잘 지내고 있길 바라요
jal jinaego itgil barayo
In Korean, "I hope you are well" is said as 잘 지내고 있길 바라요 (jal jinaego itgil barayo).
잘 지내고 있길 바라요 is a polite expression used to wish that the recipient is doing well, often used at the start of a letter or message. If you wish to ask "How are you doing?" instead, you can use 어떻게 지내시나요? or use the casual version 잘 지내? to ask "How are you?"
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 잘 (well), 지내고 있다 (to be spending time/living) and 바라요 (to hope/wish).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While 잘 지내고 있길 바라요 is polite, you can make the expression more formal by changing the ending to 잘 지내고 있길 바랍니다. This version is suitable for professional emails or letters to superiors.
How does it change in a sentence?
The grammatical structure -길 바라요 is used to express a wish or hope for a certain state or action.
How do you pronounce it?
jal jinaego itgil barayo
Did you know?
- While the phrase translates to 'I hope you are well', a Korean person might instead use a phrase about the weather or the seasons to imply the same sentiment of care.
- In many Korean digital communications, people often skip the formal 'I' or 'You' entirely, as the relationship and the context of the phrase 잘 지내고 있길 바라요 make the subjects understood.
- If you were writing to a very high-ranking official, instead of just using the formal 바랍니다, you might use the honorific verb 기원합니다 to elevate the level of respect.
Examples in context
- 모두 잘 지내고 있길 바라요.modu jal jinaego itgil barayo.I hope everyone is doing well.
- 가족 모두 잘 지내고 있길 바라요.gajok modu jal jinaego itgil barayo.I hope your whole family is doing well.
- 그곳에서 잘 지내고 있길 바라요.geugos-eseo jal jinaego itgil barayo.I hope you are doing well there.
Example conversation
Subin sends a polite message to Hyunwoo after a long time.
- 수빈 Su-bin현우 씨, 잘 지내고 있길 바라요.Hyeon-u ssi, jal jinaego itgil barayo.Hyunwoo, I hope you are doing well.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo네, 수빈 씨. 저는 아주 잘 지내고 있어요.ne, Subin ssi. jeoneun aju jal jinaego isseoyo.Yes, Subin. I am doing very well.
- 수빈 Su-bin다행이네요. 요즘 어떻게 지내세요?dahaeng-ineyo. yojeum eotteoke jinaeseyo?That's a relief. How have you been lately?
- 현우 Hyeon-woo그냥 평소처럼 바쁘게 지내고 있어요.geunyang pyeongsocheoreom bappeuge jinaego isseoyo.I'm just staying busy as usual.
