How to Say Hello in Korean: The Right Way for Every Situation

Here's the thing though—saying hello in Korean doesn't work like English where "hello" or "hi" covers pretty much every situation. You can't just learn one Korean phrase and call it done. The Korean greeting you use depends on who you're talking to, where you are, and honestly, how old they are.

I know. Sounds complicated. But it's actually not that bad once you understand the system. And if you're planning to actually use the Korean language (instead of just knowing a few phrases), you need to know how to say hello the right way from day one.

Let me break down the various ways of saying hello in Korea.

The One Korean Phrase You Actually Need to Know

안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) is your go-to greeting for most situations. This is the polite way to say hello in Korean, and you can use it with anyone:

This is the most common way to say hello in Korean—the formal, standard greeting that keeps you out of trouble. The literal meaning is "Are you at peace?" which is way more thoughtful than just "hey" when you think about it.

And yeah, you bow when greeting someone in Korean. A slight nod is fine in most cases—15 to 30 degrees if you want to be more respectful. The verbal greeting without the physical gesture feels incomplete to Koreans.

When Your Korean Friends Think You're Being Weird

안녕 (annyeong) is the informal way to say hello in Korean. Just "peace" in two syllables.

Here's where people screw up: They learn this casual greeting first because it's shorter and easier to pronounce, then they go around saying it to everyone. That's disrespectful. Don't do that.

안녕 is only for:

Use it with a store clerk or your teacher and you're basically telling them "I don't respect the hierarchy here." Not a great look.

The word itself—안녕—comes from Chinese characters meaning "peaceful" or "safe." So when you say 안녕하세요, you're essentially asking if the other person is doing well, if they're at peace. When you say just 안녕 to someone you should be showing respect to, you're... not asking very politely.

How to Answer the Phone in Korean

Answer a phone in Korean with 여보세요 (yeoboseyo).

Not 안녕하세요. Not 안녕. Just 여보세요.

This Korean phrase literally means "look here" and it used to be what you'd say to get someone's attention when you didn't know who they were. Makes sense for answering phone calls, right? You don't know who's calling.

Once you know who it is and it's someone you know, you can switch to 안녕 or 안녕하세요 depending on your relationship. But that first answer? Always 여보세요.

And no, you don't use this expression when talking to someone face-to-face. That'd be like answering your door by saying "Hello?" in that confused phone-voice. Just... don't.

Why the Hierarchy Thing Matters So Damn Much

One of the first things people in South Korea ask when they meet someone new is "How old are you?"

Not to be rude. They literally need to know to figure out how to say hello in Korean to you.

The Korean language has different speech levels—seven of them, technically, though only three really matter in modern conversation. The level you use depends on:

Even if you're the same age as someone, Koreans will figure out who's older (even by a few months) to establish the dynamic. Someone older gets slightly more formal language. The younger speaker shows slightly more deference.

This hierarchy comes from Confucianism, which shaped Korean culture for centuries. It's not just a language thing—it's baked into how Korean society functions. Respect for elders, clearly defined social roles, knowing your place in the group... all of that shows up in how you greet people.

Look, I get it. If you're from a culture that values equality and individualism, this might feel uncomfortable. But it's not about being better or worse than someone else. It's about maintaining social harmony through clear expectations. Everyone knows how to act, what to say the word, how to show respect.

You want to actually communicate in Korea? You need to understand this system. There's no way around it.

The Actually Formal Version You'll Hear

안녕하십니까 (annyeonghasimnikka) is the super formal greeting.

You'll hear this formal way to say hello in:

As a learner, you probably won't need this much. But you should recognize it when you hear it, and know that these formal versions exist for situations where 안녕하세요 isn't formal enough.

Other Korean Phrases for Greeting People

밥 먹었어요? (bap meogeosseoyo?) means "Have you eaten?"

Koreans use this phrase with people you know well. It's not a literal question most of the time—more like "how are you?" in English. It comes from a time when food was scarce in Korea, so asking if someone had eaten was a genuine expression of care.

You can answer "네" (ne, meaning "yes") even if you haven't eaten yet. It's just a greeting.

만나서 반갑습니다 (mannaseo bangapseumnida) means "Nice to meet you."

