한 Learn Korean Online Hub

Hello and thank you

Day 1 of 90~10 minGreet anyone and thank them
Romanisation help

Five things today: hello, thank you, yes, no, and the two ways of saying goodbye. They are the words you will use most in Korea, and every one of them is safe with strangers, shop staff and people older than you. By the end you can greet anyone at any hour, thank them, answer a simple question and leave politely.

Hello and goodbye

One greeting for the whole day, and two goodbyes that depend on who is leaving:

annyeonghaseyo.
Hello.
Works at eight in the morning and at eleven at night, to one person or to a room. You will often see it written 안녕하세요? with a question mark, because grammatically it is a question.
annyeonghasimnikka?
Hello (formal).
The stiffer version you hear from bank staff, newsreaders and someone welcoming an audience. Recognise it; 안녕하세요 is what you say.
annyeonghi gaseyo.
Goodbye (to someone who is leaving).
Literally 'go in peace'. Say it when the other person walks away and you stay where you are.
annyeonghi gyeseyo.
Goodbye (to someone who is staying).
Literally 'stay in peace'. Say it as you leave a shop or someone's home. If you are both walking off in different directions, you both say 안녕히 가세요.
Why it works

안녕 (annyeong) means peace or wellbeing, and 안녕하세요 politely asks whether you are at peace. Because it asks about the person rather than the hour, Korean has no need for good morning and good evening, and one phrase covers the whole day. The goodbyes reuse the same word as an adverb, 안녕히 (annyeonghi), 'in peace', and add go or stay. So the choice between them is not about formality at all but about who is moving: the one leaving is told to go in peace, the one staying to stay in peace.

Thank you

Two everyday words, both polite, and a lighter form you will hear constantly:

gamsahamnida.
Thank you.
The safe default with anyone. The ㅂ before 니 is said as an m, which is why you hear gam-sa-ham-ni-da.
gomapseumnida.
Thank you.
Just as polite, and to many ears a little warmer and more personal. Use it freely.
gomawoyo.
Thanks.
A softer everyday form with the -요 ending, for people you are on friendly but polite terms with, such as a helpful stranger of about your age.
Why it works

Both words are built the same way: a core meaning plus the formal ending -ㅂ니다 (-mnida), which marks the sentence as polite and slightly ceremonial. 감사 is a word borrowed from Chinese, like much formal Korean vocabulary, while 고맙다 is native Korean, and that is roughly why 감사합니다 sounds a touch more official and 고맙습니다 a touch more heartfelt. The difference is small and nobody will mind which you choose. The ending matters more: swap -ㅂ니다 for -요 and the same thanks becomes 고마워요, lighter and friendlier, and with no polite ending at all it would be casual speech, which comes much later in the course.

Yes and no

Short words, but 네 does more work than English yes:

ne.
Yes.
Also 'I see', 'right', 'I am listening'. Koreans say 네 again and again while someone else talks, to show they are following.
ye.
Yes.
The same word, a shade more formal. You hear it from staff and on the phone.
aniyo.
No.
The polite no. In quick speech it is often squashed to 아뇨 (anyo).
ne?
Sorry? / Pardon?
With a rising tone, 네 means you did not catch what was said. It is the quickest way to ask for a repeat.
Why it works

네 (ne) does not quite mean yes in the English sense. It confirms that what the other person said is true, or simply that you have heard them, which is why it doubles as a listening noise and why a change of tone turns it into a request to repeat. English yes answers the facts; Korean 네 answers the speaker. For simple questions this makes no difference, but it will matter on day 5, when a question has a not in it.

📋 Today’s words 11

annyeonghaseyo.
Hello.
annyeonghasimnikka?
Hello (formal).
annyeonghi gaseyo.
Goodbye (to someone who is leaving).
annyeonghi gyeseyo.
Goodbye (to someone who is staying).
gamsahamnida.
Thank you.
gomapseumnida.
Thank you.
gomawoyo.
Thanks.
ne.
Yes.
ye.
Yes.
aniyo.
No.
ne?
Sorry? / Pardon?

Check yourself

8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.

🖌 Writing practice optional

Learn and practise writing here