Basic thanks and farewells | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 나중에 봐요.

   See you later.

   나중에

   later

   봐요

   see; meet

   More detail

   나중에 means “later” or “at a later time.” It is a time expression and can be reused with other actions. For example, 나중에 전화해요. means “I’ll call later.” 봐요 is the polite conversational form of 보다, whose basic meaning is “to see” or “to watch.” In this utterance, with a person as the understood object and a farewell context, it means “see [you]” or “meet [you].” 보다 is the base form; 봐요 is its polite 해요-style form. The same form can have other context-dependent meanings, such as “watch” in 영화를 봐요 (“I watch a movie”), so the intended sense here comes from the fixed translation and farewell use. Together, 나중에 봐요. means “See you later.” Korean commonly leaves the subject and object unstated when the context makes them clear, so the sentence does not explicitly contain a separate word for “you.” The following example, 내일 봐요., uses the same pattern with 내일 (“tomorrow”) in place of 나중에.

2. 내일 봐요.

   See you tomorrow.

   내일

   tomorrow

   봐요

   see

   More detail

   내일 means “tomorrow.” It is a time word and can be placed before the predicate: 내일 만나요. means “We’ll meet tomorrow.” 봐요 is the polite 해요-style form of 보다, “to see” or “to look.” The stem 보- combines with -아요, producing the contracted form 봐요. In this utterance, the omitted object is understood from the farewell context, so 봐요 means “see [you]” rather than simply “look.” The same form can have other meanings in a different context: 영화를 봐요. means “I watch a movie.” Together, 내일 + 봐요 gives “See you tomorrow.” Korean omits the subject and object here because the fixed farewell expression makes them understood; the utterance does not need to state them explicitly.

3. 정말 고마워요.

   Thank you very much.

   정말

   really; very

   고마워요

   thank you; I’m grateful

   More detail

   정말 means “really” or “very” here and intensifies the expression that follows. It commonly appears before a descriptive word or expression: 정말 맛있어요 means “It is really delicious.” 고마워요 is the polite 해요-style form used to express thanks. Its base form is 고맙다, meaning “to be thankful” or “to appreciate.” In this form, the ㅂ of 고맙다 changes before the ending -어요, producing 고마워요. The expression is conventionally used as “Thank you” or “I’m grateful.” For example, 도와줘서 고마워요 means “Thank you for helping me.” Together, 정말 + 고마워요 gives “Thank you very much,” with 정말 strengthening the thanks. The ending -요 makes the expression polite and suitable for ordinary courteous conversation.

4. 오늘은 여기까지예요.

   That is all today.

   오늘은

   today

   여기까지예요

   that is all

   More detail

   오늘은 combines 오늘 (“today”) with the topic particle 은. The topic particle marks today as the time frame: “as for today.” 은 is used after a syllable ending in a consonant; after a vowel, the corresponding topic form is 는. Example: 오늘은 바빠요. — “I’m busy today.” 여기까지예요 contains 여기까지, “up to here/this point,” and 예요, the polite present form of the copula 이다 (“to be”). Because 여기까지 ends in a vowel sound, 예요 is the form used; after a consonant-final noun, the corresponding polite form is 이에요. Here, 여기까지예요 means “it is up to here,” naturally “that is all.” Example: 수업은 여기까지예요. — “That’s all for the lesson.” Together, 오늘은 여기까지예요. means “That is all for today.” The topic sets today as the time frame, and 여기까지예요 states that the activity or discussion reaches its endpoint here. This is a polite, natural way to close a session or exchange.

5. 좋은 밤 보내세요.

   Have a good night.

   좋은

   good

   밤

   night

   보내세요

   please spend

   More detail

   좋은 means “good” here and comes from the adjective 좋다 (“to be good”). Before a noun, 좋다 takes the attributive form 좋은: 좋은 밤 = “a good night.” This form does not mark grammatical gender or number. 밤 means “night.” It is a noun and can combine with descriptive words such as 좋은 to form a noun phrase. For example, 좋은 하루 means “a good day”; this is a new example, not part of the supplied utterance. 보내세요 comes from 보내다, whose broad meanings include “to send” and “to spend/pass” time. With 밤 as its object, the relevant meaning is “spend/pass the night,” not “send the night.” The ending -세요 makes this a polite request or directive: 보내세요 = “please spend/pass [it].” The subject is understood from the situation rather than stated in the sentence. Together, 좋은 밤 (“a good night”) and 보내세요 (“please spend/pass [it]”) form the polite wish “Have a good night.”

6. 다음에 봐요.

   See you next time.

   다음에

   next time

   봐요

   see

   More detail

   다음에 means “next time” here. 다음 means “next” or “following,” and -에 marks a time or occasion. The pattern 다음에 + [verb] can refer to doing something on a later occasion. Example: 다음에 만나요. — “Let’s meet next time.” 봐요 is the polite 요-ending form of 보다, whose basic meaning is “to see” or “to look at.” In this fixed expression, it means seeing the other person again, rather than simply looking at something. The 요 ending makes the utterance polite and conversational. Example: 내일 봐요. — “See you tomorrow.” Together, 다음에 봐요. means “See you next time.” The time expression comes first, followed by the polite verb expression; Korean commonly leaves the subject understood when the context makes the participants clear. This is a friendly, everyday parting expression.