What Does 안녕하세요 (Annyeonghaseyo) Mean in Korean?
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
Published · Updated · How we write & review
After this page, you can greet anyone politely with 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) at any hour, and spell, say and romanize it correctly.
10-second answer
What does Annyeonghaseyo (안녕하세요) mean?
안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) is the standard polite Korean greeting — "hello." It literally asks "Are you at peace?" (안녕/annyeong = peace/well-being), works at any time of day, and pairs naturally with a small bow. The casual version between close friends is just 안녕.
Quick check — did that land?
1. You walk into a shop in Seoul. What do you say?
안녕하세요! It's the polite Korean hello you can use all day.
Quick Examples
안녕하세요! 처음 뵙겠습니다.
annyeonghaseyo! cheoeum boepgetseumnida.
Hello! Nice to meet you (for the first time).
안녕하세요, 주문하시겠어요?
annyeonghaseyo, jumunhasigesseoyo?
Hello, would you like to order?
Staff greeting customers.
교수님, 안녕하세요.
gyosunim, annyeonghaseyo.
Hello, professor.
Polite greeting to someone above you — add a bow.
See also: 감사합니다 (kamsahamnida) — thank you
One Greeting, All Day Long
Korean has no everyday good morning / good afternoon / good evening split. 안녕하세요 covers them all — morning meeting, afternoon shop visit, evening class. (좋은 아침 'good morning' exists but is an office-culture borrowing, not the default.)
| Form | Politeness | Use with |
|---|---|---|
| 안녕 (annyeong) | Casual | Friends, people younger than you, and children — also means 'bye' |
| 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) | Polite — the default | Almost everyone |
| 안녕하십니까 (annyeonghasimnikka) | Formal | Military, news anchors, very formal business |
When unsure, 안녕하세요 is never wrong. Koreans don't expect foreigners to calibrate perfectly — but they always notice the effort of the bow that comes with it: a small nod is enough.
How to Spell, Say, and Romanize It
Five syllable blocks, said as one smooth word: an-nyeong-ha-se-yo. The stress is flat — don't punch any single syllable the way English does. 녕 is one syllable (nyeong), not "nee-yong," and the final 요 is a soft "yo," not "yoo."
You'll see it romanized a dozen ways — annyeonghaseyo, annyeong haseyo, anyonghaseyo, annyong haseyo, anyoung haseyo, ahn nyong ha se yo, even annyŏnghaseyo with a breve. They're all the same word. The official Revised Romanization is annyeonghaseyo, written as one word; the version with ŏ is the older McCune-Reischauer system (see the romanization guide for why both exist). If you're typing it, the keystrokes are ㅇㅏㄴ · ㄴㅕㅇ · ㅎㅏ · ㅅㅔ · ㅇㅛ.
How to reply
Just mirror it: someone says 안녕하세요, you say 안녕하세요 back (a small nod helps). Adding 네 in front — 네, 안녕하세요 — sounds a touch warmer, like "yes, hello." You don't need a different phrase for the reply.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Using 안녕 with strangers
Bare 안녕 is casual speech (반말). To adults you don't know, it can sound rude — stick with 안녕하세요.
Mistake #2 — Expecting a time-of-day greeting
Don't translate 'good evening' literally. One greeting fits all hours.
Mini Quiz
2. What does 안녕하세요 literally ask?
3. Which greeting works at 9 PM?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
The casual half of the greeting system — and the only Korean word that means both hi AND bye.
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