Things You'll Need:
- Korean phrase book
- Travel guide
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Step 1
Say “anyeong haseyo” (ahn-young ha-seh-yo) for “Hello.” There are two versions of saying goodbye in Korean. To say goodbye to a person leaving, one says “Annyonghi kasayo” (ahn-yung-hee ga-seh-yo). To say goodbye to a person staying, one says, “Annyonghi kaysayo” (ahn-yung-hee gay-sah-yo).
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Step 2
When meeting someone for the first time, you can greet him or her with “Ottoshimnikka?” (O-toh-sheem-nee-ka) for “How are you?” To respond to a greeting, one can say “Chaljinaysayo” (chal-jee-nay-seh-yo) for “I’m fine.” This can be followed by saying “bangapsupnida” (ban-gap-sup-nee-da) for “It is nice to meet you.”
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Step 3
Introduce yourself by saying “che-irumun (name) imnida” (jie-ee-ree-mun (name) eem-nee-da) for “my name is (name).” Likewise you can ask a person his or her name by saying “song-ha-mi o-teo-ke dwe-si-ji-yo?“
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Step 4
Politeness is a revered quality in Korea. Make frequent use of “putakhamnida” (pootak-ham-nee-da) and "kamsahapnida" (gam-sa-hap-nee-da) to say "please" and "thank you." Other polite terms to use are “sillaehamneda” (shill-eh-ham-nee-da) for “excuse me” and “cheonmaneyo” (chon-man-eh-yo)" for “you’re welcome.” Another important phrase is “mianhamnida” (mee-ahn-ham-nee-da) for “I’m sorry.”
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Step 5
Say "ne" (neh) or “ye” (yeh) for "yes" and "aniyo" (ahn-nee-oh) for "no."
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Step 6
If you have trouble following the flow of conversation, you can politely ask the speaker to make himself understood. You can say, “jal mo-dara dut-ge-soum-ni-da” for, “I don’t understand,” followed by “jom-chon-chon-hee mahl-soum-hae joo-se-yo?“ for “can you speak more slowly?”
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Step 7
If you’re looking for something, say “odiyo” (o-dee-yo) which means “where?”
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Step 8
When you feel that you have more to express and you feel limited by the language, don’t hesitate to ask if there is a person who can understand and speak English. Say “yong-o-rul hahl-jool asim-ni-ka?” To ask someone “Do you speak English?” You can also say “jeo-nun han-kook-o-rul jo-gum-bah-ke mo-tahm-ni-da” for “I only speak a little Korean.”
