고마워
gomawo[ko̞ma̠wʌ̹]
The Korean phrase for thank you to friends is 고마워 (gomawo).
고마워 is an informal way to say thank you. You can use variations to change the intensity of your gratitude: 정말 고마워 conveys a stronger sense of gratitude, and 너무 고마워 is an expression that emphasizes thankfulness in a heartfelt manner. For an even stronger emphasis, 정말 너무 고마워 means thank you so much.
Which one should you use?
While 고마워 is the informal version, 고맙습니다 is the formal and polite version of thank you.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
고마워 is an informal way to say thank you, used with friends or people younger than you.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say thank you in the past tense to a friend, you use the form 고마웠어.
Did you know?
- If a friend does something huge for you, you might say 고마워 죽겠어, which literally translates to 'I am dying from being so thankful'.
- The word 고마워 comes from the root 고맙다, which historically describes a feeling of being indebted or owing a favor to someone.
- When texting friends, you might see 고마워 written as ㄱㅁㅇ to save time and effort.
Examples in context
- 너무 고마워, 지현!Thank you so much, Ji-hyeon!
- 선물 정말 고마워.seon-mul jeong-mal go-ma-wo.Thank you so much for the gift.
- 도와줘서 정말 고마워.do-wa-jwo-seo jeong-mal go-ma-wo.Thank you so much for helping me.
- 맛있게 잘 먹었어, 고마워.ma-sit-ge jal meok-eot-eo, go-ma-wo.I ate well, thank you.
Example conversation
Minjun and Jieun are at a cafe.
- 민준 Min-jun커피 사줘서 고마워, 지은아.keo-pi sa-jwo-seo go-ma-wo, ji-eun-a.Thank you for buying me coffee, Jieun.
- 지은 Ji-eun아니야, 맛있게 마셔.a-ni-ya, ma-sit-ge ma-syeo.No problem, enjoy it.
- 민준 Min-jun응, 정말 고마워.eung, jeong-mal go-ma-wo.Yeah, thank you so much.
- 지은 Ji-eun별거 아니야, 민준아.byeol-geo a-ni-ya, min-jun-a.It's nothing, Minjun.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 고마워, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 고마워, CC BY-SA 4.0.
