We use the word ‘sorry’ in so many different ways in English. The most common way is to apologize for something we have done, but we also say sorry to express sympathy, disappointment, and also to politely ask someone to repeat what they have said. Fortunately, ‘sorry’ in Korean isn’t as multi-functional. Nevertheless, there are a number of different ways of saying sorry in Korean, and in this article, we’ll guide you through all the different ways of saying ‘sorry’ in Korean so that you can say ‘sorry’ appropriately in every situation.
“Sorry” in Korean is a verb
Sorry in English is an adjective, so to say ‘sorry’, we use the verb ‘to be’ and say ‘I am sorry’. However, in Korean ‘sorry’ is a verb.
- 미안하다 (mi-an-ha-da)
미안하다 is a verb that means ‘to be sorry’, and this is made up of the noun 미안 (mi-an) which means ‘sorry’ and the verb 하다 (ha-da), which means ‘to do’.
When we say ‘I’m sorry’ in Korean, we don’t use the pronoun ‘I’. If we’re saying sorry on someone else’s behalf, then we need to say who we’re saying sorry for. However, in general, the context makes it obvious that it’s the speaker that’s apologizing, so we can just use the verb 미안하다.
미안하다 is the base form, so we can conjugate this verb into three levels of formality.
The formal form of “sorry” in Korean
- 미안합니다 (mi-an-ham-ni-da)
We use the formal form 미안합니다 in very formal situations, such as when you’re apologizing to senior people at your workplace, or when you’re apologizing to much older members of the family. Generally, the formal form is not commonly used in everyday speech.
The polite form of “sorry” in Korean
- 미안해요 (mi-an-he-yo)
The polite form is what you will use the most in everyday life. When you accidentally bump into people, when you step on someone’s foot accidentally, and when you knock over someone’s coffee, you can say 미안해요. We use 미안해요 to people we are not familiar with, and with people who are older than us and in more senior position than us.
If you ever need to say sorry in Korean, 미안해요 is the one that can be used in most situations, so you should familiarize yourself with this expression.
The casual form of “sorry” in Korean
- 미안해 (mi-an-he)
Casual expressions are mainly used with two types of people – close friends, and close family members. However, it’s important that the close family members are of similar age to you as you shouldn’t say 미안해 to family members who are older than you. In general, we would use the casual form to our siblings and our cousins.
Honorific form of “to be sorry’” in Korean
Sometimes in Korean, we have an entirely different form of the same word, which we use to be even more respectful than the formal form of the original word. For example, the common verb for ‘to give’ is 주다 (ju-da), but the honorific form is 드리다 (deu-ri-da), and the common verb for ‘to sleep’ is 자다 (ja-da), but the honorific form is 주무시다 (ju-mu-shi-da).
Now, similarly, the common verb for ‘to be sorry’ is 미안하다, but the honorific form is…
- 죄송하다 (jwe-song-ha-da)
Like 미안하다, 죄송하다 is made up of the noun 죄송 (jwe-song), which means ‘sorry’, and the verb 하다 which means to do.
죄송하다 is the base form, and we can conjugate this into formal and polite forms.
We use the formal form 죄송합니다 if we’re in very formal situations, such as in job interviews, and people who work in the service industry regularly use this formal form when apologizing to the customers.
We use the polite form when we’re apologizing to people who are older than us or are in a more senior position than us in organizations. We also use 죄송해요 when apologizing to people who we’ve met for the first time.
Difference between 미안하다 & 죄송하다
To illustrate the differences between 죄송해요 and 미안해요, if a 40-year-old man accidentally steps on a 16 year-old kid’s foot, then the man would say 미안해요 to apologize as even though the boy is much younger than the man, the man still needs to maintain politeness as he doesn’t know the boy.
On the other hand, if the same man accidentally steps on another man’s foot, who seems about the same age, then the man will likely apologize by saying 죄송해요, as not only do they not know each other, there is the possibility that the other man is older than him, so the man has to use respectful language. In fact, in this situation, the man may even apologize by using the formal form 죄송합니다.
