Korean Phone Call Phrases: 여보세요 and Beyond
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
Published · Updated · How we write & review
After this page, you can answer with 여보세요 (yeoboseyo), ask for someone and handle a wrong number on a Korean phone call.
10-second answer
The short answer
Korean has a hello you'll hear almost only on the phone: 여보세요 (yeoboseyo). Face-to-face, people greet each other with 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo). Beyond that, phone Korean is a small, fixed set: 지금 통화 괜찮으세요? (jigeum tonghwa gwaenchaneuseyo, is now a good time?), ~ 좀 바꿔 주세요 (~ jom bakkwo juseyo, may I speak to ~), and 전화 잘못 거셨어요 (jeonhwa jalmot geosyeosseoyo, you have the wrong number).
Quick check — did that land?
1. When can you use 여보세요?
You pick up a phone in Korea and hear 여보세요.
Full Dialogue Walkthrough
Answering a call, then handling a wrong number. Try "Practice as You" and answer each line before checking.
여보세요?
yeoboseyo?
Hello?
지수 씨 좀 바꿔 주세요.
jisu ssi jom bakkwo juseyo.
May I speak to Jisu, please?
잠시만요.
jamsimanyo.
One moment, please.
여보세요?
yeoboseyo?
Hello?
민수 씨 계세요?
minsu ssi gyeseyo?
Is Minsu there?
전화 잘못 거셨어요.
jeonhwa jalmot geosyeosseoyo.
You have the wrong number.
A note on spelling. The official romanization of 여보세요 is yeoboseyo, but you'll also see it written yoboseyo, yeobosaeyo or yobosaeyo. They're all the same word.
See also: 안녕하세요 — the standard hello
The Core Phone Set
여보세요?
yeoboseyo?
Hello? (phone only)
Rising tone. Today it's almost only used on the phone.
지금 통화 괜찮으세요?
jigeum tonghwa gwaenchaneuseyo?
Is now a good time to talk?
통화 = phone conversation; the considerate opener after identifying yourself.
민수 씨 좀 바꿔 주세요.
minsu ssi jom bakkwo juseyo.
May I speak to Minsu, please?
Literally "please switch to Minsu" — 바꾸다 (to change) + 주세요. Name + 씨 keeps it polite.
잠시만요.
jamsimanyo.
One moment, please.
The all-purpose "hold on" — also works off the phone.
전화 잘못 거셨어요.
jeonhwa jalmot geosyeosseoyo.
You have the wrong number.
Literally "you dialed wrongly" — said politely with the honorific -시-.
나중에 다시 전화할게요.
najunge dasi jeonhwahalgeyo.
I'll call back later.
The graceful exit when they're busy.
Why 여보세요 Exists
The dictionary gives 여보세요 two jobs: calling out to someone nearby, and calling to the other person on the phone. The first one is fading — to get a stranger's attention today, people say 저기요 — so in practice 여보세요 has become the phone hello, and that's why it sounds odd as a greeting in person.
The Reality: Koreans Barely Call
Younger Koreans much prefer messages to calls: everyday conversation runs on 카카오톡 (KakaoTalk) and texts, and before calling someone, people often send a message first to check it's a good time. So alongside phone phrases, learn 문자 보낼게요 (munja bonaelgeyo, I'll text you) and 카톡할게요 (katokalgeyo, I'll KakaoTalk you) — you'll probably use them more. The internet-slang toolkit covers what happens inside those chats.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Greeting someone in person with 여보세요
In person, say 안녕하세요. Calling out 여보세요 face-to-face is rare now and sounds old-fashioned — to get a stranger's attention, use 저기요.
Mistake #2 — Translating "May I speak to X" word-for-word
The Korean idiom is 바꿔 주세요 ("please switch [the phone] to them") — X와 말할 수 있어요? sounds like machine translation.
Mini Quiz
2. How do you ask to speak to someone on the phone?
3. What does 전화 잘못 거셨어요 mean?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
You can open a call — now the universal safe topic that fills the first thirty seconds of any conversation.
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