Greetings, Thanks and Other Expressions

Here are some examples of daily expressions for you to practice :

Expressions	Meaning
안녕? An-nyeong? (Very casual – not used among adults)	Hi !
안녕하세요?  (Honorific) An-nyeong-ha-se-yo?	How are you?
안녕하십니까?   (Honorific, formal) An-nyeong-ha-sim-ni-kka?	How are you?
만나서 반가워.  (Casual) Man-na-seo ban-ga-wo．	Nice to meet you.
만나서 반갑습니다.  (Formal) Man-na-seo ban-gap-seum-ni-da．	Pleased to meet you.
처음 뵙겠습니다.  (Formal) Cheo-eum boep-get-seum-ni-da.	It’s a pleasure to meet you. (Lit. First time see you)
오래간만입니다.  (Formal) O-rae-gan-man-im-ni-da.	It’s been a long time.
오래간만이에요. O-rae-gan-man-i-e-yo.	Long time no see.
어떻게 지내세요? Eo-tteo-ke-ji-nae-se-yo?	How are you doing?
잘 지내요. Jal-ji-nae-yo.	I am fine.
그저 그래요. Geu-jeo-geu-rae-yo.	So-so.
또 뵙겠습니다.  (Formal) Tto-poep-ge-sseum-ni-da.	Hope to see you again.
미안합니다.  (Formal) Mi-an-ham-ni-da.	I’m sorry.
늦어서 미안합니다.  (Formal) Neoj-eo-seo mi-an-ham-ni-da.	I am sorry, I’m late.
괜찮습니다.  (Formal) Gwaen-chan-seum-ni-da.	It’s all right.
괜찮아.  (Casual) Gwaen-chan-a.	It’s O.K.

Some more examples :

Expressions	Meaning
감사합니다. Gam-sa-ham-ni-da.	Thank you.
고맙습니다. Go-map-seum-ni-da.	Thank you.
고마워.  (Casual) Go-ma-wo.	Thanks．
뭘요. Mwol-yo.	You’re welcome.
아니예요. A-ni-ye-yo.	You’re welcome. (Lit. It is not.)
네/예. Ne/Ye.	Yes.
응/어. Eung/eo.	Yeah.
저기요. Jeo-gi-yo.	Excuse me.
잠깐만요/잠시만요. Jam-kkan-man-yo/Jam-shi-man-yo.	Wait a minute, please.
아니요/ 아뇨. A-ni-yo/A-nyo.	No.
아니. A-ni.	Nope./Nah.
잘 가.  (Casual) Jal ga.	Goodbye (to someone leaving)
안녕히 가세요.  (Honorific) An-nyeong-hi ga-se-yo.	Goodbye (to someone leaving)
안녕히 가십시오.  (Honorific, formal) An-nyeong-hi ga-ship-shi-o.	Goodbye (to someone leaving)
잘 있어.  (Casual) Jal iss-eo.	Goodbye (to someone staying)
안녕히 계세요.  (Honorific) An-nyeong-hi gye-se-yo.	Goodbye (to someone staying)
안녕히 계십시오.  (Honorific, formal) An-nyeong-hi gye-ship-shi-o.	Goodbye (to someone staying)

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Saying Goodbye

When saying goodbye to one who is leaving, you can say :

1)  안녕히 가세요. An-nyeong-hi ga-se-yo.                             (Honorific)

2)  안녕히 가십시오. An-nyeong-hi ga-ship-shi-o.                  (Honorific, formal)

3)  잘 가. Jal ga.                                                                        (Casual)

When you are saying goodbye to one who is staying, you can say :

1)  안녕히 계세요. An-nyeong-hi gye-se-yo.                            (Honorific)

2)  안녕히 계십시오. An-nyeong-hi gye-ship-shi-o.                 (Honorific, formal)

3)  잘 있어. Jal iss-eo.                                                               (Casual)

Close friends who are young will just say ‘안녕 Annyeong’ in both instances.

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Situation Dialogue 3

Study the dialogue below :

Robert Irving is leaving Korea and saying goodbye to Kim Yeongjun.

  

Irving     :  Gamsahamnida.                                    Thank you.

