안녕하세요, 잘 지내세요?
annyeonghaseyo, jal jinaeseyo?
In Korean, "hi, how are you" is expressed as 안녕하세요, 잘 지내세요? (annyeonghaseyo, jal jinaeseyo?)
This phrase is a polite way to say hello and ask about someone's well-being. In many contexts, the greeting 안녕하세요 alone is sufficient to say hello and the follow-up 잘 지내세요? is often omitted unless you have not seen the person for a while.
What does it mean word for word?
The greeting 안녕하세요 literally translates to "are you at peace?", while the follow-up 잘 지내세요? literally means "are you spending time well?"
How does it change in a sentence?
A slightly less formal but still polite way to ask the question is 잘 지내요? You can make phrases more respectful by adding the suffix -yo (요) to the end.
How do you pronounce it?
annyeonghaseyo, jal jinaeseyo?
When do people say it?
A common natural response to 잘 지내세요? is 네, 잘 지내요 (Yes, I am doing well).
Did you know?
- In Korea, it is common to ask 밥 먹었어? ('Did you eat?') as a way to say 'how are you' or show care for someone.
- If you are greeting a very close friend, you drop the 하세요 and just say 안녕, which also means 'goodbye'.
- When saying 안녕하세요, it is customary to bow the head or upper body to show respect to the listener.
Examples in context
- 안녕하세요, 잘 지내세요?annyeonghaseyo, jal jinaeseyo?Hi, how are you?
- 선생님, 안녕하세요, 잘 지내세요?seonsaengnim, annyeonghaseyo, jal jinaeseyo?Hello teacher, how are you?
- 안녕하세요, 잘 지내세요? 오랜만이에요.annyeonghaseyo, jal jinaeseyo? oraenmanieyo.Hi, how are you? It has been a long time.
Example conversation
Jihoon meets Jieun in a cafe after a long time.
- 지훈 Ji-hun지은 씨, 안녕하세요, 잘 지내세요?Jieun ssi, annyeonghaseyo, jal jinaeseyo?Jieun, hi, how are you?
- 지은 Ji-eun네, 지훈 씨, 잘 지내고 있어요.ne, Jihoon ssi, jal jinaego isseoyo.Yes, Jihoon, I am doing well.
- 지훈 Ji-hun다행이네요. 요새 많이 바쁘셨어요?dahaengineyo. yosae mani bappeusyeosseoyo?That's good to hear. Have you been very busy lately?
- 지은 Ji-eun조금 바빴지만 괜찮아요.jogeum bappatjiman gwaenchannayo.I was a little busy, but I'm okay.
