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Greetings in Korean: How To Say Good Morning in Korean

Brighten Your Day with Good Morning in Korean || Plus Audio and FREE Quiz โœ…

๐Ÿ”Ž Good morning is such an essential phrase we use universally.

These words come naturally due to how strongly they are associated with the start of a morning. I canโ€™t think of a better way to greet someone!

In Korean โ€˜good morningโ€™ could be expressed in different ways without literally saying the word morning. Read along to discover the natural way Koreans greet people.

Let’s discover how to say “Good Morning”
or ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” in Korean!

โฌ‡๏ธInterested in one of the contents below? Clicking on the link will bring you to your preferred section!

Good Morning in Korean | 3 Common Ways to Say Good Morning

Good Morning in Korean | Other Ways to Say Good Morning

Good Morning in Korean | How to Reply to Good Morning

Good Morning in Korean | Quiz

Good Morning in Korean | FAQ

Who said you need to stop at one language?

Good Morning in Korean || 3 Common Ways to Say Good Morning

์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-nyeong-ha-sae-yo)

It might be a bit surprising but you wonโ€™t often hear Koreans greet you with ์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ which literally translates to good morning. 

๐Ÿ‘‰The most common way to greet someone in the morning or on any given day is ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-neyong-ha-sae-yo).  This expression could be used both formally and casually. Just knowing how to say ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-neyong-ha-sae-yo) can get you by from morning till evening.  

Letโ€™s dig a little deeper into where this expression originates.
์•ˆ๋…• (ๅฎ‰ๅฏง) means calm and peaceful.

This is an expression that derives from a question asking, are you peaceful? Or in more current terms, how are you?

์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š”, ์ž˜ ์ง€๋‚ด์„ธ์š”? (an-neyong-ha-sae-yo, jal ji-nae-se-yo)

๐Ÿ‘‰ So if you say ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-neyong-ha-sae-yo), you are greeting someone with a hello and how are you at the same time. You may also add the expression ์ž˜ ์ง€๋‚ด์„ธ์š” (jal ji-nae-se-yo) – how are you and say:

But this is usually used when you haven’t met someone for a long time and want to emphasize how life has been. But for a casual good morning, ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-neyong-ha-sae-yo) will do the trick.

In addition, as the word ์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong) could mean how are you, you would sometimes hear Koreans asking ๋ถ€๋ชจ๋‹˜์€ ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š”? (bu-mo-nim-eun an-neyong-ha-sae-yo) meaning ‘Are your parents doing well?

Are your parents doing well?

๋ถ€๋ชจ๋‹˜์€ ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š”?

(bu-mo-nim-eun an-neyong-ha-sae-yo)

์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒ (an-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-ka)

๐Ÿ‘‰ Besides the usual ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-neyong-ha-sae-yo), there is a much formal form called ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒ (an-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-ka). You would use this form for someone you want to show the highest level of respect. Think of a corporate executive, a President of a country, a university professor, or in-laws.

Koreans tend to show a great amount of respect to teachers or professors.
So we always recommend using the most polite form to them.

Hello teacher

์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒ ์„ ์ƒ๋‹˜

(an-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-ka seon-saeng-nim)ย 

์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong)

๐Ÿ‘‰ Imagine meeting your future in-laws for the first time. In Korean, it is normal to address future in-laws or your friend’s parents as mother or father. The safest way is to address them in the most formal way possible. 

English: Hello father

์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒ ์•„๋ฒ„๋‹˜

(an-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-ka ah-beo-nim)ย 
English: Hello mother

์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒ ์–ด๋จธ๋‹˜

(an-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-ka eom-mo-nim)

Another situation you will use this form is during a speech or when addressing many people in a crowd.

English: Hello everyone

์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒ ์—ฌ๋Ÿฌ๋ถ„

(an-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-ka yeo-reo-bun)ย 

Moving on to the most informal and casual way to say good morning, ์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong). This would only be used for your closest friends or siblings. 

โœจ A great tip to remember when you feel confused about which greetings to use is simply repeating what they said! 

