You finished this day
Sorry, excuse me, say that again
Today's phrases are for the moments when something goes slightly wrong: you bump into someone, need a waiter, or cannot follow what is being said. They are among the most useful words on a first trip. You also meet 주세요 (juseyo), 'please give', which does a great deal of work in Korean.
Saying sorry
Two words and two endings give you the whole range:
An apology in Korean is set on two separate dials. The word sets the weight: 죄송 (joesong) is humble and carries a sense of real fault, while 미안 (mian) is plainer. The ending sets the formality, either the -ㅂ니다 of day 1's 감사합니다 or the softer -요, exactly as with 고맙습니다 and 고마워요. So 죄송합니다 has both dials turned up, and it is the one to reach for when in doubt.
Getting someone's attention
Korean calls people over by pointing, in words, at a place:
저기요 is literally 'over there', made polite with 요. Korean avoids calling a stranger 'you', as day 2 showed, so instead of addressing the person you point at where they are, and 요 turns that into a polite call. 여기요 works from the other end, 'over here', drawing someone to where you are, which is why it suits waiters. 여기 and 저기 belong to the same family as 이거 and 저거 from day 4, with the same split between near me and away from both of us.
When it is too fast
Three sentences for when you cannot keep up:
주세요 comes from 주다, to give, plus the polite -세요 you have already heard in 안녕하세요 and 안녕히 가세요. On its own it means 'please give', and after a verb in its -아/-어 form, like 말해, it means 'please do this for me'. So 천천히 말해 주세요 is literally 'slowly speak, and give me that', asking for the action as a favour. You will build your own requests this way on day 26; for now, learn these as fixed phrases.
Carry over, from earlier days
📋 Today’s words 10
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.