What if we’re “really sorry”?
More often than not, we don’t just say ‘I’m sorry’, we often say things like ‘I’m so sorry’ or ‘I’m really sorry’ to emphasize how sorry we are. And although the Korean 미안하다 and 죄송하다 aren’t adjectives like ‘sorry’, we can still use modifiers to highlight how sorry we are. First, we can say ‘I’m really sorry’, like this.
- Formal – 정말 미안합니다. (jung-mal mi-an-ham-ni-da)
- Polite – 정말 미안해요. (jung-mal mi-an-he-yo)
- Casual – 정말 미안해. (jung-mal mi-an-he)
The world 정말 (jung-mal) means ‘really’ and it can be used to modify all three forms of sorry, 미안하다. We can also use 정말 with the formal and polite forms of 죄송하다, so we can say…
- Formal – 정말 죄송합니다. (jung-mal jwe-song-ham-ni-da)
- Polite – 정말 죄송해요. (jung-mal jwe-song-he-yo)
In Korean, there are two words for ‘really’, 정말 and 진짜 (jin-jja), and you can use 진짜 instead of 정말 in all these phrases.
“I’m so sorry” in Korean
To say ‘I’m so sorry’, we can say:
- Formal – 너무 미안합니다. (neo-mu mi-an-ham-ni-da)
- Polite – 너무 미안해요. (neo-mu mi-an-he-yo)
- Casual – 너무 미안해. (neo-mu mi-an-he)
너무 (neo-mu) can mean ‘so’ or ‘too’, and we can use them to further highlight how sorry we are. We can also 너무 with the formal and polite form of 죄송하다, so we can say…
- Formal – 너무 죄송합니다. (neo-mu jwe-song-ham-ni-da)
- Polite – 너무 죄송해요. (neo-mu jwe-song-he-yo)
“Apology” and “Apologize” in Korean
We’ve already learned two nouns that means sorry, 미안 and 죄송. However, There is another word in Korean that means apology, and it’s 사과 (sa-gwa). 사과 is also the word for ‘apple’ in Korean, but it’s other meaning is apology. The verb that means ‘to apologize’ is 사과하다 (sa-gwa-ha-da). If we want to ask someone to apologize, then we can say…
- Formal (Please apologize) – 사과하세요. (sa-gwa-ha-se-yo)
- Polite (Please apologize) – 사과해요. (sa-gwa-he-yo)
- Casual (Apologize) – 사과해. (sa-gwa-he)
All three sentences mean either ‘Please apologize’ or ‘Apologize’,
Honorific form of “to apologize” in Korean
Similar to how there was an honorific form of 미안하다, which was 죄송하다, there is also an honorific form of 사과하다. However, instead of changing 사과 with another noun, we change 하다 to the honorific form of the verb ‘to give’ 드리다 (deu-rida), which we saw earlier in this article.
We use 사과드리다 when we talk about apologizing to someone who we need to be respectful to. So if we’re talking about apologizing to someone much older or in a much more senior position than us, then we would use 사과드리다 instead of 사과하다.
To ask someone to apologize in a respectful way, we conjugate the 사과드리다 in the following way.
- Formal (Please apologize) – 사과드리세요. (sa-gwa-deu-ri-se-yo)
- Polite (Please apologize) – 사과드려요. (sa-gwa-deu-ryeo-yo)
- Casual (Apologize) – 사과드려. (sa-gwa-deu-ryeo)
An important point to note is that we don’t use the honorific form 사과드리다to ask someone to apologize to us, but we use these expressions when the other person needs to apologize to someone they need to be respectful to.
Wrap Up!
So in this article, we looked at all the different ways of saying ‘sorry’ in Korean. The standard verb for ‘to be sorry’ is 미안하다, and it can change into three levels of formality.
- Formal – 미안합니다 (mi-an-ham-ni-da)
- Polite – 미안해요 (mi-an-he-yo)
- Casual 미안해 (mi-an-he)
The honorific form is 죄송하다 and we can conjugate this into three levels of formality.
