한 Learn Korean Online Hub

Your name

Day 2 of 90~10 minIntroduce yourself at a first meeting
Romanisation help

Today you introduce yourself: your name, how to ask someone else's, and the set phrases for a first meeting. The grammar point is the Korean word for 'is', which attaches to the end of a noun and changes shape depending on how that noun ends. By the end you can get through the first thirty seconds of meeting someone new.

I am ___

저 (jeo) is a humble 'I', and the name comes before the word for 'is':

jeoneun aenayeyo.
I am Anna.
저는 is 저 plus a marker you will meet properly on day 3; for now treat it as 'I'. 애나 ends in a vowel, so it takes 예요.
jeoneun saemieyo.
I am Sam.
샘 ends in a consonant, so it takes 이에요. The ㅁ slides into the next syllable: sae-mi-e-yo.
jeoneun jeimseuyeyo.
I am James.
Foreign names are spelled by sound, and 제임스 ends in the vowel ㅡ, so it takes 예요 even though James ends in s in English.
jeoneun haksaengieyo.
I am a student.
학생 (student) ends in ㅇ, a consonant, so 이에요. The pattern works for any noun, not only names.
Why it works

Korean 'is' is not a separate word standing between two nouns, as in English. It is an ending glued to the noun it describes, and it comes last, so the sentence runs 'I, Sam-is'. After a consonant the 이 of 이에요 gives that consonant a vowel to lean on, which is why 샘이에요 is said sae-mi-e-yo. After a vowel the 이 has nothing to do and merges into the next sound, so 애나 plus 이에요 contracts to 애나예요. This split between nouns ending in a consonant and nouns ending in a vowel comes back again and again, starting tomorrow.

Asking a name

One everyday question, one very polite one, and how to address someone:

ireumi mwoyeyo?
What is your name?
Literally 'name, what is it?'. The 이 after 이름 is a marker covered on day 4. There is no 'your': context makes it obvious whose name you mean.
seonghami eotteoke doeseyo?
May I ask your name?
A much more polite form, used by receptionists and by anyone speaking to someone older. Recognise it; you do not need to say it yet.
saem ssi
Sam (polite form of address)
씨 after someone's name is the everyday polite way to address an adult of about your age. Never use it with your own name, and not for someone clearly older than you.
Why it works

뭐예요 is 뭐 (mwo), 'what', plus the same 'is' as above, and 뭐 ends in a vowel, so 예요. That means the question and its answer share one frame: 이름이 뭐예요? is answered with 샘이에요, the unknown swapped for the name. Korean also avoids the word 'you' with people it does not know well; the words exist, but they sound too direct or even rude. So you ask about 'the name', and address people by name plus 씨, rather than saying you at all.

First-meeting phrases

Fixed expressions, said the same way by everyone:

cheoeum boepgetseumnida.
How do you do? (said at a first meeting)
Literally 'I meet you for the first time', with a humble verb for meeting someone. Used only at the very first meeting.
bangapseumnida.
Pleased to meet you.
'I am glad.' Said on meeting someone new, and also to people you are pleased to see again.
mannaseo bangawoyo.
Nice to meet you.
'Having met you, I am glad.' The -요 version, warmer and less formal than 반갑습니다, and very common.
jal butakdeurimnida.
I look forward to getting to know you.
Literally 'I ask you, kindly'. Said at the end of an introduction, especially at work or on a course, to ask for goodwill in what comes next.
Why it works

These phrases use the formal -ㅂ니다 ending of day 1's 감사합니다, because a first meeting is a slightly ceremonial moment. 잘 부탁드립니다 has no real English equivalent: it asks the other person to look kindly on you as the relationship starts, and it quietly assumes there will be one. Notice that 반갑습니다 and 반가워요 are one word with two endings, the same pair as 고맙습니다 and 고마워요 on day 1. When a word ends in ㅂ, as 반갑 and 고맙 do, the -요 form swaps that ㅂ for 워, which is why each pair looks less alike than it really is.

annyeonghaseyo.
Hello.
gamsahamnida.
Thank you.
annyeonghi gyeseyo.
Goodbye (to someone who is staying).
ne?
Sorry? / Pardon?

📋 Today’s words 11

jeoneun aenayeyo.
I am Anna.
jeoneun saemieyo.
I am Sam.
jeoneun jeimseuyeyo.
I am James.
jeoneun haksaengieyo.
I am a student.
ireumi mwoyeyo?
What is your name?
seonghami eotteoke doeseyo?
May I ask your name?
saem ssi
Sam (polite form of address)
cheoeum boepgetseumnida.
How do you do? (said at a first meeting)
bangapseumnida.
Pleased to meet you.
mannaseo bangawoyo.
Nice to meet you.
jal butakdeurimnida.
I look forward to getting to know you.

Check yourself

8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.

🖌 Writing practice optional