잘 지내세요?
jal jinaeseyo?polite
To say "how are you" slowly in Korean, split 잘 지내세요? (jal jinaeseyo?) (jal jinaeseyo) into 잘 (jal), 지 (ji), 내 (nae), 세 (se) and 요 (yo). It is also called 어떻게 지내세요? (eotteoke jinaeseyo?) and 잘 지내? (jal jinae?).
Meaning: how are you, broken into syllables (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Korean | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 잘 지내세요? | jal jinaeseyo? | polite |
| 어떻게 지내세요? | eotteoke jinaeseyo? | polite |
| 잘 지내? | jal jinae? | casual |
What does it mean word for word?
잘 (jal) means "well", and 지내다 (jinaeda) means "to get by" or "to live". Together they ask if you are doing well.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Use 잘 지내? (jal jinae) only with friends.
How do you pronounce it?
Say jal with a short "j", then "ji-nae-se-yo" evenly.
Did you know?
- Korean speakers often use 밥 먹었어요? (bap meogeosseoyo), "have you eaten?", as a friendly check-in too.
Examples in context
- 잘 지내세요?jal jinaeseyo?How are you?
- 요즘 어떻게 지내세요?yojeum eotteoke jinaeseyo?How have you been lately?
Example conversation
Sam practices Korean greetings with Ms. Han.
- Sam잘… 지내… 세요?jal… jinae… seyo?How… are… you?
- Ms. Han네, 잘 지내요. 잘했어요.ne, jal jinaeyo. jalhaesseoyo.Yes, I am well. Well done.
- Sam한 번 더 해 볼게요.han beon deo hae bolgeyo.I will try once more.