- Formal – 죄송합니다 (jwe-song-ham-ni-da)
- Polite – 죄송해요 (jwe-song-he-yo)
Then we learned to use modifiers 정말 & 진짜 meaning ‘really’ and 너무 meaning ‘so’ with 미안하다 and 죄송하다, so we can then like this.
- Formal – 정말 미안합니다 (jung-mal mi-an-ham-ni-da)
- Polite – 너무 미안해요 (neo-mu mi-an-he-yo)
Finally, we learned that the noun ‘apology’ is 사과 and the verb to apologize is 사과하다. And the honorific form of ‘to apologize’ is 사과드리다. To ask the other person to apologize, we can say:
- Formal (Please apologize) – 사과하세요. (sa-gwa-ha-se-yo)
- Polite (Please apologize) – 사과해요. (sa-gwa-he-yo)
- Casual (Apologize) – 사과해. (sa-gwa-he)
And to ask the other person to apologize to someone they need to be respectful to, then we can say:
- Formal (Please apologize) – 사과드리세요. (sa-gwa-deu-ri-se-yo)
- Polite (Please apologize) – 사과드려요. (sa-gwa-deu-ryeo-yo)
- Casual (Apologize) – 사과드려. (sa-gwa-deu-ryeo)
Now that you’ve learned all the different expressions to say ‘sorry’ in Korean, it’s time to put into practice what you learned in this article in real life situations. However, if that’s not possible, then practice these expressions with the Clozemaster app.
오늘도 수고하셨어요! Great job today! See you next time.
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FAQs
How do you apologize in Korean? ›
How do you apologize in Korean? Well, there are two main ways to say “I'm sorry” in Korean: 죄송합니다, joesonghamnida, and 미안해요, mianhaeyo.
What is Mianhae in Korean? ›미안해 mianhae. I'm sorry informal.
What are different ways to say sorry? ›- 1 My apologies.
- 2 Pardon/pardon me/I beg your pardon.
- 3 Excuse me.
- 4 Mea culpa.
- 5 Oops/whoops.
- 6 My bad.
1. 주세요 (juseyo) The usual way of saying “please” in Korean is 주세요 (juseyo). You can use it in most situations, for example, ordering food in a restaurant or asking a taxi driver to take you to the train station.
What means Ottoke? ›Ottoke?! This expression means “What should I do now?!” This is usually used when you're in a difficult situation. For example: I forgot where I put my Alien Registration Card. Ottoke?! (What should I do now?!)
How do you say sorry in Korean cutely? ›1. 미안해 (mi anhae) If you want to say sorry to your close friends, you can say 미안해 (mi anhae). This phrase is the most commonly used informal way of saying sorry in Korean.
What is Hamnida Korean? ›The word 감사 (gamsa) is a noun that means “gratitude” or “appreciation” in the Korean language. The 합니다 (hamnida) part means “to do.” Put them together, and you get 감사합니다 (gamsahamnida | to do thanks). You can use this phrase to express “thank you” in Korean restaurants, convenience stores, or taxis.
What is Cheonmaneyo? ›천만에요 (cheonmaneyo)
This expression is often seen when you look up “you're welcome” in the dictionary.
/gwaenchanha/ forget. convention. You say "Forget it" in reply to someone as a way of telling them not to worry or bother about something, or as an emphatic way of saying no to a suggestion.
What is Gwaenchana? ›괜찮아 (gwaenchana)
괜찮다 (gwaenchanta) can be used to say that something is 'good', 'alright', or 'fine'. It can also be used to ask about somebody's feelings.
What does Yeobo mean? ›
Yeobo Meaning
You might have also come across the term “yobo.” Sometimes, 여보 (yeobo) is romanized as yobo. However, don't be confused. Both of them mean “honey” in Korean.
- I'm sorry! The first word is I'm sorry, I'm sorry. ...
- Sorry about that. The next word or the next phrase is sorry about that. ...
- I'm sorry to hear… The next expression is I'm sorry to hear blah, blah, blah. ...
- I apologize. ...
- I'm terribly sorry about… ...
