GOMAWO (고마워) Meaning — How Koreans Say "THANK YOU" | SingSay Korean
How Koreans say
“Thank You”
three different ways.
A friend buys you coffee.
A stranger points you to the right bus stop.
The cashier hands you your change.
Each one gets a slightly different thank you.
What does ‘고마워’ mean?
‘고마워’ (Gomawo) means “Thank You.”
This is the casual one, for friends and family.
Like ‘사랑해’ (Saranghae), there is no “I” and no “You.”
You are looking right at the person, so Korean leaves them out.
Two words for thank you
Korean has two families of “Thank You,”
and learners often wonder why.
They mean the same thing. The difference is the feel.
The ‘고마워’ family sounds warmer and more personal.
The ‘감사’ family sounds more formal and fixed,
the way a business or a speech would say it.
The polite versions
Put both families on the same ladder and it looks like this.
If you only learn one, make it ‘감사합니다’.
You will hear it every single time you pay for something in Korea.
It is the one thank you that is never wrong.
‘감사해’?
It exists, but you will rarely hear it.
With friends, Koreans reach for ‘고마워’.
The ‘감사’ family mostly lives in polite speech.
This is the same casual and polite split you saw with
‘안녕’ (Annyeong) and ‘사랑해’. Every song on this album follows it.
Want the polite forms of every word in one place? See Casual vs Polite Korean.
Saying it stronger
‘정말’ and ‘진짜’ (Jinjja) both mean “Really.”
‘진짜’ is more casual and spoken.
‘정말’ is a little neater, so it also works in polite speech and in writing.
That is why the song uses ‘정말’.
Which one, when?
That is the song’s bridge, almost line for line.
How Koreans answer a thank you
Textbooks teach ‘천만에요’ (Cheonmaneyo) for “You’re Welcome.”
It is correct, but in real conversation it sounds stiff.
What you actually hear is a little brush-off, like “Oh, It Was Nothing.”
And in shops, both sides simply say ‘감사합니다’ to each other.
You thank them, they thank you. That is the whole exchange.
Lyrics
고마워! (고마워!) 고마워!
When someone helps you, say:
고마워! 고마워! 고마워!
When someone helps you, say: gomawo!VERSE 2
Say 정말 고마워!
And when you want to be polite:
감사합니다!
gamsahamnida!
The outro steps up the ladder in three breaths:
‘고마워’, then ‘정말 고마워’, then ‘감사합니다’.
Casual, warmer, polite.
Words in this song
This is song three of Everyday Korean, Vol. 1.
Want all six words in one place? See the album guide.
Want to keep ‘고마워’ 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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