How to Say Hello in Korean: 안녕하세요 and 7 Natural Greetings

The most useful way to say hello in Korean is:

안녕하세요
annyeonghaseyo
Hello.

If you are learning Korean for the first time, 안녕하세요 is the greeting to remember first.

It is polite and works in many everyday situations: greeting someone you do not know well, entering a shop, meeting a teacher, talking to an older person, or simply saying hello to someone in a respectful way.

But Korean does not have just one greeting for every situation.

With a close friend, you might say 안녕. In a more formal setting, you may hear 안녕하십니까. When meeting someone for the first time, expressions such as 만나서 반가워요 or 처음 뵙겠습니다 can be more useful.

The right choice depends on who you are speaking to and the situation.

TL;DR

• 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) is the safest everyday way to say hello in Korean.
• 안녕 (annyeong) is casual and is best used with close friends, children, or people with whom informal speech is appropriate.
• 안녕하십니까 (annyeonghasimnikka) is more formal than 안녕하세요.
• 만나서 반가워요 (mannaseo bangawoyo) means “Nice to meet you” in a polite style.
• 처음 뵙겠습니다 (cheoeum boepgetseumnida) is a formal expression for meeting someone for the first time.
• 오랜만이에요 (oraenmanieyo) is useful when you have not seen someone for a long time.
• Korean greetings depend heavily on politeness, familiarity, age, and social context.
• Do not automatically use 안녕 with every Korean person just because it is shorter.

Table of Contents

Korean Greetings at a Glance

You do not need to memorize all of these at once.

If you are a beginner, start with 안녕하세요 and then learn how the greeting changes when the relationship becomes more casual or the situation becomes more formal.

1. 안녕하세요: The Standard Everyday Hello

안녕하세요
annyeonghaseyo
Hello.

For most Korean learners, 안녕하세요 is the best default greeting.

You can use it when:

• meeting someone for the first time
• greeting someone older than you
• speaking to a teacher
• entering a small shop or business
• greeting a coworker you are not close to
• speaking with someone when you are unsure which politeness level to use

That makes it much safer for a beginner than immediately using the shorter 안녕.

The greeting is built around 안녕 (安寧), a word associated with peace, well-being, or being safe and well. In modern Korean, however, 안녕하세요 functions as a conventional greeting, so beginners can simply learn it as the standard polite “hello.”

How Do You Respond to 안녕하세요?

Usually, you can simply respond with:

안녕하세요

You do not need to invent a special response.

If someone says 안녕하세요 to you, saying 안녕하세요 back is completely natural.

2. 안녕: Casual Hi

With close friends, you may hear the much shorter:

안녕
annyeong
Hi.

This is casual speech.

For example, two close friends might greet each other with:

안녕

instead of:

안녕하세요

But this does not mean you should shorten every Korean greeting to 안녕.

Korean speech levels matter.

If you have just met an adult, are speaking with an older person, or are unsure about the relationship, 안녕하세요 is usually the better beginner choice.

안녕 Can Also Mean Bye

An interesting feature of 안녕 is that it can function as both a casual hi and a casual bye.

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

That makes it somewhat similar to expressions such as Italian ciao, although the social rules surrounding Korean speech levels are different.

3. 안녕하십니까: A More Formal Hello

A more formal greeting is:

안녕하십니까
annyeonghasimnikka
Hello.

Compared with 안녕하세요, this expression sounds more formal.

You may encounter it in situations such as:

• formal introductions
• speeches or presentations
• highly formal workplaces
• official settings
• situations where a speaker deliberately uses a formal speech style

For ordinary daily interactions, beginners will generally get much more use from 안녕하세요.

Think of the three greetings as a simple scale:

This is a useful beginner framework, but Korean politeness is more complex than simply choosing one of three fixed levels.

The relationship between speakers and the setting also matters.

If you want to understand this system more deeply, read our Korean honorifics guide.

4. 만나서 반가워요: Nice to Meet You

When meeting someone for the first time, you can say:

만나서 반가워요
mannaseo bangawoyo
Nice to meet you.

This is not a direct translation of “hello.”

Instead, it is something you can say after greeting or being introduced to someone.

For example:

안녕하세요
Hello.

만나서 반가워요
Nice to meet you.

This combination is much more useful in a real first meeting than trying to find many different Korean translations of the English word “hello.”

5. 처음 뵙겠습니다: For a Formal First Meeting

For a more formal first meeting, you may hear:

처음 뵙겠습니다
cheoeum boepgetseumnida
Pleased to meet you.