- Oops. ...
- Deepest apologies for… ...
- My condolences.
Carry heart shaped balloons, saying “I am sorry”, some chocolates and knock on the door. When your partner opens the door, bend down on your knees, look over at them with puppy dog eyes and ask for his/her apology. You just can't go wrong with this one.
How do you say deeply sorry? ›- Before you do anything, practise self-affirmation. It's important to start by saying a few positive words to yourself. ...
- Spell out why you want to apologise. ...
- Admit you were wrong. ...
- Acknowledge the other person's feelings. ...
- Say you're sorry. ...
- Ask them to forgive you.
Aigoo. Aigoo / 아이구: Geez, oh no, oops. Can be used in many different contexts, but usually it's used to show frustration.
What does Uljima mean? ›If you put the two together, you get “don't cry”, or (ul-ji-ma). Examples: DBSK/TVXQ's Don't Cry My Lover. 사랑아 울지마 널 데려갈지 몰라 Saranga uljima nol deryogalji molla.
What does Jaljinaeyo mean? ›The proper response 99% of the time is 'Jaljinaeyo (잘지내요)', which means 'I'm fine'. You can also say 'Jal jinaeseyo (잘 지내세요)', which means either 'How are you?
What is Bulla Korean? ›This means “I don't know.” Normally it means this, but as Korean doesn't care of grammatical person and number, it sometimes means differently.
What is Jinjja in Korean? ›진짜 • (jinjja) really; actually.
Is yes in Korean Dae or NAE? ›There are two formal ways to say “yes” in Korean. The one you might think of first is 네[ne]. But actually, the first official standard Korean word for “yes” is 예[ye]. Did you know that 네[ne] only became standard in 1988?
Do Koreans bow to apologize? ›
Apology customs differ across countries. For example, Argentinians frown upon written apologies, while bowing is key to Japanese and Korean cultures.
How say thank you BTS in Korean? ›Say 감사합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da) in most settings. This is the most common way to say "thank you" in Korean.
How do you respond to Mianhae? ›Meanwhile, you can say in informal (banmal) way like 미안해 (mianhae) or just 미안 (mian) to your close friends. What if someone says sorry to you? You can reply 괜찮습니다 (gwaenchanseumnida), or 괜찮아요 (gwaenchanayo), or 괜찮아 (gwaenchanha).
What is Si Mi Da in Korean? ›Basically, it means “thank you.”
What does Opso mean in Korean? ›없어 / Opso - Which comes from the verb 없다 / Opso means “there is not” or “I/he/she/etc. doesn't have something”. This specific conjugation is informal (only use with friends, younger people, animals, etc.)
What is Annyeong Hashimnikka? ›안녕하십니까 (annyeong hashimnikka) Good evening. (Evening greeting)
What is Hwan Yeonghabnida? ›너는 가입 환영합니다. (neoneun gaib hwan-yeonghabnida.) | “You are welcomed to join.”
What is Andwae in Korean? ›________________________________________________________________ 왜 안돼? (wae andwae?) | “Why can't I do this?” or “Why is this not allowed?” 안돼 (andwae) is an objection to an action or a behavior meaning “no, don't do that” or “you can't do that”, as in you're not allowed to do something.
What does namja Chingu mean? ›/namja chingu/ boyfriend. countable noun. Someone's boyfriend is a man or boy with whom they are having a romantic or sexual relationship.
What is Yeoboseyo? ›여보세요 • (yeoboseyo) hello (when asking or answering the telephone) hello (when trying to get the attention of someone who does not appear to be listening)
What is Kenchanayo Korean? ›
The meaning of the expression kenchanayo ( Don't worry) has been claimed to reflect Korean culture and communication by those who are acquainted with Koreans. Their opinions are mostly based on a knowledge of Japanese culture and communication.
What does Molla mean in Korean? ›Like, 아직(Ajik) means “yet”, 잘(jal) means “well”, and 몰라(molla) means “do not know”; so it means "I don't know yet." This is kind of a common phrase between, you know, those who are not sure if they can be a couple or not, so in that case they can say 아직 잘 몰라. (Ajik jal molla.)
