What Does 미안해 (Mianhae) Mean in Korean?
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
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After this page, you can apologize to friends with 미안해 (mianhae), and know when to step up to 미안해요 or 죄송합니다.
10-second answer
What does Mianhae (미안해) mean?
미안해 (mianhae) is the casual way to say "I'm sorry" — for close friends, partners, and people younger than you. Add 요 (yo) for the polite version (미안해요, mianhaeyo), and reach for 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida) with strangers and elders. In K-dramas, a quiet 미안해 carries entire breakup scenes.
Quick check — did that land?
1. You're 10 minutes late meeting your best friend. You say:
미안해! It means I'm sorry, but it's casual.
Quick Examples
늦어서 미안해!
neujeoseo mianhae!
Sorry I'm late!
진짜 미안해. 내가 잘못했어.
jinjja mianhae. naega jalmothaesseo.
I'm really sorry. It was my fault.
잘못했어 ('I did wrong') upgrades a sorry into a real apology.
미안, 나 오늘 못 가.
mian, na oneul mot ga.
Sorry, I can't make it today.
Clipped 미안 — the lightest, most casual form.
A note on spelling. The official romanization of 미안해 is mianhae, but you'll also see it written mianhe or mian hae. They're all the same word.
Add 진짜 in front to make the apology stronger: 진짜 (jinjja).
See also: 죄송합니다 — the formal sorry
Casual Doesn't Mean Shallow
Between close people, 미안해 spans everything from 'oops' to a tearful drama confession. Intensity comes from what's around it:
| Phrase | Weight |
|---|---|
| 미안 (mian) | Oops — texting-level sorry |
| 미안해 (mianhae) | Standard casual sorry |
| 진짜 미안해 (jinjja mianhae) | I'm really sorry |
| 정말 미안해. 잘못했어. | Full apology — owning the fault |
K-drama detail: the flat, quiet 미안해 in a breakup scene is devastating precisely because it's casual — intimate language delivering distance. Subtitles ('I'm sorry') can't carry that.
미안해하지 마 — "Don't Feel Sorry"
미안해 itself is an adjective/exclamation, but Korean also has a verb form, 미안해하다 ("to feel sorry"), which shows up when you want to tell someone to stop apologizing: 미안해하지 마 ("don't feel bad about it"). This is the warm, common response when someone over-apologizes for something minor — instead of just saying 괜찮아 once, 미안해하지 마 directly addresses their guilty feeling and tells them to let it go. You'll hear it a lot in comfort scenes: 네 잘못 아니야, 미안해하지 마 ("it's not your fault, don't feel sorry").
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — 미안해 upward
To elders, bosses, strangers: 죄송합니다. Casual sorry aimed up the hierarchy reads as disrespect, not warmth.
Mistake #2 — Answering 미안해 with '괜찮아' every time
괜찮아 (it's okay) is the standard reply — but for a serious apology, 아니야, 괜찮아 ('no, really, it's fine') or talking it through is warmer than a reflexive one-word answer.
Mini Quiz
2. What does adding 잘못했어 to an apology do?
3. Someone says 미안해 for a small thing. The standard warm reply?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
What Does 괜찮아 (Gwaenchana) Mean?
Every 미안해 needs an answer — and 괜찮아 is it (plus three other jobs that word does).
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