5 Official Ways To Apologize In Korean

Knowing really to apologize astatine nan correct clip is an important value successful mundane life. In a nine specified arsenic Korea, wherever it is basal to show one’s expertise to guidelines successful one’s hierarchical role, apologizing and knowing really to do it successful nan correct measurement is an basal requirement. Depending connected nan situation, location are different ways to apologize successful Korean, immoderate much general and immoderate little so. Let’s look astatine them together successful this article.

5 ways to apologize successful Korean you must know

1. Apologize successful Korean among friends

Sometimes moreover among friends, if you do not person a very adjacent bond, it whitethorn hap that you still speak successful jondaetmal (존댓말) and not successful banmal (반말), that is, successful semi-formal language, pinch nan -yo (-요) arsenic a last ending, and not successful informal, colloquial language. Therefore, depending connected nan connection you usually use pinch each other, you will person to take nan astir due look to apologize successful Korean.

The astir commonly utilized verb to apologize successful Korean is mianhada (미안하다), which becomes mianhaeyo (미안해요) successful jondaetmal and mianhae (미안해) successful banmal. You tin usage this verb to apologize for thing you did aliases to definitive displeasure. Also, if nan logic you are apologizing is not thing excessively serious, you tin abbreviate and simply opportunity mian (미안). So if, for example, you were 10 minutes precocious for an appointment, “mian” is nan due expression, whereas for thing much superior utilizing simply “mian” mightiness sound shallow and only make nan business worse.

In summary, to politely apologize to friends, you tin use:

미안해요
Mianhaeyo
Sorry (more polite, to beryllium utilized if you person not yet dropped nan formalities)

Or:

미안해
Mianhae
Sorry (more informal)

For much informal apology, you tin besides take to further shorten nan look to:

미안
Mian
Sorry (for insignificant situations)

2. Apologizing successful general contexts

In much general contexts, specified arsenic astatine activity aliases interacting pinch much hierarchically important people (simply older people, since property is simply a very important facet successful Korea), 2 verbs are chiefly used. One is again nan 1 mentioned above, which is mianhada. The different is joesonghada (죄송하다), which itself already has a much general and unofficial meaning and truthful cannot beryllium utilized successful banmal. These 2 verbs tin beryllium conjugated pinch nan shape successful –seumnida (-습니다) aliases pinch nan shape successful –yo (-요), frankincense becoming respectively:

미안합니다 / 미안해요 / 죄송합니다 / 죄송해요
Mianhamnida / Mianhaeyo / Joesonghamnida / Joesonghaeyo
Sorry / Excuse me

Accompanying nan words of apology pinch a mini front will make it much effective to apologize successful Korean.

3. Apologizing to admit a mistake

Did you cognize that too mianhamnida & joesonghamnida, location are besides 2 different phrases commonly utilized to apologize successful Korean? Sometimes you tin opportunity 잘못했어요 (jalmothaesseoyo), aliases adhd –seumnida (습니다) to make it formal. You tin usage it successful everyday situations, for illustration if you’re precocious to meet a friend, accidentally break something, aliases make a mini correction astatine schoolhouse aliases work. It’s polite but still feels earthy and friendly, making it cleanable for casual settings wherever you want to show you’re sorry without sounding excessively formal.

잘못했습니다 / 잘못했어요
Jalmothaeseumnida / Jalmothaesseoyo
I made a correction / It was my fault

Meanwhile, sagwadeurimnida (사과드립니다) is simply a much much general way to apologize successful Korean. It is utilized erstwhile you request to show a precocious level of respect. You’ll perceive it successful master environments, general announcements, customer work situations, aliases whenever nan correction is serious. Using sagwadeurimnida shows that you’re taking work earnestly and that you respect nan different person.

사과드립니다
Sagwadeurimnida
I sincerely apologize

Fun fact: 사과 (sagwa) besides intends apple! Check retired this quick reel to perceive really to pronounce sagwa!

4. Apologizing to pull attention

In Korea, to extremity personification connected nan thoroughfare and ask them for directions aliases to pull nan attraction of a waiter astatine a restaurant, we usually usage jeogiyo (저기요). This look is precisely utilized to pull attraction and ever ends pinch nan general ending –yo. A version of jeogiyo is yeogiyo (여기요). The quality betwixt nan 2 words is very subtle and they are practically interchangeable pinch each other. Literally, we could construe nan 2 position arsenic “hey there” and “here,” pinch a much polite tone.

저기요! / 여기요!
Jeogiyo! / Yeogiyo!
Sorry! (to pull attention)

5. Gestures utilized to apologize successful Korean

When successful Rome, do arsenic nan Romans do. Just arsenic successful Korea, we person gestures to travel nan correct situations. As we mentioned conscionable above, it is customary to travel words of apology pinch a bow. The communal Korean hopeless plea for forgiveness is to join hands and swipe them together quickly, ever accompanying nan motion pinch words of apology. If you watch Korean dramas, you person astir apt already seen a akin scene, successful which possibly nan characteristic successful mobility moreover throws himself down connected his knees to summation nan sincerity of nan situation.

These are nan astir commonly utilized ways to apologize successful Korean. However, if you are not judge which look to use, we urge mianhaeyo, which is nan astir neutral and communal form.

If you wish to find retired much astir living and studying successful Korea, beryllium judge to contact us or support updated connected our Go! Go! Hanguk blog for much content.