잘 지냈어?
jal jinaesseo?casual, friends
The informal way to ask "how are you" in Korean is 잘 지냈어? (jal jinaesseo?), "have you been well?" Close friends also say 잘 지내? (jal jinae?). It is also called 어떻게 지내? (eotteoke jinae?).
Meaning: casual question about someone's well-being (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Korean | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 잘 지냈어? | jal jinaesseo? | casual, friends |
| 잘 지내? | jal jinae? | casual |
| 어떻게 지내? | eotteoke jinae? | casual |
잘 지냈어? is used when you have not seen someone for a while. For people you see daily, a plain 뭐 해? (mwo hae?), "what are you doing?", is also common.
What does it mean word for word?
지내다 (jinaeda) means "to get along" or "to spend time". 어떻게 지내? (eotteoke jinae?) means "how are you getting on?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To make it polite, add 요: 잘 지냈어요? (jal jinaesseoyo?).
Did you know?
- 잘 지냈어? uses the past tense even though it asks about now, because it asks how the time since last meeting went.
Examples in context
- 오랜만이야! 잘 지냈어?Oraenmaniya! Jal jinaesseo?Long time no see! How have you been?
- 요즘 어떻게 지내?Yojeum eotteoke jinae?How are you these days?
Example conversation
Jaemin runs into his old classmate Eunbi at a subway station.
- Jaemin어, 은비야! 잘 지냈어?Eo, Eunbiya! Jal jinaesseo?Oh, Eunbi! How have you been?
- Eunbi응, 잘 지냈어. 너는?Eung, jal jinaesseo. Neoneun?Yes, I was fine. And you?
- Jaemin나도 잘 지내.Nado jal jinae.I am doing well too.
