Basic Greetings and Introductions | Learn Korean in English

Korean lesson set in a contemporary Seoul everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic greetings and introductions..

EN → KO / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic Greetings and Introductions to practice Korean conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

여러분, 좋은 아침이에요.

yuh-ruh-BUN, JOH-un ah-CHIM-ee-eh-yoh Good morning, everyone.
B

잘 지내세요?

jahl jee-neh-SEH-yoh? How are you?
A

저는 잘 지내요.

juh-NUN jahl jee-neh-YOH I am fine.
B

만나서 반가워요.

mahn-NAH-suh bahn-gah-WUH-yoh Nice to meet you.
A

좋은 하루 보내세요.

JOH-un HAH-roo bo-neh-SEH-yoh Have a nice day.
B

천만에요.

chun-MAHN-eh-yoh You are welcome.

Word by Word

여러분 여러분 means “everyone” here and addresses the whole group in 여러분, 좋은 아침이에요. It commonly appears when speaking to several people together, such as in 여러분, 안녕하세요. You can use it when greeting or giving information to a group.
좋은 좋은 means “good” here and describes 아침 in 좋은 아침이에요, the whole expression used as “Good morning.” It is the form of “good” placed before a noun, so a useful pattern is 좋은 + noun. It can be used when describing something positively, such as 좋은 하루 in the dialogue.
아침이에요 아침이에요 contributes “it is morning” in 좋은 아침이에요, while the whole expression functions as a morning greeting. It combines 아침, “morning,” with a polite statement ending. You can use it when referring politely to the morning or as part of the greeting 좋은 아침이에요.
잘 잘 means “well” in 잘 지내세요? and 저는 잘 지내요. It describes how someone is doing together with 지내다, giving the pattern 잘 + verb. You use it when asking about or describing someone’s well-being.
지내세요 지내세요 asks politely how someone is doing in 잘 지내세요?; together with 잘, the phrase means “How are you?” The form is used when speaking politely to the other person. You can reuse the complete phrase 잘 지내세요? when checking on someone’s well-being.
저는 저는 means “as for me” or “I” in 저는 잘 지내요 and sets the speaker as the topic of the statement. It combines 저, a polite first-person form, with the topic marker 는. A useful pattern is 저는 + a statement about yourself, especially when answering a question.
지내요 지내요 means “am doing” or “am getting along” in 저는 잘 지내요. With 잘, it describes the speaker’s condition as “I am fine” or “I am doing well.” You can use 잘 지내요 as a polite statement about how you are doing.
만나서 만나서 means “having met” or “after meeting” in 만나서 반가워요. It connects the meeting with the feeling expressed by 반가워요, while the whole phrase means “Nice to meet you.” You can use 만나서 반가워요 when meeting someone for the first time.
반가워요 반가워요 expresses that meeting the person is pleasant or welcome in 만나서 반가워요. The whole expression, not 반가워요 alone, is the greeting “Nice to meet you.” You use it politely when meeting someone or when expressing pleasure at seeing them.
하루 하루 means “day” in 좋은 하루 보내세요. It names the period of time that the speaker wishes the other person to spend well. A useful pattern is 좋은 하루 + a polite wish, especially when saying goodbye.
보내세요 보내세요 means “spend” or “have” in 좋은 하루 보내세요, so the whole phrase wishes someone a nice day. Here it refers to spending a period of time, namely 하루. You can reuse 좋은 하루 보내세요 when politely wishing someone well as you part.
천만에요 천만에요 means “You are welcome” as a polite response to thanks. It is used as a complete expression rather than as part of a longer sentence in this dialogue. In a new example, someone could say 감사합니다 and the reply could be 천만에요.

Grammar Points

저는 + ...

저는 잘 지내요.

juh-NUN jahl jee-neh-YOH

I am fine.

는 marks the topic. 저는 means “as for me” or “I” in this sentence.

동사/형용사 어간 + 요

잘 지내요.

jahl jee-neh-YOH

I am fine.

The ending 요 makes the expression polite in everyday Korean.

Korean Vocabulary

만나서 반가워요 phrase
mahn-NAH-suh bahn-gah-WUH-yoh Nice to meet you
보내세요 verb
bo-neh-SEH-yoh have; spend
여러분 pron
yuh-ruh-BUN everyone
잘 지내세요 phrase
jahl jee-neh-SEH-yoh How are you?
잘 지내요 phrase
jahl jee-neh-YOH I am fine
저는 pron
juh-NUN I
좋은 아침이에요 phrase
JOH-un ah-CHIM-ee-eh-yoh Good morning
좋은 하루 phrase
JOH-un HAH-roo a nice day
천만에요 phrase
chun-MAHN-eh-yoh You are welcome

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Good morning, everyone.

Show Answer여러분, 좋은 아침이에요.

How are you?

Show Answer잘 지내세요?

I am fine.

Show Answer저는 잘 지내요.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

have; spend

Show Answer보내세요

You are welcome

Show Answer천만에요

I

Show Answer저는

everyone

Show Answer여러분