If someone greets you with ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-nyeong-ha-sae-yo), you greet back with ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-nyeong-ha-sae-yo). If someone greets you with ์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong), you say ์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong) too.

If you are the one initiating the conversation say ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (an-nyeong-ha-sae-yo), the go-to greeting in Korean.

63 Korean Words You Never Knew You Knew! Thumbnail

63 Korean Words You Never Knew You Knew!

Did you know you already know loads of Korean words and that’s thanks to the inclusion of Korean Loanwords in the language. Here’s our favourites.

Good Morning in Korean || Other Ways to Say Good Morning

์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ์ž…๋‹ˆ๋‹ค (jo-eun ah-chim-ip-ni-da) – Good morning

๐Ÿ‘‰ Another way to say good morning is ์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ์ž…๋‹ˆ๋‹ค or ์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ which literally translates to good morning.

Natives will usually use this in a corporate setting when greeting a group of colleagues at the same time. A perfect scene to use this would be you walking into the office with many colleagues sitting at their desks. While reaching to your desk you could greet everyone by saying ์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ์ž…๋‹ˆ๋‹ค  (jo-eun ah-chim-ip-ni-da).

For a closer circle of colleagues, you can also say ์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ (jo-eun ah-chim) omitting the formal ending ์ž…๋‹ˆ๋‹ค (ib-ni-da).

์•ˆ๋…•ํžˆ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”? (an-nyeong-hee ju-mu-syeo-sseo-yo)

๐Ÿ‘‰ Another favorite way Korean like to say good morning is ์•ˆ๋…•ํžˆ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”. (an-nyeong-hee ju-mu-syeo-sseo-yo). Asking how they slept is a polite gesture that shows interest in their well-being.

Did you have a good night’s sleep?

์•ˆ๋…•ํžˆ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”?

(an-nyeong-hee ju-mu-syeo-sseo-yo)ย 

Koreans often use this to greet their parents or elders in the morning right when they wake up. This isnโ€™t used to greet someone mid-morning. 

Did you have a good night’s sleep, mother?

์–ด๋จธ๋‹ˆ ์ž˜ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”?

(eo-mo-ni jal ju-mu-syeo-sseo-yo)

์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”? (jal ja-sseo-yo)

์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”? (jal ja-sseo-yo) is a polite way to say good morning to people closer to you.

If there is a friend or superior you are close to but still want to show politeness, this expression is a great one. 

Use the honorific ์”จ (ssi) if you are greeting someone specifically. 

Did you have a good night’s sleep, Yeong Mi?

์˜๋ฏธ์”จ ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”?

(Young Mi-ssi jal ja-sseo-yo)

์ž˜ ์žค์–ด? (jal ja-sseo)

Here is the most casual form. Use this to people you are most comfortable around and donโ€™t need to show formality. 

As with the example above, here is how you will add a name to your greeting.

Example: ์˜๋ฏธ์•ผ ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด? (Young Mi-ya jal ja-sseo)

๐Ÿ‘‰ For casual forms, adding names rather than greeting them outright with โ€˜good morningโ€™ sounds more gentle. Next time you are greeting a close friend, try this method!

Good Morning in Korean | How to Reply to Good Morning

๐Ÿ‘‰ If someone greets you with one of the โ€œDid you sleep wellโ€ morning greetings, here is how you can reply.

A: Did you sleep well?

์•ˆ๋…•ํžˆ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”?

(an-nyeong-hee ju-mu-syeo-sseo-yo)
B: Yes, I slept well. Did you sleep well?

๋„ค, ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”. ์•ˆ๋…•ํžˆ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”?

(ne, jal-ja-sseo-yo. an-nyeong-hee ju-mu-syeo-sseo-yo)

โœ Please note that honorifics are used to show respect to others, so you wouldnโ€™t use them to yourself.

You can see that we didnโ€™t repeat the exact words back but instead used a less formal way to answer them. 

A: Did you sleep well?

์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”?

(jal ja-sseo-yo)
B: Yes, I slept well. Did you sleep well?

