너무 보고 싶어
neomu bogo sipeo
To say "I miss you a lot" in Korean, you use 너무 보고 싶어 (neomu bogo sipeo).
This phrase is used to express a strong longing to see someone again. You can say 너무 보고 싶어 to mean "I miss you so much". Other ways to express varying degrees of longing include 무척 보고 싶어 for "I miss you terribly", 진짜 보고 싶어 for "I really miss you a lot" and 많이 보고 싶어 where 많이 specifically means "a lot" or "frequently". If you want to express that you are thinking of someone rather than just missing them, you can use 생각이 나요.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 너무 보고 싶어 literally translates to "I want to see [you] too much".
Which one should you use?
While 보고 싶어 means "I miss you", adding 너무 to the front creates the emphasized meaning of "I miss you a lot" or "so much".
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase polite, add the suffix –요 (-yo) to the end, resulting in 너무 보고 싶어요. For the highest level of formality, the phrase becomes 너무 보고 싶습니다.
How do you pronounce it?
neomu bogo sipeo
Did you know?
- When expressing deep longing, Koreans might use the verb 그립다 (geuripda) instead. While 보고 싶어 is about the physical desire to see someone, 그립다 captures a more poetic, soul-aching sense of nostalgia.
- While 너무 is used widely today to mean 'so much' in a positive sense, it was originally a strictly negative term used to describe something that 'surpassed' a limit excessively.
- In very casual speech between close friends or lovers, you can drop the subject 'I' and the object 'you' entirely. Simply saying 너무 보고 싶어 is enough for the listener to understand exactly who is feeling the longing.
Examples in context
- 너무 보고 싶어.neomu bogo sipeo.I miss you a lot.
- 진심으로 너무 보고 싶어.jinsimeuro neomu bogo sipeo.I truly miss you a lot.
- 갑자기 너무 보고 싶어.gapjagi neomu bogo sipeo.Suddenly, I miss you a lot.
Example conversation
Minji and Dohyeon are talking on the phone late at night.
- 민지 Min-ji도현아, 너무 보고 싶어.Dohyeon-a, neomu bogo sipeo.Dohyeon, I miss you a lot.
- 도현 Do-hyeon나도 민지야, 너무 보고 싶어.Nado Minji-ya, neomu bogo sipeo.I miss you too, Minji.
- 민지 Min-ji우리 언제 만날까?Uri eonje mannalkka?When can we meet?
- 도현 Do-hyeon이번 주말에 꼭 만나자.Ibeon jumare kkok mannaja.Let's definitely meet this weekend.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 너무, 보고, CC BY-SA 4.0.
