Korean politeness isn’t optional decoration—it changes verb endings and sometimes word choice.
The good news: for daily life, you can get far with one formal stack (strangers, service, elders) and one casual stack (friends and peers you’re close to).
This page maps thanks, sorry, and excuse me without turning into a grammar textbook.
Start from our Korean basics hub, then drill on the Korean polite phrases quiz and Korean everyday phrases quiz.
Deep dives: 감사합니다, 미안합니다, 안녕하세요.
Thank you
| Register | Common line | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Formal / polite (default with strangers) | 감사합니다 (gamsahamnida) | Safest “thank you” in service settings. |
| Polite-conversational | 고마워요 (gomawoyo) | Warm; use with people you’re not super close to but not in stiff formal contexts. |
| Casual | 고마워 (gomawo) | Friends / peers only. |
Can sound rude to someone who expects 존댓말 (jondaemal, honorific speech). |
Extra polite (business-y / heavy thanks):
정말 감사합니다 (jeongmal gamsahamnida) — “Thank you very much.”
Rule of thumb: If you’d use “sir/ma’am” energy in English, stay near 감사합니다.
If you’re with close friends, 고마워 is natural.
Sorry (apology)
| Register | Common line | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Formal apology | 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida) | Strong default when you actually messed up or need serious politeness. |
| Polite-light | 미안해요 (mianhaeyo) | Lighter sorry—bump, small mistake, soft apology among peers you’re not super close to. |
| Casual | 미안해 (mianhae) | Close friends. |
Very casual / slangy: 미안 (mian) — only with people who tolerate very informal tone.
미안합니다 (mianhamnida) also appears in learning materials; it’s usable but patterns vary—many learners lean on 죄송합니다 for formal and 미안해요 for polite-casual.
Our meaning page for 미안합니다 walks through nuance.
Excuse me / getting attention
These aren’t the same slot as English “excuse me” 1:1—pick by what you’re doing.
| Situation | Useful line |
|---|---|
| Passing through a crowd, small physical interruption | 실례합니다 (sillyehamnida) — formal. |
| 잠깐만요 (jamkkanmanyo) — “One moment / hold on” (context-dependent). | |
| Calling staff (restaurant / shop) | 저기요 (jeogiyo) — “Hey / excuse me” to get attention. |
| 여기요 (yeogiyo) — “Over here” when they’re nearby. | |
| Before asking a stranger something | 저기요 or 실례합니다 depending on how formal you need to sound. |
One pattern that fixes a lot
Default up, relax down. Start formal with anyone you don’t know; let the other person invite casual speech (often by using speech first or explicitly saying it’s okay).
Dropping politeness too early is a common learner mistake; staying too stiff with friends can sound distant—context wins.
Link to broader study habits
Phrase sheets stick when you reuse them in the same week: thanks after every mock order, sorry after every staged “bump,” excuse-me before every question drill.
For habit-building ideas, how to practice a language every day (even for 15 minutes) pairs well with this kind of routine.
Practice in the app
Load these lines into StudyArcade as your own mini-deck and rotate formal vs casual prompts—recall beats passive rereading.
Ready to make studying fun? Download StudyArcade on the App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/app/studyarcade-study-games/id6759309341