What is Geurae in Korean? ›그래 (geurae) can also mean “sure”, “really”, “but”, or “so” among a few other things when used on it's own as an interjection. This is one of those words that is really dependent on the context and the speaker.
How do you respond to araso? ›Araso – 아랐어
In conversation, respond with araso to let someone know you understand what they're saying. If you don't understand and need clarification, you can say arasoyo (아랐어요).
Learn Korean - Thank You & You're Welcome in Korean - YouTube
What is Nae Sarang mean? ›The phrase “my love” in Korean can be expressed as 내 사랑 (nae sarang). You can use this as a term of endearment to your significant other. This phrase is made up of 2 Korean words: 내 (nae) and 사랑 (sarang). 내 means “my” and 사랑 (sarang) means “love.”
What does Gomapseumnida mean? ›“Thank you” (formal) – 감사합니다 (gamsahamnida) “Thank you” (formal, but slightly less so) – 고맙습니다 (gomapseumnida) “Thank you” (polite) – 고마워요 (gomawoyo) “Thank you” (informal) – 고마워 (gomawo)
How do you say BAE in Korean? ›How to call your "Husband, Wife, Boo, Bae" in Korean! ❤️ - YouTube
What does Joesonghamnida mean? ›(joesonghamnida.) – Formal. 죄송합니다. (joesonghamnida.) is the most commonly used phrase to say sorry, and if you've just started learning how to say sorry in Korean, memorize this phrase at all costs. Why?
What is Cheonmaneyo? ›천만에요 (cheonmaneyo)
This expression is often seen when you look up “you're welcome” in the dictionary.
What does Yoboseyo mean in Korean? ›
여보세요 • (yeoboseyo) hello (when asking or answering the telephone) hello (when trying to get the attention of someone who does not appear to be listening)
What is Chincha Korean? ›Chincha is a typical korean expression translated as really, meaning surprise.
What is Annyeonghi Jumuseyo? ›안녕히 주무세요 (annyeonghi jumuseyo) = goodnight/sleep well (polite)
What does Miyane mean in Korean? ›English Translation: Sorry
You might be confused between the phrases 미안해 (mi anhae) and 미안 (mian). These Korean phrases are used interchangeably, but they have a difference. The phrase 미안해 (mianhae) shows a lot more concern to the feelings of the other person than 미안 (mian).
미안합니다 mianhamnida. I'm sorry formal. Korean.
What is Hwan Yeonghabnida? ›너는 가입 환영합니다. (neoneun gaib hwan-yeonghabnida.) | “You are welcomed to join.”
What does Seki mean in Korean? ›새끼 (sae-kki, --): A noun used to derogatorily refer to any general person. The word, when not used as a profanity, is used to describe a young of an animal. Note it can also be used affectionately too.
What is OMO mean in Korean? ›Omo: This is short for "omona" and means "oh, my."
What is Anyoung? ›You can also say “Anyoung!” for “Hello!” but it is only strictly used between close friends and to younger people, as it is informal. Do not use it if you're speaking to an older person. 안녕! Anyoung! Hello / Hi (informal)
What does Annyeong Hashimnikka mean? ›안녕하십니까 (annyeong hashimnikka) Good evening. (Evening greeting)
What is Haseyo in Korean? ›
안녕하세요 (Annyeong Haseyo) – “Hello”
You use 하세요 (haseyo) to show a bit of extra respect. 하세요 comes from the verb 하다 (hada), which means “to do.”
This means “I don't know.” Normally it means this, but as Korean doesn't care of grammatical person and number, it sometimes means differently.
What is Neomu Korean? ›너무 • (neomu) (in negative contexts) too, excessively. (in positive contexts) so, very, extremely.
Why do Koreans say Aish? ›To start off, 'Aish' is basically a way of expressing frustration or slight anger at someone or a situation. Some beginners learning Korean might think of it as a curse word, but it's not. However, it's still not proper to use it towards older people, strangers, or people in the workplace of higher rank than you.