솔로예요?
Solloyeyo?
In Korean, 'are you single?' is said as 솔로예요? (Solloyeyo?)
This phrase is commonly used in social settings or dating contexts to ask about one's relationship status.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is based on 솔로, which is a loanword from the English word 'solo', used in Korean to refer to a person who is single or unattached.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form 솔로예요? is polite. For a casual/informal version used with friends or people younger than you, you can use 솔로야? In more formal situations, you might indirectly ask if someone is married by using 결혼하셨어요? If you want to ask informally about whether someone has a girlfriend or boyfriend, you can use 여자친구/남자친구 있어?
How does it change in a sentence?
The ending -예요? is a polite question form used with nouns that end in a vowel.
How do you pronounce it?
Solloyeyo?
Did you know?
- In social gatherings, instead of asking 솔로예요?, people may use the term 모솔, a shorthand for 모태 솔로, which means someone who has been single since the moment they were conceived.
- Korean has a specific term for people who are single by choice, 비혼, which literally means 'non-marriage' and is used to distinguish a conscious lifestyle choice from simply being unmarried.
- While 솔로 comes from 'solo', it is often used in the phrase 솔로지옥, which translates to 'Single's Hell' and is the name of a globally famous Netflix dating show.
Examples in context
- 아니오, 결혼하지 않았어요.No, I am not married.
- 혹시 여자친구/남자친구 있어?Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend by any chance?
- 혹시 솔로예요?hoksi sollo-yeyo?Are you single, by any chance?
- 지금 솔로예요?jigeum sollo-yeyo?Are you single right now?
- 아직 솔로예요?ajik sollo-yeyo?Are you still single?
Example conversation
Two people chatting at a social gathering.
- 서연 Seo-yeon도현 씨, 솔로예요?Dohyeon ssi, solloyeyo?Dohyeon, are you single?
- 도현 Do-hyeon네, 저 솔로예요.ne, jeo solloyeyo.Yes, I am single.
- 서연 Seo-yeon정말요? 의외네요.jeongmalyo? uioeneyo.Really? That's surprising.
- 도현 Do-hyeon하하, 그냥 바빠서요.haha, geunyang bappaseoyo.Haha, I've just been busy.
