40+ Ways to Say Hello in Korean & Other Greetings

안녕 (annyeong) is the casual way to say “hello” in Korean and is ... Skiptocontent So,youwanttostartconversinginKorean.Goodforyou!Practicingwhatyoulearnbyactuallyspeakingorwritingisthebestwaytoretainknowledge.Andhavingyourfirstconversationstartsbylearninghowtosay“hello”inKorean! Asmostlanguagelearnersknow,therearesomanywaystosay“hello”indifferentlanguages.It’snodifferentintheKoreanlanguage.Howdoyouknowwhichonetouseinparticularsituations?StickaroundandI’llgothroughdifferentwaystosay“hello”inKoreanaswellasothercommonKoreangreetings. Koreanspeechlevelsorpolitenesslevels Beforeyoulearnhowtosay“hello”inKoreanlanguage,youmustfirstbearinmindthatKorean(한국어orhangugeo)isahierarchallanguage. Thereisahierarchyofformalityandpolitenessbasedonwhoyou’retalkingto.Age,socialstatus,andlevelofintimacycomeintoplayandwhenyoudon’tusethecorrectlevelofpoliteness,youmaycomeoffaseitherrudeortooformal. TherearesevenspeechlevelsintheKoreanlanguage,fromhighformality(languageusedforkings)toinformal,casualspeech.Noneedtopanicthough!Wewon’tgothroughallseven,butthisissomethingworthlookingintowhenyougodeeperintolearningKorean. Themostcommonlevelsofspeechthatyoushouldbeawareofarethesethree: Formal–Thisisthelanguageyouusetoshowrespecttoapersonofauthority(i.e.agovernmentofficialoryourboss),customers(ifyou’reworkingintheserviceindustry),inaveryformalbusinesssetting,orsomeoneolderwhoyou’renotclosewith. Thisformofspeechisalsousedin사극(sageuk;historicaldrama),formalannouncementsornewsbroadcasts. StandardPolite–ThisisthemostcommonlyusedformofspeechinKorea.Youcanuseitineverydayspeech,withpeopleatwork,orsomeoneyoudon’tknowverywell. InformalorCasual–Youshouldonlyusethisifyou’reamongclosefriends,somebodyyoungerthanyou,ortochildren. Ifyou’rejustbeginningtolearnKoreanoryouhaveplansoftravelingtoKoreasoon,knowingthestandardspeechwillsufficebecauseithastheproperpolitenessforeverydaysituations.However,itwouldn’thurttoknowformalspeechifyou’reapplyingforajobinKoreaordoingabusinesstransactionwithaKorean. Withoutfurtherado,let’sstartlearninghowtosay“hello”inKoreanandothergreetingsinKoreanlanguage! WaystosayhelloinKorean+otherKoreangreetings 안녕하세요(an-nyeong-ha-se-yo)–HelloorGoodday Whetheryou’reaKoreannooboradvancedinyourstudies,I’msureyoualreadyheardthephrase“annyeonghaseyo.”Itmeans“hello”inKoreanandinHangul(Koreanalphabet),thisiswrittenas안녕하세요.Itcanalsomean“goodday.” 안녕(annyeong)means“well-being”or“peace”while하세요(haseyo)comesfromtheverb하다(hada).So안녕하세요literallymeans“todopeace”or“tohavepeace”.When안녕하세요isusedinquestionform,itmeans“areyouatpeace?”towhichyoucanreply“예(ye)or“yes.” Therearethreecommonwaysofsaying“hello”inKoreanbasedonformalitylevels: 녕하십니까(annyeonghasimnikka)–formal안녕하세요(annyeonghaseyo)–standard안녕(annyeong)–informal 안녕(annyeong)isthecasualwaytosay“hello”inKoreanandisonlyusedwhentalkingtosomeoneyou’reclosewithorsomeonewho’syoungerthanyou.Thinkofitas“hi”inKoreanlanguage.Additionally,annyeongisaninformalwaytosay“goodbye.” 여보세요(yeo-bo-se-yo)–Hello,whenonthephone Howdoyousay“hello”onthephoneinKorean?Yousay여보세요(yeoboseyo). Ifyou’vereadourarticleonKoreantermsofendearment,youprobablyrememberthatyeobousedtomean“lookhere”or“hey,you”inKorean.Hence,여보세요isalsobeusedtogetsomeone’sattention,inaninformalandnegativeway.It’slikesaying“hello?!”inEnglishbutinasarcasticwaysounlessyou’reinitiatinganargument,sticktousingthisonthephone. 