Useful Korean phrases

[chaewon]

I am sure that you can use these words/sentences right away to your Korean friends ;-)

I've always taught to my friends about these phrases whenever they ask me "Teach me some Korean!" Because they are simple, relatively easy to remember, and useful in various situations.

1. 대박!(Dae BaK)

It literally means "great luck", but you can use this word at any time.

For example, you can use 대박 when you heard about something unbelievable, whether that's positive or negative.

(ex)I've passed the exam without effort!-대박!

I saw him stealing something in a shop yesterday. -대박!

2. 뭘(moerl)

Actually, there's no sentence to substitute "You're welcome" in Korean. But in this context, you can use '뭘' instead of 'you're welcome.' It literally means 'nothing', same as 'de rien' in French. When your Korean friend said 'thanks' to you, which happens quite often I guess, you can answer with '뭘'!

3. 진짜?(Jin jja?)

It is exactly same with 'Really?' in English. You can show your wonder or impression with this sentence, besides when you really want to ask something :-)

(ex)Chaewon, I think I can borrow my car to you for this weekend. - 진짜?????(which implies that I'm so happy that I cannot believe your kind friendly offer!)

[chrism]

Those are great, in addition to the common greeting, 안녕하세요 (Annyeong Haseyo)

It's a little more challenging, but eventually rolls off of the tongue, and even if it's the only Korean word you know, it's almost always appropriate to use. It could be misleading though, especially if you get a response in Korean.. Now, how do you say "I don't speak Korean" in Korean?

[botmaker]

I am sure that you can use these words/sentences right away to your Korean friends ;-)

I've always taught to my friends about these phrases whenever they ask me "Teach me some Korean!" Because they are simple, relatively easy to remember, and useful in various situations.

1. 대박!(Dae BaK)

It literally means "great luck", but you can use this word at any time.

For example, you can use 대박 when you heard about something unbelievable, whether that's positive or negative.

(ex)I've passed the exam without effort!-대박!

I saw him stealing something in a shop yesterday. -대박!

2. 뭘(moerl)

Actually, there's no sentence to substitute "You're welcome" in Korean. But in this context, you can use '뭘' instead of 'you're welcome.' It literally means 'nothing', same as 'de rien' in French. When your Korean friend said 'thanks' to you, which happens quite often I guess, you can answer with '뭘'!

3. 진짜?(Jin jja?)

It is exactly same with 'Really?' in English. You can show your wonder or impression with this sentence, besides when you really want to ask something :-)

(ex)Chaewon, I think I can borrow my car to you for this weekend. - 진짜?????(which implies that I'm so happy that I cannot believe your kind friendly offer!)

Doesn't 대박!(Dae BaK) literally means "great luck" but it is used as "Wow"

[KimJongIllest]

As the previous poster mentioned, it's odd that Annyong-haseyo isn't mentioned. It was one of the first things that come to mind when I read the thread title.

Also I'd like to ask Korean speakers what I think sounds like "Burago." I hear this a lot from my friends and it's mostly in the tone of a question. I keep forgetting to ask them what it means.

[mccanono]

Probably, chaewon did not include Anneonghaseyo is because it is pretty common nowadays. I guess anyone who has the slightest interest in learning Korean already has an idea on what Anneonghaseyo means.

[chigreyofthenorns]

Thanks for these phrases! I used to know all of these when I was still attending Basic Korean Classes in the Cultural Center here in my country, but I forgot them now. I only remember Annyeong and Saranghae! Hahaha

[Pinoy90]

I learned "dae bak" as meaning "big win" . I hear the phrase a lot when I watch this Korean variety show called "Running Man" . Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge in basic Korean. It is very useful to me.

[hanseung]

Also I'd like to ask Korean speakers what I think sounds like "Burago." I hear this a lot from my friends and it's mostly in the tone of a question. I keep forgetting to ask them what it means.

I'm not a native Korean speaker, but I am quite sure the 'burago' you are hearing is '뭐라고?' (mworago). It means 'what did you say?', and the 'm' sound in Korean often sounds like a 'b' sound because of the way the lips are used to pronounce Korean sounds.

[OddVisions]

Thank you for the phrases. I'll be sure to use them when practicing speaking Korean or writing Hangul. In addition, what is the Korean phrase for thank you? I think I saw it somewhere on the forum but forgot where. Thus, if you could help me remember the phrase, I'd be very thankful of it.

[celinehazel]

There are two main ways to say "Thank You"

감사합니다 / 감사해요 -> sounds more formal

고맙습니다 / 고마워요 -> less formal

Between friends and family we use an even less formal variation --> 고마워 or even 땡큐 (romanisation of "Thank you")