๋„ค, ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”. ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”?

(ne, jal ja-sseo-yo. jal ja-sseo-yo)
A: Did you sleep well?

์ž˜ ์žค์–ด?

(jal ja-sseo)
B: Yes, I slept well. Did you sleep well? Or yes, I slept well. You?

์‘, ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด. ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด? (์‘, ์ž˜ ์žค์–ด. ๋„ˆ๋Š”?)

(eung, jal ja-sseo. jal ja-sseo)

Mornings to some could be one of the toughest in a day. Lighten up their day with a morning greeting.

๐Ÿ“ Remember, Koreans value respect very much so it’s important not to offend anyone with the wrong forms. Also, this is a great way to learn about other cultures.

So make sure to start your day with a smile and a โ€œgood morningโ€ but of course, first, coffee.

Coffee in Korean โ˜•๏ธ The Complete Guide to Getting Your Daily Dose of Caffeine Thumbnail

Coffee in Korean โ˜•๏ธ The Complete Guide to Getting Your Daily Dose of Caffeine

Must-Know Vocab and Phrases for Ordering Coffee in Korean || PLUS Quiz! Can you say coffee in Korean? With more than 18,000 coffee shops in Seoul alone, itโ€™s safe to say South Korea is deep in a coffee craze. With…

USEFUL PHRASE
Here is a small list of vocabulary for you๐Ÿ‘‡

Korean PhraseTRANSLITERATIONEnglish Meaning
์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š”an-nyeong-ha-sae-yoHello (formal)
์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒan-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-kaHello (very formal)
์•ˆ๋…•an-nyeongHi (informal)
์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจjo-eun ah-chimGood morning (casual)
์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ์ž…๋‹ˆ๋‹คjo-eun ah-chim-ip-ni-daGood morning (formal)
์•ˆ๋…•ํžˆ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”?an-nyeong-hee ju-mu-syeo-sseo-yoDid you have a good night’s sleep? (formal)
์ž˜ ์žค์–ด์š”?jal ja-sseo-yoDid you sleep well? (polite)
์ž˜ ์žค์–ด?jal ja-sseoDid you sleep well? (casual)
๋ถ€๋ชจ๋‹˜์€ ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š”?bu-mo-nim-eun an-nyeong-ha-sae-yoAre your parents doing well?
์ž˜ ์ง€๋‚ด์„ธ์š”?jal ji-nae-se-yoHow are you? (polite)

Good Morning in Korean || Quiz

Welcome to our Good morning quiz! Enter your first name and email to begin. Don't worry you can unsubscribe at any time!

First Name
Email
What does ์ข‹์€ ์•„์นจ (jo-eun ah-chim) literally translate to?

Which of the following is used in corporate settings?

When would you use ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์‹ญ๋‹ˆ๊นŒ (an-nyeong-ha-shim-nik-ka)?

What does ์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong) mean?

What is the casual greeting used among close friends?

Which phrase means "Did you sleep well?" in a polite form?

What is the informal way to say "Did you sleep well?" among friends?

Which expression is used to greet a teacher?

How do you reply to "์•ˆ๋…•ํžˆ ์ฃผ๋ฌด์…จ์–ด์š”?" (Did you sleep well?)?

What is the most common way to say "Good Morning" in Korean?

If you enjoyed this blog, why not check out:

๐Ÿ‘‰ Have a good day in Spanish

๐Ÿ‘‰ How to say hello in Chinese

๐Ÿ‘‰ Common Japanese Greetings

Good Morning in Korean || FAQ

What is another meaning of ์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong) in Korean?

์•ˆ๋…• (an-nyeong)ย  also means goodbye. So you can greet and say goodbye with one word!

What is another way to greet someone in Korean?

๊ตฟ๋ชจ๋‹ (good morning)ย 

This is also a popular way we greet

How do you say โ€˜have a great dayโ€™ in Korean?

์ข‹์€ ํ•˜๋ฃจ ๋˜์„ธ์š” (joe-eun ha-ru de-sse-yo)

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