How to Say Hello in Korean

(Korean) 안녕, 안녕하세요, 안녕하십니까
(English) Hello, Hi, Good morning, Good afternoon, Good evening, How are you?, What's up?, and etc...

(Japanese) おはよう、おはようございます、こんにちは、こんばんは

 

반말 Casual language タメ口
안녕

비격식체 존댓말 Polite language for daily conversation 非格式体の敬語
안녕하세요

격식체 존댓말 Formal language for writing and business 格式体の敬語
안녕하십니까

 

 

대화 Conversations 会話
A: 안녕하세요.
B: 안녕하세요.

 

안녕하세요 is the most common way of greeting someone in Korean. This greeting is in 존댓말, or polite/formal language. When someone greets you with 안녕하세요, you can simply greet the person back with 안녕하세요.

When you write this greeting, you can write it as “안녕하세요.” (statement) or “안녕하세요?” (question form). Either way is perfectly acceptable. 안녕하세요 was originally a question asking “Are you doing well?”, “Are you at peace?”, or “Are you living well?”, but since it is a very common expression, people began to not expect any special answers in reply. For example, when you ask a friend of yours “What’s up?”, do you really expect an honest answer about what is going on? In this case, you might hear “What’s up?” in reply. 안녕하세요 is exactly like that.

In Korean, there are a few levels of politeness which are commonly called “honorifics” in English. If you are a beginner learner, it might seem intimidating at first to learn of the honorifics, but it is important to know and utilize them. It gets much easier as you learn and practice more, so do not worry!

You can divide Korean honorifics into two categories that are quite easy to distinguish from each other and learn to use. One category is called 존댓말, which means polite or formal language, and the other is 반말, which means casual, intimate, or informal language. In Korean, if you hear sentences that end in “-요” or “-니다”, they are most likely in 존댓말 (polite/formal language). It is better to learn 존댓말 first because if you speak 존댓말 in a situation when you can use 반말 (intimate/informal language), you are not going to be in too much trouble. However, if you use 반말 when you are supposed to use 존댓말, you might get into trouble.

 

If you have a Korean friend or live in Korea but have not tried using these expressions, try to use them as often as possible until they become very easy and comfortable to say!

 

 

안녕하세요 は、韓国語で最も一般的な挨拶フレーズです。この挨拶は、존댓말（敬語）です。誰かが 안녕하세요 で挨拶をしてきたら、안녕하세요 で簡単に挨拶を返します。

この挨拶を書くときは、안녕하세요.（平叙文）や 안녕하세요?（疑問文）のどちらも書くことができます。どちらでも構いません。안녕하세요 は、もともとは「元気ですか。」、「平和ですか。」、「元気に暮らしていますか。」という質問だったのですが、一般的な挨拶フレーズになり、返事に特別な答えを期待しないようになりました。

韓国語では、日本語で敬語と呼ばれている丁寧さのレベルがいくつかあります。 韓国語の敬語を2つのカテゴリーに分けると、かなり見分けがつきやすく、使いこなせるようになります。1つは 비격식체 존댓말 と呼ばれる非格式体の敬語（会話でよく使う準敬語）を意味するカテゴリーで、もう1つは 격식체 존댓말 と呼ばれる格式体の敬語（文書と会話の両方で使える敬語）を意味するカテゴリーです。他に敬語ではありませんがタメ口を意味する 반말 と呼ばれるカテゴリーもあります。韓国語では、-요 や -니다 で終わる言葉を聞いたら、존댓말（敬語）である可能性が高いです。반말 が使える場面で、존댓말 を使えば、あまりトラブルになることはないので、まずは 존댓말 を覚えておいた方が良いでしょう。しかし、존댓말 を使うべき時に 반말 を使ってしまうと、トラブルになる可能性がありますので、注意してください。

韓国人の友達がいたり、韓国に住んでいるけど使ってみたことがない方は、これらの表現を使いこなせるようになるまでに何度も使ってみてくださいね。