Use this Korean phrase when you're meeting someone for the first time instead of just saying 안녕하세요. The more formal 반갑습니다 (bangapseumnida) or the casual 반가워요 (bangawoyo) work depending on the formality of the situation.

Korea doesn't really have specific greetings like "good morning" the way English does. You just say 안녕하세요 throughout the day. If you want to learn Korean well, stop looking for direct translations of "good morning" or "good evening"—they'll just confuse you.

How to Say Goodbye in Korean (Because That's Also Complicated)

Korean has two main goodbye phrases, and which one you use depends on who's leaving.

안녕히 가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo) - "Go in peace"
Use this when the other person is leaving and you're staying. 가세요 (gaseyo) means "to go."

안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo) - "Stay in peace"
Use this when you're leaving and the other person is staying. 계세요 (gyeseyo) is the formal way of saying "to stay."

With close friends, just say 안녕 or 잘 가 (jal ga, "bye"). The word 잘 (jal) means "well" or "good."

Common Mistakes When You're Trying to Learn Korean Greetings

Using 안녕 with everyone because it's easier to remember. This makes you sound disrespectful, not casual. When in doubt about which greeting to use with anyone, go with 안녕하세요.

Forgetting to bow. The verbal greeting without the physical gesture feels incomplete in the Korean language. At minimum, give a slight nod.

Saying 여보세요 in person. It's only for phone calls. Face-to-face, use 안녕하세요.

Messing up how to pronounce the "eo" sound. The "eo" syllable in 안녕 sounds like "uh" (as in "but"), not "oh." It's a common mistake and makes you immediately identifiable as a beginner trying to learn Korean.

Using formal speech in all situations forever. Yes, start formal. But if someone your age suggests dropping the formalities, it's fine to switch to the informal way of speaking. Staying formal with close friends after they've invited you to speak casually can actually create distance.

Thinking Hangul (한글) is hard to learn. The Korean writing system is actually one of the easiest parts of Korean learning. Don't skip it.

What Actually Works for Korean Learning

Here's the problem with how most people try to learn these Korean phrases: They memorize a list without any context, practice saying them to their mirror, and then freeze up in real conversations because they don't know which greeting to use.

The better approach? Learn these ways of saying hello from real Korean content.

When you watch Korean shows or YouTube videos with Migaku's browser extension, you see exactly how Koreans use these greetings in actual situations. You notice that the convenience store clerk says 어서오세요 (eoseo-oseyo, "welcome") when customers enter. You catch how friends greet each other versus how employees greet their boss. You hear the difference between 안녕 and 안녕하세요 in context—not in a textbook example, but in real interactions.

And here's what makes the difference: Migaku lets you instantly look up any word or phrase while you're watching. You hear someone say 안녕하십니까 in a business meeting scene, you click it, you see the meaning, you save it to your spaced repetition deck. Now that greeting is connected to an actual situation in your memory, not just a textbook definition.

The same thing happens with Hangul. You could spend hours trying to memorize the Korean writing system from charts and practice sheets. Or you could learn it while actually consuming Korean content you care about, where the letters mean something in context and you have a reason to remember them.

Most people either never get past the beginner stage because they're stuck in textbooks, or they learn a bunch of formal Korean phrases they never actually use. Migaku bridges that gap—you learn the greeting system by seeing how it works in real Korean language content, and you build your language skills from material that's actually interesting to you.

Whether you're into K-dramas, gaming streams, cooking shows, or whatever—the browser extension works with Netflix, YouTube (hello, #LearnKorean and #KoreanLanguage content creators on the world on YouTube), and any website. Your flashcards sync across devices through the mobile app, so you can review while you're waiting for coffee or on your commute. And the whole system is built around the idea that you learn language best from real content, not manufactured textbook exercises.

Want to learn how to say thank you in Korean or master Korean verbs? Same approach—learn from real content where you see exactly how native speakers use the language in different situations, with different levels of formality.

Give it a shot with the 10-day free trial. Watch something in Korean that you'd actually want to watch anyway, use the extension to understand what's happening, and see how much faster the greeting system clicks when you're learning it from real interactions instead of memorization drills.