좋은아침이에요(jo-eun-achim-i-e-yo)–Goodmorning Tosay“goodmorning”inKorean,youcansayitsstandardpoliteform,좋은아침이에요(joeunachimieyo).Itismadeoftheadjective좋다(jota)whichmeans“good”,아침(achim)whichistheKoreanwordfor“morning”,andtheverb이다(ida)whichmeans“tobe.” Thereisnowaytosay“goodafternoon”inKorean,noristhereonefor“goodevening.”좋은아침이에요(joeunachimieyo)itselfisnotusedasfrequentlyas안녕하세요(annyeonghaseyo),whichcanbeusedatalltimesoftheday. Herearefourwaystosay“goodmorning”inKorean: 좋은아침입니다(joeunachimimnida)–formal좋은아침이에요(joeunachimieyo)–standard좋은아침(joeunachim)–informal굿모닝(gunmoning)–Konglish,informal 굿모닝(gunmoning)iscommonlyusedbyyoungerpeoplewhenaddressingtheirclosefriends. 만나서반갑습니다(man-na-seo-ban-gap-seum-ni-da)–Nicetomeetyou Whenyoumeetsomeoneforthefirsttime,youcangreethimorherwith만나서반갑습니다(mannaseobangapseumnida).Thephraseconsistsof만나다(mannada)whichmeans“tomeet”and반갑다(bangapda),whichmeans“tobehappyorpleased.” IknowIsaidearlierthatthestandardpoliteformisthemostcommonspeechinKorean.Butfor“nicetomeetyou,”youwillmorecommonlyhearitsmostpolite“nida”form.Thisisbecauseformalspeechismorecommonlyusedwithpeopleyoumeetforthefirsttime. Therearesomanywaystosay“nicetomeetyou”inKorean! 만나서반갑습니다(mannaseobangapseumnida)–formal반갑습니다(bangapseumnida)–shortened,formal만나서반가워요(mannaseobangawoyo)–standard만나서반가워(mannaseobangawo)–informal반가워(bangawo)–informal반갑다(bangapda)–informal,useonlywithclosefriends만나서반갑습이에요(mannaseobangapseumieyo)–informal처음뵙겠습니다(cheoeumboepgetseumnida)–formal,noinformalversionandusedtogreeteldersorforamoreformalsetting 오랜만이에요(o-raen-ma-ni-e-yo)–Longtimenosee Youcanuse오랜만이에요(oraenmanieyo)togreetsomeoneyouhaven’tseeninalongtime.Theword오랜만(oraenman)literallytranslatesto“longtime.” Herearevariouswaystosay“longtimenosee”inKorean: 오랜만입니다(oraenmanimnida)–formal오랜만이에요(oraenmanieyo)–standard오랜만이야(oraenmaniya)–informal오랜만에(oraenmane)–informal,useonlywithclosefriends 얼굴보니까좋다(eol-gul-bo-ni-gga-jo-ta)–It’sgoodtoseeyourface Itsoundsweirdtosay“it’sgoodtoseeyourface”toyourfriendsinEnglish.But얼굴보니까좋다(eolgulboniggajota)isjustanotherwaytosay“hello”inKorean.Becareful,however,asthisisacolloquial,informalgreetingusedonlyamongteenagersandcloseadultfriends. 무슨일이야?(mu-seun-ir-i-ya?)–What’sup? 무슨일이야?(museumiriya?)isaKoreangreetingthatyoucanuseexclusivelyforclosefriends.Itmeans“what’sup”oraninformalwayofsaying“howareyoudoing?”andlikeinEnglish,youdon’tsaythisinformalsituations. 야!(Ya!)–Hey! Wanttoknowhowtosay“hey”inKorean?Youcansimplysay야!orya!Easytoremember,right? Butlike무슨일이야?(mu-seun-ir-i-ya?),youcanonlyusethisKoreangreetingwithclosefriends.It’sinformalandifyouuseittocallpeopleolderthanyouorpeopleyou’renotclosewith,youwillnodoubtcomeoffasrude. 잘지냈어요?(jal-ji-nae-sseo-yo?)–Howareyou? Afteryou’vesaid“hello”inKorean,whatcommonlyfollowsisaskinghowtheyareorhowthey’vebeen.Todothat,youcanask잘지냈어요?(jaljinaesseoyo?) 잘(jal)means“well”and지냈어요(jinaesseoyo)means“tospendtimeorlive”.잘지냈어요?(jaljinaesseoyo?)isthestandardformof“howareyou”inKoreanbutthereareotherwaystosayit: 잘지내셨어요?(jaljinaesyeosseoyo?)–formal어떻게지내셨어요?(eotteokejinaesyeosseoyo?)–formal잘있었어요?(jalisseosseoyo?)–standard어떻게지냈어요?(eotteokejinaesseoyo?)–standard잘지냈어?(jaljinaesseo?)–informal잘있었어?(jalisseosseo?)–informal어떻게지냈어?(eotteokejinaesseo?)–informal AlsoRead:24WaystoSay“HowAreYou”inKorean 밥먹었어요?(bap-meo-geo-sseo-yo?)–Didyoueat? Itprobablysoundsstrangetoask“didyoueat?”asawayofgreetingsomeone,butthisiscommoninKoreaandotherAsiancountries. 