Korean Greetings 101: How and When to Use Them
If you've studied even a little Korean, you already know 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo). It's usually the first phrase every textbook teaches, and for good reason — it works in almost any polite situation. But real spoken Korean has more nuance than a single "hello," and knowing which greeting fits which situation will make you sound far more natural.
안녕하세요 — the safe, all-purpose greeting
안녕하세요 is polite and neutral. You can use it with strangers, coworkers, shopkeepers, teachers, or anyone older than you. It works at any time of day — Korean doesn't have separate words for "good morning" and "good evening" the way English does.
선생님, 안녕하세요.Hello, teacher.
안녕 — casual, for close friends only
Drop the polite ending and you get 안녕 (annyeong), a casual greeting used only between close friends or people younger than you who you're already familiar with. Using 안녕 with a stranger or someone older can come across as rude, so when in doubt, stick with 안녕하세요.
Time-specific greetings do exist, but they're less common
You may also hear 좋은 아침이에요 ("good morning") or 잘 자요 ("good night, sleep well"), but these are used far less often than in English. 안녕하세요 covers almost every daytime greeting, and 잘 자요 is reserved for close friends or family right before bed.
Saying goodbye depends on who is leaving
Korean has two different goodbyes depending on who is staying and who is going:
- 안녕히 가세요 — said to the person who is leaving, while you stay.
- 안녕히 계세요 — said by the person who is leaving, to the person who stays.
For example, if you're leaving a shop and the shopkeeper is staying, you say 안녕히 계세요 to them, and they'll reply with 안녕히 가세요 to you.
A simple rule for beginners
Until you're comfortable reading the social situation, default to the polite forms — 안녕하세요 for hello, 안녕히 가세요 / 안녕히 계세요 for goodbye. Koreans are generally understanding toward learners, but starting polite and relaxing later is always safer than the reverse.
Want to hear these phrases pronounced? Check out today's 10 daily phrases for audio pronunciation, or read our guide on Korean honorifics to understand why speech levels matter so much in Korean.