내 친구가 되어줘서 고마워
nae chin-guga doeeojwoseo gomawo
In Korean, "thank you for being my friend" is expressed as 내 친구가 되어줘서 고마워 (nae chin-guga doeeojwoseo gomawo).
This phrase is used to express gratitude to someone for their friendship.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally breaks down to 'my friend-become-for-me thank you'.
Which one should you use?
Adding 요 to the end results in 내 친구가 되어줘서 고마워요, which is the polite version.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the informal ending 고마워 (gomawo).
How do you pronounce it?
nae chin-guga doeeojwoseo gomawo
Did you know?
- While 친구 (friend) is common, in Korea the term specifically refers to people of the same age. Using it for someone even one year older can be seen as a social mistake.
- The verb 되어줘서 (doeeojwoseo) implies that the person did you a favor by becoming your friend, reflecting a cultural emphasis on the kindness and effort of others.
- In the past, the syllable 내 (nae) was the common word for 'smoke' before it was replaced by the Sino-Korean term 연기 (yeon-gi).
Examples in context
- 감사합니다. 제 친구가 되어 주셔서 정말 감사합니다.Thank you. I'm truly grateful for being my friend.
- 진심으로 고마워, 친구야.Thank you sincerely, my friend.
- 고마워, 진심으로. 언제나 곁에서 좋은 친구로 있어줘서 고마워.Thank you sincerely. I'm thankful for always being a great friend by my side.
- 내 친구가 되어줘서 고마워.nae chin-gu-ga doe-eo-jwo-seo go-ma-wo.Thank you for being my friend.
- 언제나 내 친구가 되어줘서 고마워.eon-je-na nae chin-gu-ga doe-eo-jwo-seo go-ma-wo.Thank you for always being my friend.
- 진심으로 내 친구가 되어줘서 고마워.jin-sim-eu-ro nae chin-gu-ga doe-eo-jwo-seo go-ma-wo.I truly thank you for being my friend.
Example conversation
Minjun and Seoyeon are sitting in a cafe talking about their long friendship.
- 민준 Min-jun서연아, 내 친구가 되어줘서 고마워.Seo-yeon-a, nae chin-gu-ga doe-eo-jwo-seo go-ma-wo.Seoyeon, thank you for being my friend.
- 서연 Seo-yeon나도 민준아, 항상 곁에 있어줘서 고마워.na-do Min-jun-a, hang-sang gyeot-e iss-eo-jwo-seo go-ma-wo.Me too, Minjun, thank you for always being by my side.
- 민준 Min-jun우리 앞으로도 계속 잘 지내자.u-ri ap-eu-ro-do gye-sok jal ji-nae-ja.Let's keep getting along well in the future too.
- 서연 Seo-yeon응, 당연하지!eung, dang-yeon-ha-ji!Yes, of course!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 내, CC BY-SA 4.0.
