Youβve probably heard of μλ [annyeong] already, whether with your Korean friends or by watching a K-dramas, but did you know you cannot say it to someone older than you, or even worse, your boss?!
Korean is an intricate language with different levels of formal speech, so the type of βhelloβ you use differs based on who youβre speaking to:
μλ [annyeong] β Informal Hello
μλ νμΈμ [annyeonghaseyo] β Formal Hello
μλ νμλκΉ [annyeonghasimnikka] β Very Formal Hello
μ¬λ³΄μΈμ [yeoboseyo] β Saying Hello on the Phone
Letβs say you want to say hello in Korean to a colleague that is younger than you, do you know what to say?
Super helpful, thank you!! I wonder where the Korean hello for answering the phone comes from, itβs so different to the others
I also need to learn about when to use the more formal versions in Korean, in the UK you can be pretty casual with most people (even at work) but I think this is the opposite in Korea - at least, according to my Netflix K Shows
This makes it easy to get started. The only confusing bit is there are two that sound very similar, and the meanings are likewise.
μλ ν κ°μΈμ (annyeonghi gaseyo). This means goodbye and is used when you are staying, but the other person is leaving.
However, when you are leavingβ¦
μλ ν κ³μΈμ (annyeonghi gyeseyo).
Very subtle difference
However, I learnt a new one on my trip to Seoul which isβ¦
μ κ°μ (jal gayo) - it means go well and reminds me of ζ ’θ΅° in Chinese which is used very commonly in Mainland China. It can only be used when someone else is going, not you though.
