안녕하세요
How to say hello in Korean A1
안녕하세요 vs 안녕 vs 안녕하십니까 — the hello for shops, friends, and job interviews, with pronunciation and a listen button.
Every form, from formal to casual
Korean has one root, 안녕 (“peace / well-being”), dressed for different rooms. The polite 안녕하세요 covers 90% of a traveler’s day.
| Korean | Romanization | Level | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 안녕하십니까 | annyeonghasimnikka | Formal | News, speeches, first day at work |
| 안녕하세요 | annyeonghaseyo | Polite | Default with strangers, staff, elders |
| 안녕 | annyeong | Casual | Close friends, children, same-age classmates |
| 여보세요 | yeoboseyo | Phone | Only when answering a call |
Which one do I actually use?
Walk into a café: 안녕하세요 with a small nod. Meet your friend’s parents: the same, plus a slightly deeper bow. Use 안녕 only when the other person has already used casual speech with you — going casual first is the classic learner mistake. 여보세요 is not a face-to-face hello; it opens a phone call.
Time-of-day greetings (good morning / good evening) exist — 좋은 아침이에요 — but Koreans mostly use 안녕하세요 all day.
Pronunciation notes
- 안녕하세요
Four beats: an-nyeong-ha-se-yo. The ㅇ in 녕 is an “ng” closing the syllable; do not add a hard “g”.
- 안녕하십니까
십니까 is pronounced [심니까]: ㅂ before ㄴ becomes ㅁ (nasal assimilation).
Vocabulary set
Cards are saved in this browser and scheduled with spaced repetition.
Quick drill
Common mistakes
- ✗ 안녕 to a shop clerk✓ 안녕하세요Casual 안녕 to a stranger reads as rude, not friendly.
- ✗ 안녕하세요? as a question every time✓ Flat or slightly rising intonationIt is a greeting, not a question about health, so it does not need question intonation.
Example sentences
FAQ
How do you pronounce 안녕하세요?
ahn-nyung-ha-seh-yo, five syllables with even stress. The middle 녕 ends in an “ng” sound.
Is 안녕 hello or goodbye?
Both, in casual speech. Context and a wave decide. In polite speech hello (안녕하세요) and goodbye (안녕히 가세요 / 계세요) are different.
What does 여보세요 mean?
It is the phone-only “hello” Koreans say when picking up. It is not used in person.
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