Students often get baffled about what to use for saying Bye in Korean. While in casual term it is clear that we use 안녕, however, it is a bit confusing in honorific way. So we have compiled a list of words that you can use for saying Bye in Korean.
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안녕히 가세요
안녕히 가세요 literally means Go well in English. Wherein, the 가 (ga) comes from the verb 가다 (Ga-da), which means To go in Korean.
Hence, the phrasal term becomes Bye in Korean. However, you can’t use it in any scenario. This is used when you want to wave a bye to the person who is leaving the room and when you are going to stay there.
Another case will be when you and the other person who are with you, both are leaving the place and going their separate ways.
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안녕히 계세요
The 계 in 안녕히 계세요 comes from 계시다. It means to Stay Well. You will use this one when you are the person who is going to stay while the others will leave the place.
Since its literal meaning is to “Stay well”, hence, you will be wishing the person to hang out there nicely.
Also read: How to work in South Korea in 2022
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안녕
Now this is the most common way to bid adieu to someone. However, you should not use this with your elders, or the person you are not close with. Since, it is in 반말 (informal language), so it must only be used between closed friends.
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잘 가요
잘 가요 consists of 잘 which mean “well” and 가요 which is the present tense of the verb 가다 (to go). As a result, it also states “Go well”.
This is used in the formal informal language, specifically with the people you are close with, but not close enough to drop the honorifics.
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잘 있어요
This is used for wishing to be good. While abiding a goodbye you can use this to mean that you are hoping for the person to be well.
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다음에 봐요
If we breakdown 다음에 봐요, we get 다음, which means Next or later. And 봐요 comes from the verb 보다 (to watch, to see). The 에 in between is the location marker.
Hence, 다음에 봐요 means See you next time, or See you later in the phrasal term.
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나중에 만나요
나중에 means later or in the future. While 만나요 comes from the verb 만나다 (to meet). When put together, it means Let’s meet later or See you later.
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다음에 뵙겠습니다
다음에 뵙겠습니다 is just the honorific version of 다음에 봐요. So, if you want to use See you the next time in the formal setting, then you should use this one.
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건강하세요
건강 in this term stands for health. And 건강하다 means to be healthy. So when you say this in a phrasal way, it literally means that you are wishing for the person to be healthy.
Be healthy, Stay healthy, is what it means.
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조심하세요
It comes from the adjective 조심하다 (to be safe). Hence, when you say this in the phrasal form, you hope for the person to be safe, and so it means Stay safe, Stay well.
Here, you have got 10 words to say Bye in Korean now. The next time you need to use it, don’t just stick to one way, use these all various terms.
