잘 잤어요?
jal jasseoyo?
In Korean, "did you sleep well" is said as 잘 잤어요? (jal jasseoyo?)
This phrase is a question used to ask someone if they had a good night's rest.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 잘 (well) and 잤어요 (slept).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form 잘 잤어? is used with friends or people younger than you. For elders or superiors, you should use the honorific version 안녕히 주무셨어요?
How do you pronounce it?
jal jasseoyo?
When do people say it?
This phrase is commonly used as a morning greeting in Korean culture.
Did you know?
- The honorific version 안녕히 주무셨어요? uses a completely different verb for 'to sleep' than the standard 자다. This is a linguistic feature called 'suppletion' where a word is replaced by a different root to show high respect.
- Because 'did you sleep well' is a common morning greeting, you might hear it even if the person knows you stayed up all night working. It is more a social ritual of connection than a medical check on your rest.
- Using the casual 잘 잤어? with a stranger or an older person is a significant social error. It is equivalent to skipping a person's title and using their first name in a way that feels jarringly intimate.
Examples in context
- 잘 주무셨습니까?Did you sleep well?
- 편히 주무셨어요?Did you sleep comfortably?
- 응, 그럭저럭 잘 잤어.Yeah, I slept okay.
- 어제 잘 잤어요?eoje jal jasseoyo?Did you sleep well yesterday?
- 아기 잘 잤어요?agi jal jasseoyo?Did the baby sleep well?
Example conversation
Hyunwoo and Seoyeon meet at a cafe in the morning.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo서연 씨, 잘 잤어요?Seoyeon ssi, jal jasseoyo?Seoyeon, did you sleep well?
- 서연 Seo-yeon네, 아주 잘 잤어요.Ne, aju jal jasseoyo.Yes, I slept very well.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo다행이네요.dahaeng-ineyo.That's a relief.
- 서연 Seo-yeon현우 씨도 잘 잤어요?Hyunwoo ssi-do jal jasseoyo?Did you sleep well too, Hyunwoo?