This expression is particularly useful when you want to be respectful during an introduction.

For example:

안녕하세요 처음 뵙겠습니다

A natural English interpretation would be:

Hello. Pleased to meet you.

You do not need this expression every time you meet someone new, but it is useful to recognize because it appears in more formal introductions.

6. 오랜만이에요: Long Time No See

When you already know someone but have not seen them for a while, a more natural greeting may be:

오랜만이에요
oraenmanieyo
Long time no see.

Imagine meeting a friend or acquaintance after several months.

Instead of treating the situation exactly like a first meeting, you can say:

오랜만이에요

You can also combine it with a greeting:

안녕하세요 오랜만이에요

This means roughly:

Hello. Long time no see.

With a close friend using casual speech, you may hear:

오랜만이야

Again, the ending changes with the relationship and speech level.

7. 잘 지냈어요: Have You Been Well?

Another useful expression for someone you already know is:

잘 지냈어요
jal jinaesseoyo
Have you been well?

You might use it after not seeing someone for some time.

For example:

오랜만이에요 잘 지냈어요

A natural English interpretation is:

Long time no see. Have you been well?

This is different from treating “How are you?” as a phrase that must follow every hello.

If you want to explore that difference further, see our guide to how to say how are you in Korean.

8. 만나서 반갑습니다: A More Formal Nice to Meet You

Another expression worth recognizing is:

만나서 반갑습니다
mannaseo bangapseumnida
Nice to meet you.

Compare:

만나서 반가워요 — polite conversational style

만나서 반갑습니다 — more formal style

For example, during a formal introduction you might hear:

안녕하십니까 만나서 반갑습니다

You do not need to force formal expressions into ordinary conversations.

The goal is to recognize the level of formality and choose language appropriate to the situation.

Which Korean Hello Should You Use?

For a beginner, this decision can be kept simple.

Someone You Do Not Know Well

Use:

안녕하세요

This is the best default in most ordinary polite interactions.

A Close Friend

You can use:

안녕

provided that you normally use casual speech with that person.

A Formal Situation

You may use or hear:

안녕하십니까

The more formal style should fit the overall situation rather than being chosen simply because it sounds more respectful.

Meeting Someone for the First Time

Start with:

안녕하세요

and you can follow it with:

만나서 반가워요

For a more formal introduction:

처음 뵙겠습니다

or:

만나서 반갑습니다

may be appropriate.

Seeing Someone After a Long Time

Try:

오랜만이에요

and perhaps:

잘 지냈어요

if you want to ask whether they have been well.

Is There a Korean Equivalent of Good Morning?

English speakers are accustomed to changing greetings according to the time:

Good morning

Good afternoon

Good evening

Korean everyday greetings do not map neatly onto that system.

You do not need to replace 안녕하세요 with a completely different standard greeting simply because it is morning or evening.

That makes 안녕하세요 particularly useful: it is not restricted to one part of the day.

There are situation-specific expressions involving sleeping, waking, meals, work, and coming or going, but they should not automatically be treated as direct replacements for English “good morning,” “good afternoon,” and “good evening.”

For nighttime expressions, see our guide to how to say good night in Korean.

Do Koreans Bow When Saying Hello?

A greeting in Korean is not only about the words.

In polite interactions, a slight bow or inclination of the head can accompany a greeting, especially when greeting someone older, someone you do not know well, or someone in a more formal context.

You do not need to turn every casual 안녕하세요 into a dramatic formal bow.

Watch the context and the people around you.

The important beginner lesson is that Korean greetings communicate respect through both language choice and social behavior.

Common Mistakes When Saying Hello in Korean

Using 안녕 with Everyone

After learning that 안녕 means “hi,” beginners sometimes want to use it everywhere.

That can make your speech too casual.

If you are unsure, use:

안녕하세요

and become more casual only when the relationship supports it.

Assuming 안녕하세요 Is Extremely Formal

The opposite mistake is thinking 안녕하세요 sounds stiff because it is polite.

It does not.

It is a normal everyday greeting.

If you need a distinctly more formal style, 안녕하십니까 is available.

Using 안녕하십니까 Everywhere to Sound Respectful

More formal does not automatically mean more natural.

Using 안녕하십니까 in every ordinary encounter can sound unnecessarily formal for the situation.

Learning Korean politeness means matching the expression to the relationship and setting, not simply choosing the most formal phrase you know.