                 Annyeonghi gyeshipsio.                          Goodbye.         

Kim       :   Annyeonghi gashipsio.                           Goodbye.

Minjun’s sister is seeing him off as he goes to Australia as an exchange student.

Minseo  :  Oppa, jal ga.                                        Bye, Minjun.

                                                                              (Lit. Bye, older brother)

Minjun   :  Jal isseo.                                              Take care.

Minseo  :  Jeonhwa hae.                                       Call me.

Minjun   :  Arasseo.                                               Okay.

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Addressing Unknown People at the Shops

Although shop assistants wear name tags, they will never use their given name to introduce themselves. You will never have someone say “Hi, Please call me Sam” to you in Korea, even though this might be appropriate in Australia.

Depending on the shop, the shop assistant will use ‘손님 (son-nim = customer)’ or‘고객 님  (go-gaek-nim = distinguished customer)’ for you, or sometimes a kinship term. For example, a young clerk at the bank may address a customer with the polite and neutral term ‘선생님 (seon-saeng-nim = Mr/Ms/Teacher)’ or ‘고객 님  (go-gaek-nim = Dear customer)’.

In the market, for young girls, they might use ‘언니 (eonni)’, for middle aged women ‘아줌마 (ajumma)’, and for middle aged men (and maybe younger men too) ‘아저씨 (ajeosshi)'. Elderly customers are referred to as ‘할아버지 (harabeoji)’ for men and ‘할머니 (halmeoni)’ for women.

If you need to call out to a staff member to attract their attention, the term you use depends on the type of business. If you are at a café or restaurant, you can use a kinship term, for example to a young female waitress using "eonni" (literally older sister) if you are a female, but usually people don't use any term but simple say "여기요 (yeogiyo)" (literally over here!) to catch their attention. If you are in a shop, you can use kinship terms as described above (i.e. eonni, ajumma, ajeossi, harabeoji, halmeoni, etc.).

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Addressing Peers at School: ‘seonbae’ and ‘hubae’

This section is quite easy since we often heard them a lot in korean dramas. In Korea, age is very important in establishing the relationship between speakers. Therefore, when you are at university, you will address people in the years above or below you with special titles.

The title for someone in a year above you is ‘선배 (seonbae)’ and ‘후배 (hubae)’ is used for someone in a lower year level. For example, if you are a 2nd year student, you are the ‘seonbae’ of a 1st year student and ‘hubae’ of a 3rd year student.

If you are not very close to a person in an older year level, you would add the respectful ‘님 (nim)’ to the title, so that they are called ‘seonbae-nim’. However, if you are very close to someone in an older year, you may also one of the kinship terms (hyeong, nuna, eonni, oppa ).

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Addressing People at the Office: Titles

In Korea titles are very important in showing respect to someone with a higher position than you. Therefore, if someone has a title and you know it, you must use it. For example, if someone is a manager, you will call them ‘manager nim’, even if they are not your manager. You will notice that that these titles have ‘nim’ at the end of them, which is used to show respect to seniors.

Other titles for superiors include:

1)  스미스 교수님                   Professor Smith

     Smith gyo-su-nim

2)  김 사장님                           Company President Kim

     Kim sa-jang-nim

Examples:

1)  박 선생님 앉으세요.                                Mr. Park, please have a seat.

     Park Seon-saeng-nim an-jeu-se-yo.

2)  (A police officer addressing a well-dressed older man.)

     선생님, 저쪽으로 가십시오.                   Sir, please move over there.

     Seonsaengnim, jeojjogeuro gasipsio.

When people have no title and are of equal or lower status than you, you can use their full name + 씨(ssi). For example, if the lowest person in the office is called Yeong-Jun Kim, you would refer to them as ‘Kim Yeong-Jun ssi’. It is rude however to use ‘ssi’, if you are a junior to the person you are addressing.

The title ‘ssi’ should also be used after someone’s given name where there is equal status, but it is offensive to address anyone by ‘their surname and 씨(ssi)’, such as ‘김 씨(Kim ssi)’, so be careful! It is also not used between people in the same gender, so it is best to avoid this title at this stage!

***If there's any confusion, don't hesitate to ask me.

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