ANNYEONG (안녕) Meaning — How Koreans Say "HI" and "BYE" | SingSay Korean
How Koreans say
hi and bye
with one word.
You walk into a room and say it.
Two hours later you walk out and say the exact same thing.
One word, both ends of the conversation.
What does ‘안녕’ mean?
‘안녕’ (Annyeong) is “Hi” and it is also “Bye.”
But what it actually means is peace.
Are you at peace? Be at peace.
It was never “Hello” in the first place.
It is a wish.
Hi and bye with one word
Bare ‘안녕’ is casual.
It is for friends, classmates, and people younger than you.
Say it to your friend’s mother and it will land wrong.
The polite version
‘안녕’ turned into a question with a polite ending: are you well?
Use it with anyone you do not know, anyone older,
and in every shop, office and taxi in Korea.
Use ‘안녕하세요’ with everyone.
Drop to ‘안녕’ only with people who have used it with you first.
Going too polite is invisible.
Going too casual is not.
The goodbye that splits in two
In the polite form, “Goodbye” is two phrases.
Which one depends on who is leaving.
Go in Peace
Stay in Peace
Both of you leaving? ‘안녕히 가세요.’
Get them backwards and nobody will be offended.
They will just smile, because you have told a shopkeeper
to leave their own shop.
Tone
Hi, Good to See You
Warm, a Bit Playful
A Real Goodbye, and a Sad One
In dramas, a quiet ‘안녕…’ at the end of a scene
is almost never just “Bye.” It is the goodbye that means it.
Lyrics
When you meet, you say 안녕!
When you leave, you say 안녕!
When you meet, when you leave: annyeong!VERSE 2
Say 안녕하세요!
But with your friends, keep it simple 안녕! 안녕!
annyeong! annyeong!
Words in this song
This is song one of Everyday Korean, Vol. 1.
Want all six words in one place? See the album guide.
Want to keep ‘안녕’ handy?
Save the word cards on Instagram @singsaykorean.
Watch the full song on YouTube @SingSayKorean
and sing it until it sticks.
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