밥(bap)meansriceorfoodand먹었어요(meogeosseoyo)meanstoeat.밥먹었어요?(bap-meo-geo-sseo-yo?)doesn’tnecessarilymeanthatyou’reaskingifthey’veliterallyeaten.Instead,it’sawayofshowingconcernorinterestintheperson’swell-being.Still,youcananswerthiswithasimple네(ne,oryes)or괜찮아요(gwaenchanhayo,orI’mfine). 잘잤어요?(jal-ja-sseo-yo?)–Didyousleepwell? 잘잤어요?(jaljasseoyo?)stemsfrom잘(jal),which,asexplainedabove,means“well”andtheverb자다(jada)whichmeans“tosleep.”Thisisjustanotherwayofaskingthepersonyou’retalkingtohowsheorheis,andawaytoshowconcern. 잘부탁드립니다(jal-bu-tag-deu-rim-ni-da)–Pleaselookafterme 잘부탁드립니다(jalbutagdeurimnida)isanotherKoreangreetingthatmaysoundstrangetonon-nativespeakers.Itisoftentranslatedas“pleaselookafterme”or“pleasetakecareofme.”Butitsmeaning,whenusedincontext,iscloserto“let’shaveagoodrelationship”orIlookforwardtoworkingwithyou.” ThiscommonKoreangreetingisusedwhenanewemployeestartshisorhernewjob.Thephrasecomesafterhisorherself-introduction.Thisisnotlimitedtocorporatesettingsthough.I’veseenalotofbehind-the-scenesclipsofKoreancelebritiessayingthisphrasetodirectorsorfilmingcrewsbeforestartinganewproject. Thisphraseisverypoliteandoftensaidwithabow.Theinformalwayofsayingitis잘부탁해(jalbutakhae).Youmayonlyusethiscasualformwithpeopleofthesameageoryoungerthanyou,andpeopleyouknowyouareclosewith. 환영해요(hwan-yeong-hae-yo)–Welcome Howdoyousay“hello”inKoreanwhenyou’reworkinginastoreorrestaurant?Whileyoucanstillsaythestandard안녕하세요(annyeonghaseyo),youcanalsosay환영해요(hwanyeonghaeyo)whichmeans“welcome.”Theformalwayofsayingthisis환영합니다orhwanyeonghamnida. 안녕히가세요(an-nyeong-hi-ga-se-yo)or안녕히계세요(an-nyeong-hi-gye-se-yo)–Goodbye Younowknowhowtosay“hello”inKorean,aswellasothercommongreetings.Butwhenit’stimetosaygoodbye,whatshouldyousay? Itdependsonwhoisleaving. 안녕히가세요(annyeonghigaseyo)isthestandardformof“goodbye”inKoreananditisusedwhenthepersonyouaretalkingtoisleaving.가세요(gaseyo)isthepolitewayoftellingsomebodytogo. 안녕히계세요(annyeonghigyeseyo),ontheotherhand,isusedwhenyouaretheonewho’sleaving.계세요(gyeseyo)isthepoliteformof있으세요(isseuseyo),fromtheverb있다(itda),whichmeans“toexist.”So안녕히계세요(annyeonghigyeseyo)literallymeans“topeacefullyexist.” Thepronunciationmaysoundconfusingatfirstbutwithenoughpractice,you’llbeabletosayeitherphrasewithease.Ifit’sanyconsolation,ifyousayitfastenough(whichishowmostKoreanssayit),noonewillnoticeitevenifyouinterchangethetwo. Like“hello”andothergreetingsinKorean,“goodbye”alsohasotherforms: 안녕히가십시오(annyeonghigasipsio)–formal안녕히계십시오(annyeonghigyesipsio)–formal가세요(gaseyo)–standard잘가요(jalgayo)–standard안녕(annyeong)–informal잘가(jalga)–informal나먼저갈게(nameonjeogalge)–informal다음에봐(daeumebwa)–informal내일봐(naeilbwa)–informal Andthat’sit!Congratulations,younowknowhowtosay“hello”inKorean,plusotherbasicKoreangreetings! Ifyou’reinterestedinlearningKorean,youcancheckoutthiscomprehensivelistofresources,includingapps,onlinecourses,books,podcasts,andonlinetutors.Happylearning! 2thoughtson“40+WaystoSayHelloinKorean&OtherGreetings” suchagreatarticle.Koreanisafascinatinglanguage.It’scomplex,butmanypeoplearedrawntothewayitsounds. Reply Iagree!Interestingly,theKoreanalphabetwascraftedfollowingtheshapeofthemouth,tongue,teeth,andthroatwhenpronouncingtheletters. Reply LeaveaCommentCancelreplyCommentName Email Website Savemyname,email,andwebsiteinthisbrowserforthenexttimeIcomment. Hello! 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