{"id":79472,"date":"2020-03-11T19:16:54","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T23:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/i-love-you-in-korean\/"},"modified":"2025-01-28T02:41:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T07:41:57","slug":"i-love-you-in-korean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/korean\/i-love-you-in-korean\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Ways to Say “I Love You” in Korean [with Audio]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love is a very powerful thing, so it makes sense that you want to know how to express it in Korean.<\/p>\n

This post will show you exactly how to tell someone you love them\u2014just like a native Korean speaker!<\/p>\n

For example, you might already know about \uc0ac\ub791\ud574 or sarang-hae<\/em> (“I love you”), but did you know there are versions of it that are more polite or formal?\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this guide, we’ll teach you how to say “I love you” in different situations, from confessing your love for the first time to tying the knot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look!<\/p>\n

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How to Say “I Love You” in Korean\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"romantic-image-of-multiracial-couple\"<\/p>\n

The word for \u201clove\u201d in Korean is \uc0ac\ub791\u00a0(sa-rang).<\/em><\/p>\n

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of things, we need to remember that we have Korean speech levels<\/a> that reflect differences in age, relationship, rank or social status.<\/p>\n

This affects the way we say \u201cI love you.\u201d The root sa-rang<\/em> tacks on different endings, depending on the level of formality conveyed by the situation:<\/p>\n

1. \uc0ac\ub791\ud574 (Informal)<\/h3>\n

Romanization:<\/strong>\u00a0Sarang-hae<\/em><\/p>\n

Of the three ways to say “I love you,” this is the most informal. You use it with girlfriends\/boyfriends or people you\u2019re close to<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Sarang-hae<\/em>\u00a0assumes familiarity and closeness and is appropriate for people you have a standing relationship with.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of example sentences that use this phrase:<\/p>\n

\uc790\uae30, \uc0ac\ub791\ud574<\/strong>. <\/strong>(Jagi, sarang-hae<\/strong>.)
\n<\/em>Honey, I love you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc2f8\uc6b0\uc9c0 \ub9d0\uc790. \ub2f9\uc2e0, \uc0ac\ub791\ud574<\/strong>. <\/strong>(Oori ssauji malja. Dangshin, sarang-hae<\/strong>.)
\n<\/em>Let\u2019s not fight. Honey, I love you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

2. \uc0ac\ub791\ud574\uc694 (Polite)<\/h3>\n

Romanization:<\/strong>\u00a0Sarang-haeyo<\/em><\/p>\n

Sarang-haeyo <\/em>is more polite than sarang-hae. <\/em>Some couples can opt to use sarang-haeyo<\/em> if they want to be extra polite with each other, but many just use the casual sarang-hae.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sarang-haeyo <\/em>is also used by some people to\u00a0say \u201cI love you\u201d to their parents<\/strong>. This depends on the relationship and the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of examples that use this phrase:<\/p>\n

\uc0ac\ub791\ud574\uc694<\/strong>… \ub098\ub791 \uc0ac\uadc8\ub798\uc694? (Sarang-haeyo<\/strong>… Narang saguillaeyo?)
\n<\/em>I love you<\/strong>… Will you go out with me?<\/p>\n

\uc5c4\ub9c8, \uc0ac\ub791\ud574\uc694<\/strong>. <\/strong>(Umma, sarang-haeyo<\/strong>.)
\n<\/em>Mom, I love you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

3. \uc0ac\ub791\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4 (Formal)<\/h3>\n

Romanization:<\/strong> Sarang-hamnida<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the most formal way to say \u201cI love you.\u201d You can use it when you\u2019re talking to a group of people, like a full auditorium or when you\u2019re giving a presentation or speech.<\/p>\n

Sarang-hamnida <\/em>can also be used with someone you don\u2019t know really well or someone who\u2019s older than you<\/strong>. Another situation is if the recipient is higher in perceived social status (even if he or she might be your age).<\/p>\n

You might hear one of the members of the popular band BTS yell the following to their fans in the Philippines:<\/p>\n

\uc0ac\ub791\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4<\/strong><\/strong>, \ub9c8\ub2d0\ub77c! (Sarang-hamnida<\/strong>, Manila!)
\n<\/em>I love you<\/strong>, Manila!<\/p>\n

Because Sarang-hamnida<\/em>\u00a0is quite formal, it’s not often heard or used in everyday conversations. The term does appear in poems and songs, however.<\/p>\n

One example of this is in Tim Hwang\u2019s 2003 hit ballad \u201cSaranghamnida.\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

More Ways to Say “I Love You” in Korean<\/h2>\n

\u201cI love you\u201d may not always be the perfect thing to say.<\/p>\n

Just as indicated in our video lesson<\/a> below, “I love you” is usually reserved for those who are truly committed or those who are really important to you\u2014but there are plenty more ways of expressing love in Korean!<\/p>\n

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Below are some of the other phrases that you can use to tell a native speaker you are interested in them. To learn all the different situations you could use them in, watch and listen to how native speakers actually use the sentences themselves\u2014the language learning program FluentU<\/a> is one place you can do this.<\/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

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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

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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