Like acquiring any skill, Korean can be learned through dedication and study. I’m here to help make your work a bit easier by guiding you along this process.
Before we go into anything else, the most important thing you’ll need to know in Korean is how to introduce yourself to others. Let’s start with a few of the most commonly used greetings.
Read the conversation below on your own first, and then we’ll break it up and learn what each part means.
Conversation 1
A: 안녕하세요.
B: 안녕하세요.
A: 안녕히 가세요.
B: 안녕히 계세요.
It might not look like much, but this is our very first Korean conversation, and it’s certainly important. Let’s go over each part one at a time.
"Hello." – 안녕하세요.
This means "hello," and you can say it to anyone you’d like. It also happens to be an appropriate reply to anyone saying "hello."
"Goodbye." (to a person leaving) – 안녕히 가세요.
Although the first two syllables look the same as "hello," this phrase means "goodbye." However, Korean has two ways of saying "goodbye." This is how to say "goodbye" to a person who is leaving. It literally means "Go in peace."
"Goodbye." (to a person staying) – 안녕히 계세요.
Here is the second way to say "goodbye" in Korean. This is how to say "goodbye" to a person who is staying. It literally means "Stay in peace."
Notice how the two ways of saying "goodbye" differ in only one syllable – 안녕히 가세요 and 안녕히 계세요. Remembering this difference will help you save time memorizing them both individually.
When meeting someone for the first time, it’s best to start off by saying "hello." Let’s look at another conversation, this time between 철수 and 영희, and then go over what each of its parts mean.
Culture Notes:
Koreans will bow slightly when greeting others, and the amount that they bow will depend on the status of the other person. For example, it would be acceptable to greet someone younger than you by just lowering your head as if nodding, while greeting a company’s boss would require a formal bow – if you want specifics, the maximum angle for a more formal bow will be around 45 degrees… but I didn’t do any scientific studies so don’t quote me on that number (I’m a Korean teacher, not a mathematician). Your greetings will vary between lowering your head and a formal bow, depending on how much respect you wish to show them. When in doubt, choose the formal bow.
You may also shake hands while bowing. This is common as well in any situation.
If you want to be extra polite and formal (usually for business transactions), use both hands when shaking hands. Or, use your right hand to shake hands, while holding your right forearm with your left hand (you read that right). However, save these kind of handshakes for only the most heartfelt and formal situations, such as the day you get to meet your favorite actor or actress in Korea.
Conversation 2
철수: 안녕하세요.
영희: 안녕하세요.
철수: 저는 철수입니다.
영희: 저는 영희입니다.
철수: 만나서 반갑습니다.
영희: 네, 반갑습니다.
Let’s break apart the conversation to understand what it means.
철수: 안녕하세요.
"Hello."
This line and the next are straightforward. 철수 is saying "hello."
Culture Notes:
The names 철수 and 영희 are to Koreans what "Bob" and Sally" are to English speakers, and are standard names used frequently in Korean textbooks. In fact, they were used so frequently that everyone in Korea associates these names with textbooks.
영희: 안녕하세요.
"Hello."
철수: 저는 철수입니다.
"I am Chul-soo."
Here we have 저는 followed by a name, 철수, and then 입니다 (we’ll talk about 입니다 in just a moment).
What is 저는?
저 means "I" or "me." The 는 that comes after it is called a Topic Marker, and basically means "this is what we’re going to be talking about now." 저는 can therefore translate to "we’re going to be talking about me now."
I’ll go over the Topic Marker in detail later on, but for now, feel free to simply remember that you can use 저는 at the start of sentences when you’re talking about yourself.
Using 입니다
입니다 means "am" or "is" or "are" – as in "I am," or "he/she is," or "you are." Here, since we used 저는 at the beginning, it means "I am."
You can also think of 입니다 as meaning "equals."
저는 철수입니다.
"I am Chul-soo," or "I equal Chul-soo."
In English, even a verb as simple as "to be" can have several ways to say it depending on the subject – I am, you are, he/she is, they are, et cetera. Korean has no such thing. 입니다 can be used in all of these cases.
Attach 입니다 directly after a noun (here, after a name).
입니다 will only appear at the end of a sentence.
Remember that due to sound change rules, 입니다 is pronounced 임니다.
영희: 저는 영희입니다.
"I am Yung-hee."
철수: 만나서 반갑습니다.
"It’s nice to meet you."
철수 says 만나서 반갑습니다, which means "It’s nice to meet you."
영희: 네, 반갑습니다.
"Yes, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you."
영희 replies with a "yes" (네), followed by 반갑습니다. Notice how even though 영희 did not use 만나서 in her reply, the translation is still "It’s nice to meet you." This is because "만나서" is optional in this phrase; it’s fine to use it, and it’s fine to leave it off.
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. However, feel free to learn it and you might hear it a few times. I would recommend (만나서) 반갑습니다 in most normal situations besides formal business meetings.
Advanced Notes:
만나서 comes from the verb 만나다, which means "to meet." However, 반갑습니다 comes from the verb 반갑다, which means "to be glad," and implies that you’re glad because you’re meeting someone.
Adding 만나서 onto 반갑습니다 simply lengthens the phrase, and can make it sound a bit more polite. Its meaning stays the same.
Practice
Complete the conversation:
1. _______________.
"Hello."
2. _______________. 저는 _______________입니다.
"Hello. I am Chul-soo."
3. 저는 _______________입니다. 만나서 _______________.
"I am Yung-hee. Nice to meet you."
4. 네, _______________.
"Yes, nice to meet you."
5. 안녕히 _______________.
"Goodbye." (to someone leaving)
6. 안녕히 _______________.
"Goodbye." (to someone staying)
Translate to English:
7. 안녕하세요. 저는 철수입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다. 안녕히 가세요.
Translate to Korean:
8. "Hello. Nice to meet you. I am [your name]. Goodbye (you are leaving)."
New Phrases
안녕하세요. - "Hello."
안녕히 가세요. - "Goodbye." ("Go in peace.")
안녕히 계세요. - "Goodbye." ("Stay in peace.")
저는 _____입니다. - "I am _____."
(만나서) 반갑습니다. - "Nice to meet you."
처음 뵙겠습니다. - "Nice to meet you."
네 - "yes"
아니요 - "no"
New Vocabulary
저 - "I," "me"
입니다 - "am," "is," "are," "equals"