Free guide · 7 min read
Greetings and meetings in Korean
Saying hello, introducing yourself, meeting someone older or more senior, and saying goodbye. Korean has fewer greetings than English, and the one you will use most, 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo), works at any time of day.
The difficult part is not the words but the levels. Korean builds respect into its grammar, and a first meeting is where that shows most, so this guide gives the polite forms that are safe with anyone you do not know. Days 1 to 3 of the daily course cover greetings, your name and where you are from, and day 76 covers age and respect.
Hello
One greeting for morning, afternoon and evening:
안녕하세요 asks, roughly, whether you are at peace, and covers good morning, good afternoon and good evening; you reply with the same word. 안녕하십니까 is the formal version, heard from staff greeting customers, from soldiers and on the news, and a learner rarely needs to say it. Koreans do not ask 'how are you' as a greeting. 잘 지냈어요? is for someone you have not seen for a while, and expects a real answer.
Introducing yourself
At a first meeting:
처음 뵙겠습니다 (cheoeum boepgetseumnida) is the formal first-meeting phrase and 만나서 반가워요 the warmer one; people often say both, in that order. 이에요 follows a name ending in a consonant and 예요 one ending in a vowel, so 샘이에요 but 애나예요, as day 2 explains. Never add 씨 (ssi) to your own name: it is a courtesy for other people's names, like adding Mr or Ms.
Names, cards and bowing
Asking a name politely, and handing over a card:
A small bow from the neck and shoulders goes with every greeting, deeper for someone older or senior. Men often shake hands at work, sometimes bowing at the same time, and the junior person may support their right forearm with the left hand. Business cards, and anything handed to someone senior, are given and taken with both hands. 성함 (seongham) is the honorific word for a name, used to ask a stranger or anyone older; 이름이 뭐예요? is fine with a peer or a child.
Age and titles
Age comes up early, because it decides how you talk:
People ask your age early because it settles who speaks politely to whom and what you call each other, which is the subject of day 76. Since June 2023, official documents use international age, counting from zero at birth, and most people now give that figure. Use a title or a name with 씨 rather than a bare name for anyone older. 말 편하게 하세요 is how a younger person invites an older one to drop the polite endings; a learner should wait to be told the same before doing it.
Goodbye
Two goodbyes, and the choice depends on who is leaving:
안녕히 가세요 means 'go in peace' and is said to the person going; 안녕히 계세요 means 'stay in peace' and is said to the person staying behind. When you leave a shop, it is 계세요 to the staff. When both of you are leaving, each says 가세요. 수고하셨습니다 (sugohasyeotseumnida) is said to colleagues at the end of a working day or after a shared task, and there is no neat English equivalent.
These phrases get built into real conversation in the daily lessons. The first thirty days need no account, and the Hangul course will have you reading every sign in the guide.