Greeting and introducing yourselves

Saying ‘Hello!’ in Korean

 

Koreans say “안녕하세요 [an nyeong ha seyo]?” while slightly bowing their head when they greet others.

“안녕하세요?” is used interchangeably to say “Hi, hello, good morning/afternoon/evening”.

 

You can simply say “안녕?” when you are greeting your friends or a person younger than you.

 

“안녕하세요?” can be used regardless of the time of the day; it can be used in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

 

When you are saying goodbye to a person, you would say “안녕히 가세요 [an nyeong hi ga se yo]” or “안녕히 계세요 [an nyeong hi gye se yo]” in Korean.

 

The direct translation of “안녕히 가세요 [an nyeong hi ga se yo]” is “Go well/go in peace” which is a phrase that is used when you are sending off the other person, and “안녕히 계세요 [an nyeong hi gye se yo]”is “stay well/stay in peace” which is a phrase that is used when you are the one who is leaving.

 

When you are wishing your friend or a person younger than you a farewell, you can simply use “안녕” just as you would when you greet them.

 

Let’s listen to the conversation between 철수 and 영희. They greet and introduce themselves to each other and then go over what each of its parts mean.

 

 

Transcript

철수: 안녕하세요.

영희: 안녕하세요.

철수: 저는 철수입니다.

영희: 저는 영희입니다.

철수: 만나서 반갑습니다.

영희: 네, 반갑습니다.

 

Saying your name in Korean

 

저는 철수입니다. / 저는 영희입니다.
“I am Chul-soo.” / “I am Yung-hee.”

 

Here we have 저는 followed by a name, 철수 & 영희, and then 입니다. This is very standard form to say about your name. 저는 means “I” or “me.”

 

입니다 means “am” or “is” or “are” – as in “I am,” or “he/she is,” or “you are.” Here, since we used 저는……. 입니다, it means “I am …..”

 

Or, another way of telling your name is “제 이름은 …… 입니다” which means “My name is…….. ” What does “제” mean? It is “my” and 이름 means “name”.

 

철수 says 만나서 반갑습니다, which means “It’s nice to meet you.” “만나서” is optional in this phrase; it’s fine to use it, and it’s fine to leave it off.

 

 

Saying ‘Nice to meet you!’

 

If you look in another textbook for learning Korean, you might find “Nice to meet you” taught as 처음 뵙겠습니다. This is actually the most standard and formal way of saying “Nice to meet you,” but is much less commonly used.

 

 

Saying ‘Goodbye!’ in Korean

 

How about saying “Bye” in Korean? Saying bye in Korean requires identifying who is staying and who is leaving. The expressions above mean “Stay in peace” (안녕히 계세요) or “Go in peace” (안녕히 가세요). If the speaker is leaving while the other people remain, he would say “안녕히 계세요“. However, if the speaker says and the others leave, then he would say “안녕히 가세요“. If all parties are leaving simultaneously, everyone will say “안녕히 계세요“. Let’s listen and say them together!

 

Now click on the next topic on the left. We have recorded short clips from Korean series that can help you pick up Korean greetings.