Ways to say it
| Korean | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 안녕하세요 | annyeonghaseyo | [a̠nɲʌ̹ŋɦa̠sʰe̞jo] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) | polite |
| 안녕하십니까 | annyeonghasimnikka | [a̠nɲʌ̹ŋɦa̠ɕʰimnik͈a̠] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) | formal |
| 안녕 | annyeong | [a̠nɲʌ̹ŋ] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) | informal |
In the morning, you can say 안녕하세요 or 안녕하십니까.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 안녕 literally means peace or well-being.
Which one should you use?
The informal 안녕 can be used to mean both hello and goodbye. The polite form 안녕하세요 is the most common way to greet strangers, colleagues or elders in daily life, while the more formal 안녕하십니까 is a more formal version of 안녕하세요.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The polite form 안녕하세요 is the most common way to greet colleagues, elders or strangers. The highly formal 안녕하십니까 is used in highly formal settings like news broadcasts, the military or business presentations. The informal 안녕 is a simple, friendly way to say hello in Korean, suitable for informal situations, used among friends, peers and people of similar age or younger. Additionally, the colloquial version 안뇽 is a shortened and more colloquial version of 안녕, commonly used among close friends and peers.
How do you pronounce it?
annyeonghaseyo
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the informal 안녕 with superiors or elders, which can be perceived as rude.
Did you know?
- While 안녕하세요 is a greeting, it is grammatically a question. It literally asks the other person if they are currently experiencing peace.
- The cute version 안뇽 is an example of 'aegyo', a social behavior in Korea where people use a baby-like voice or altered spelling to appear cute and endearing.
- The greeting 안녕 uses two different Chinese characters, 安 and 寧, which both independently mean 'peace' or 'tranquility'.
Examples in context
- 안녕!Hello!This example shows the use of the informal 안녕 for a greeting.Tatoeba #5548647 by YUJIHEE, translation #373330 by CK
- 안녕.Hello.Tatoeba #8355888 by Eunhee, translation #1858850 by LanguageExpert
- 또 안녕.Hello again.Tatoeba #11104741 by intertime, translation #1764868 by Amastan
- 안녕하세요Hello
- 안녕하십니까How do you do?
- 안녕Hi
- 안녕히 주무세요Goodnight
- 21 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Minji and Minjun meet at a cafe.
- 민지 Min-ji안녕하세요, 민준 씨.annyeonghaseyo, minjun ssi.Hello, Minjun.
- 민준 Min-jun안녕하세요, 민지 씨.annyeonghaseyo, minji ssi.Hello, Minji.
- 민지 Min-ji잘 지냈어요?jal jinaesseoyo?Have you been well?
- 민준 Min-jun네, 잘 지냈어요.ne, jal jinaesseoyo.Yes, I have been well.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hello” translations and entries 안녕하세요, 안녕하십니까, 안녕, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 안녕, 안녕하세요, 안녕하십니까, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
