...한곡어! Week 2 Lesson 1: 인사 (Greetings)

안녕하세요!

This week we will be going over the first chapter of the Integrated Korean textbook. I will also be introducing some vocabulary from the first chapter of the Beginner's Korean textbook, as well.

Both of these chapters deal with how to greet another person, from saying hello, to introducing yourself, to saying goodbye.

Today, I will be going over Korean greetings. I will introduce a number of idiomatic expressions useful for conversation, and then explain them in a cultural context, as well as provide definitions for new words. Finally, I will give full conversational examples.

In case you are interested in some more, in-depth explanations of the words and phrases used here, I will also include this. However, this can be confusing for a first-time learner, so feel free to skip over this part.

Expressions

Below is a list of essential phrases to know when beginning a conversation in Korean:

Hello/How are you?
안녕하세요?
안녕하십니까?

Long time, no see.
오래간만 이에요.
오래간만 입니다.

How have you been?
그동안 잘지내셨어요?
그동안 잘지내셨습니까?

How have you been these days?
요즘 어떻게 지내세요?
요즘 어떻게 지내십니까?

I am fine, thanks to you.
덕분에 잘지냈어요.
덕분에 잘지냈습니다.

I have been doing fine, thanks to you.
덕분에 잘지내어요.
덕분에 잘지냅니다.

So-so.
그저 그래요.
그저 그렇습니다.

Conversational example:

1)   A: 안녕하십니까? 오래간만입니다. 김선생님, 요즘어떻게지내십니까?

     B: 마이클씨,안녕하세요? 덕분에잘지내어요. 그동안잘지내셨어요?
    A: 덕분에잘지냈습니다. 안녕히계십시오.
    B: 안녕히가세요.

    A: Hello. Long time, no see. How have you been these days, Ms. Kim?
    B: Hello Michael. I have been doing well, thanks to you. How have you been?
    A: I am fine, too. Goodbye.
    B: Goodbye.

Notice how, in this example, there is a difference between how one person talks to the other. Speaker A is probably somebody who is younger, a subordinate, or a student of speaker B. For this reason, speaker A must use the deferential form of speech toward speaker B, who uses the polite form to still show respect. If two people who do not know each other are speaking to one another, then the deferential form is maintained for both speakers in a formal setting. If both speakers are peers, then the polite form is used by both speakers.

2) A: 미숙씨! 안녕하세요?
    B: 안녕하세요? 오래간만이에요. 샌디씨, 그동안 잘지내셨어요?
    A: 덕분에잘지냈어요. 안녕히계세요.
    B: 안녕히가세요.

   A: Mi-sook! Hello!
   B: Hello! Long time, no see. How have you been, Sandy?
   A: I've been fine, thanks to you. Goodbye.
   B: Goodbye.

Culture notes:

1) In Korean, it is customary to bow when meeting somebody. In general, the younger speaker bows first, and the senior reciprocates. The degree of how far your torso bends when bowing depends on the amount of politeness, seniority, and social status that the other participant has. To show the highest degree of respect, the head and waist are bent about 45 degrees. Common courtesy, however, is around 15 degrees. Males often shake hands with one or both hands while bowing. In a very casual setting, nodding your head would be sufficient.

2) Korean names, like most eastern Asian countries, consist of a family name (surname) and a given name (first name). In Korea, like Japan and China, the family name comes before the given name in any situation requiring both names be used. However, when a foreigner with a western name comes, it is acceptable to follow western standards of address, meaning first name, then last name.

3) In Korea, it is generally considered rude to refer to another person simply by their first name. Also, it is extremely rude to refer to another person with the second person pronoun "you." Instead, the person's given name, the person's family name, and/or their family name with their given name is used in conjunction with honorific suffixes that reflect that person's social status. The most common suffix is
-씨, which is used for somebody who is of equal social status. It is attached to the person's given name (attaching it to just a person's family name is considered condescending), or in the case of a Western name, it is attached to the family name when preceded by their first name. It is not appropriate to use towards seniors or superiors. Instead, the suffix -선생님 is used, which means "teacher." It is the equivalent of the English "Mr., Ms., or Mrs." It is important to note that 선생님 is used to refer to any superior, even when that person is not actually a teacher. Also, one does not attach 선생님 to a person's given name. Using 선생님 with a person's full name is considered more polite and formal than just with their family name.

Explanations (skip this if you don't want to be confused!):

안녕하세요? comes from the verb, 안녕하다, meaning "to be at peace." As a greeting, it can be used at any time of the day to mean "Hello," or "How are you?" 안녕하십니까? is the deferential form of the phrase, used toward superiors or elders. One can also use the phrase 안녕 by itself to greet somebody with whom you are close friends.

오래간만 이에요 is made up of two parts: 오래간만, or "first in a long time," and 이에요, the polite form of the verb 이다, or to be. 오래간만 입니다 is the deferential form of the phrase directed to superiors.

그동안 means "during the time," and 잘지내셨어요 is the past tense polite form of the verb 잘지내다, or "to live well."

요즘 어떻게 지내세요 is made up of 3 parts: 요즘 ("these days"), 어떻게 ("how") and 지내세요 (지내다="to live, to get along"). The deferential form is 요즘 어떻게 지내십니까?

덕분에 잘지냈어요 and 덕분에 잘지내어요 both share the phrase 덕분에, which means "thanks to (you)." It is an idiomatic expression used to show gratitude towards somebody for asking about your own state of being. It is a traditional belief in Korean that showing concern for another's well-being helps maintain a healthy life.

그저 그래요 is made of 그저 "just, only" and 그래요, from 그랳다, which is an adjective roughly meaning "to be thus, to be so."