잘 자
jal ja
The English phrase 'good night informal' is 잘 자 (jal ja) in Korean.
잘 자 is an informal way to say 'Sleep well'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adverb 잘 (well) and the verb 자 (sleep).
Which one should you use?
While 잘 자 is informal, 안녕히 주무세요 is the appropriate polite form to use with elders or superiors.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
잘 자 is used only with people of equal or lower social status, such as close friends or younger siblings. For someone you are familiar with but wish to be more polite toward, you can use 잘 자요.
Did you know?
- While 잘 자 means 'sleep well', Korean has a specific word 꿀잠 that translates to 'honey sleep' to describe a deep and sweet slumber.
- In romantic relationships, Koreans often replace the standard 잘 자 with 내 꿈 꿔, which means 'dream of me'.
- The word 자 in the phrase was written as 잫 in the 15th century in the 용비어천가, one of the earliest works written in the hangul script.
Examples in context
- 잘 자, 지훈Sleep well, Ji-Hoon
- 잘 자, 내일 봐.jal ja, naeil bwa.Good night, see you tomorrow.
- 이제 잘 자.ije jal ja.Go to sleep now.
Example conversation
Minji and Dohyun are saying goodbye over the phone late at night.
- 민지 Min-ji도현아, 벌써 시간이 이렇게 됐네.Dohyeon-a, beolsseo sigani ireoke dwaenne.Dohyun, it is already this late.
- 도현 Do-hyeon응, 이제 자야겠다. 잘 자, 민지야.Eung, ije jayagetta. Jal ja, Minji-ya.Yeah, I should sleep now. Good night, Minji.
- 민지 Min-ji응, 너도 잘 자.Eung, neodo jal ja.Yeah, good night to you too.
- 도현 Do-hyeon잘 자, 내일 연락할게.Jal ja, naeil yeonrakhalge.Good night, I will contact you tomorrow.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 잘 자, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 자, 잘, 잘 자, CC BY-SA 4.0.
