone, it can sound like more of an angry interjection or call-out. It’s not something that you’d want to say to anyone you don’t know, or anyone other than a friend, significant other, younger sibling, etc.<\/p>\n Note that \uc57c can be tacked onto Korean names ending in a vowel\u00a0as a suffix<\/a>\u2014while names ending in a consonant take \uc544 as a casual way of getting someone’s attention.<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Jal jass-eo<\/em><\/p>\n This is a way of saying “good morning”<\/strong> in Korean<\/a>. In a casual situation, you could respond to the question with “\uc751, \uc798 \uc7a4\uc5b4”<\/strong> (Yes, I slept well) or just “\uc751” (Yes).<\/p>\n “\uc798 \uc7a4\uc5b4\uc694?”\u00a0is the standard polite form of this question. You can hear it at the start of this trailer for an episode of the drama “Clean with Passion for Now.”<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n To use the polite form in your answer, you could respond with “\ub124, \uc798 \uc7a4\uc5b4\uc694.”\u00a0\ub124 is a more polite version of “yes.”<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Jal ji-naess-eo<\/em><\/p>\n “\uc798 \uc9c0\ub0c8\uc5b4?” is something that you’d say to someone you know but haven’t seen in a while<\/strong>.\u00a0This phrase and the previous one both share the first character \uc798, which means “well,” and both of these questions ask about wellness regarding the past.<\/p>\n As with the phrase above, this is a yes or no question, so you can simply respond with “\uc751” or “\ub124” to say that you’ve been well, depending on your intended level of politeness or familiarity.<\/p>\n You can also flip the question into a statement. For example, “\ub124, \uc798 \uc9c0\ub0c8\uc5b4\uc694” (Yes, I’ve been well).<\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> Bab meo-geo-sseo<\/em><\/p>\n Use this greeting when you know someone quite well and want to express interest in their well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n \ubc25 means “rice” and also “meal” in Korean. \uba39\uc5c8\uc5b4 is the past tense of the verb “to eat.” So “\ubc25 \uba39\uc5c8\uc5b4?”<\/strong> is literally asking if someone has eaten a meal.<\/p>\n However, this question carries a deeper meaning in Korean. It’s a warmer, more caring way of asking after someone you know, a point elaborated on in this video from Korean Hanna, which also includes a sample dialogue:<\/p>\n As is shown in the video, the standard polite version is “\ubc25 \uba39\uc5c8\uc5b4\uc694?”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Pronunciation:<\/strong> O-raen-man-i-ya<\/em><\/p>\n “\uc624\ub79c\ub9cc\uc774\uc57c”<\/strong> means “Long time, no see,” or “It’s been a while.” You can hear this phrase in the song of the same name by Korean rapper Loco<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since you’d say this to someone you know but haven’t seen for a while, you might follow up with “\uc798 \uc9c0\ub0c8\uc5b4?” The polite version of this phrase is “\uc624\ub79c\ub9cc\uc774\uc5d0\uc694.”<\/p>\n You can hear many of these greetings in the humorous short film below, “\uc5ec\ubcf4\uc138\uc694.” It’s about Daryl, who wants to invite a girl he likes to a party, but tries to avoid calling her by first calling every other girl he can think of to invite.<\/p>\n \uc548\ub155 (Hi<\/strong>)<\/strong> \u2014 At one point, Daryl thinks he’s talking to a girl he knows when it’s actually her mother on the phone. As soon as he realizes his mistake, at around 3:33, we see him pivot from an informal “\uc548\ub155” to a more polite “\uc548\ub155\ud558\uc138\uc694.”\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \uc57c! (Hey!) <\/strong>\u2014 Daryl’s friend starts off a text with “\uc57c.” Daryl also tacks on \uc57c to the end of the names of\u00a0some of the girls he calls, like at 2:43. His friend also uses \uc57c with him at 0:51.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \uc798 \uc9c0\ub0c8\uc5b4? (How have you been)<\/strong> \u2014 Since Daryl is calling people he hasn’t spoken to in a while, it’s appropriate that he uses this expression, as he does\u00a0here at 2:45.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n In this post, we deal mainly with two levels of formality<\/strong>: \ubc18\ub9d0 (casual speech or literally “half words”) and \uc874\ub313\ub9d0 (polite or standard speech).<\/p>\n \ubc18\ub9d0 is generally used with friends your age and those younger than you, while \uc874\ub313\ub9d0 is used with strangers and those older than you. There are other levels, but that’s part of a more complicated discussion.<\/p>\n All you need to know right now is that some of the phrases can be expressed in two (or more) forms, and that if in doubt about which one to use, you should default to the polite form<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Let’s quickly look at some great online resources<\/a> that’ll help you nail down your knowledge of greetings.<\/p>\n FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\uc548\ub155\ud558\uc2ed\ub2c8\uae4c \u2013 Hello\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\uc5ec\ubcf4\uc138\uc694 \u2014 Hello? (when answering the phone)<\/h3>\n
\ub9cc\ub098\uc11c \ubc18\uac11\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4 \u2013 Nice to meet you<\/h3>\n
\uc798\ubd80\ud0c1\ub4dc\ub9bd\ub2c8\ub2e4\u2014 Please take care of me<\/h3>\n
\uc800\uae30\uc694! \u2014 Excuse me!\u00a0<\/h3>\n
Informal Korean Greetings<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n\uc548\ub155 \u2014 Hi\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\ubb50 \ud574? \u2014 What are you doing?<\/h3>\n
\ubb34\uc2a8 \uc77c\uc774\uc57c? \u2014 What\u2019s up?<\/h3>\n
\uc57c! \u2014 Hey!\/Yo!\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\uc798 \uc7a4\uc5b4? \u2014 Did you sleep well?\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\uc798 \uc9c0\ub0c8\uc5b4? \u2014 How have you been?\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\ubc25 \uba39\uc5c8\uc5b4? \u2014 Have you eaten?<\/h3>\n
\uc624\ub79c\ub9cc\uc774\uc57c <\/strong>\u2014 <\/strong>Long time no see\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Levels of Formality in Korean Greetings<\/h2>\n
Resources for Learning How to Say “Hello” in Korean<\/h2>\n
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