Translating English Greetings Word for Word

English speakers often expect Korean to have separate everyday equivalents for:

Good morning

Good afternoon

Good evening

Korean greeting habits are organized differently.

In many everyday situations, 안녕하세요 works regardless of the time of day.

Treating 안녕하세요 and 만나서 반가워요 as the Same Thing

They serve different purposes.

안녕하세요 is a greeting.

만나서 반가워요 expresses that you are glad to meet someone.

That is why they can naturally appear together:

안녕하세요 만나서 반가워요

Quick Practice

Choose the most suitable expression for each situation.

1. You meet an adult you do not know well

Answer:

안녕하세요

2. You see a close friend

Answer:

안녕

3. You are giving a very formal greeting

Answer:

안녕하십니까

4. You have just been introduced to someone

A useful polite expression is:

만나서 반가워요

5. You meet someone you have not seen for months

Answer:

오랜만이에요

6. You want to ask that person whether they have been well

Answer:

잘 지냈어요

7. You are meeting someone in a formal setting for the first time

A useful expression is:

처음 뵙겠습니다

Korean Hello Cheat Sheet

If you remember only one expression today, remember:

안녕하세요

It will cover far more everyday situations than any of the alternatives.

FAQ

How do you say hello in Korean?

The standard polite way to say hello in Korean is:

안녕하세요

It is appropriate for many everyday situations and is the best general greeting for beginners.

What does 안녕하세요 mean?

안녕하세요 is the standard Korean greeting commonly translated as “hello.”

It comes from language associated with being well or at peace, but in everyday Korean you can learn it as a conventional greeting rather than trying to translate each part literally.

How do you pronounce hello in Korean?

안녕하세요 is romanized as annyeonghaseyo.

Romanization is useful when you are starting, but Hangul represents Korean pronunciation more directly. If you are serious about learning Korean, use our Korean alphabet guide and Korean pronunciation guide rather than depending on English spelling.

What is the difference between 안녕 and 안녕하세요?

안녕 is casual.

안녕하세요 is polite.

Use 안녕 with people with whom casual speech is appropriate, such as close friends. Use 안녕하세요 when you need a normal polite greeting or are unsure which speech level is appropriate.

Is 안녕하세요 formal?

It is polite, but it is also extremely common in ordinary everyday interactions.

For a more distinctly formal greeting, Korean has:

안녕하십니까

Can I say 안녕 to a stranger?

For a beginner, 안녕하세요 is generally the safer choice when greeting an adult stranger.

안녕 belongs to casual speech and should not be treated as the universal Korean equivalent of English “hi.”

How do you say hi to a friend in Korean?

With a close friend when you normally use casual speech, you can say:

안녕

How do you say hello formally in Korean?

A formal greeting is:

안녕하십니까

It is more formal in tone than the everyday 안녕하세요.

How do Koreans say nice to meet you?

A useful polite expression is:

만나서 반가워요

A more formal version is:

만나서 반갑습니다

You may also hear:

처음 뵙겠습니다

during formal first meetings.

Does 안녕 mean both hello and goodbye?

Yes. In casual speech, 안녕 can be used when meeting someone or when parting.

For polite goodbyes, Korean has other expressions whose use depends partly on who is leaving and who is staying.

Can I use 안녕하세요 in the morning and evening?

Yes.

안녕하세요 is not restricted to a particular time of day, so you do not need to replace it with separate standard greetings equivalent to English “good morning,” “good afternoon,” and “good evening.”

What to Learn Next

Once 안녕하세요 feels natural, learn how Korean changes according to the person you are speaking with.

Our Korean honorifics guide will help you understand why Korean speakers do not talk to every person at the same politeness level.

Then practice other everyday expressions with our guides to thank you in Korean, sorry in Korean, excuse me in Korean, and how are you in Korean.

If reading the Hangul still feels difficult, work through the Korean alphabet and Korean pronunciation guide instead of relying only on romanization.

Final Thoughts

If you want to say hello in Korean and are unsure which expression to choose, start with:

안녕하세요

It is polite, natural, and useful in a wide range of everyday situations.

As you become more comfortable with Korean relationships and speech levels, add:

안녕 for casual relationships,

안녕하십니까 for more formal situations,

만나서 반가워요 when meeting someone,

and 오랜만이에요 when seeing someone again after a long time.

The important skill is not memorizing as many Korean greetings as possible.

It is learning to choose a greeting that fits the person, the relationship, and the situation.