In Korean culture, education and formality are more important than in many Western cultures. If you are going on a trip to Korea or just want to talk to Korean friends, it is essential to learn formal terms and expressions, such as "thank you". The most common way to say thank you in Korean is 감사 합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da). While this phrase is considered polite and formal, it is appropriate in all situations where your interlocutor is a stranger. There are other informal ways to say "thank you" in Korean to friends and family.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Thank Someone Formally
Step 1. Use 감사 합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da) in most situations
This is the most common way of saying "thank you" in Korean. It is considered a polite and formal expression, so you will need to use it with adults you don't know. You can also use it with children and people younger than you who you don't know.
In general, Korean culture places more emphasis on education and formality than we are used to in the West. In public, always use polite and formal language, for example when thanking a salesperson, waiter or shopkeeper
Advise:
if you want to learn only one way to say "thank you" in Korean, learn 감사 합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da). It is the appropriate Korean expression of gratitude in most situations.
Step 2. Switch to 고맙습니다 (go-map-seum-ni-da) in public if you wish
고맙습니다 (go-map-seum-ni-da) is interchangeable with 감사 합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da) and can be used in similar situations. 감사 합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da) is more common, but 고맙습니다 (go-map-seum-ni-da) is also used often.
If you talk to friends with whom you normally keep a more informal tone, the education of this sentence can indicate a more sincere gratitude. For example, you can use it to thank a friend who has helped you a lot with something serious or important
Step 3. Use 아니요 괜찮 습니다 (a-ni gwaen-chan-seum-ni-da) to politely refuse something that has been offered to you
If someone offers you something you don't want, you should politely decline it. 아니요 괜찮 습니다 (a-ni gwaen-chan-seum-ni-da) is an appropriate expression with adults you don't know and can be roughly translated as "no, thank you".
- To turn down an offer from someone you know well but still want to be polite to (e.g. an older relative or another adult), you can say 아니요 괜찮아요 (a-ni-yo gwaen-chan-a-yo).
- If you want to say "no thank you" to someone your age or younger who you know well, you can say 아니 괜찮아 (a-ni gwaen-chan-a). Never use this phrase with strangers or with people older than you, even if you have a good relationship; it would be considered rude.
Method 2 of 3: Give Thanks Informally
Step 1. Use 고마워요 (go-ma-weo-yo) if you still need to be polite
If you want to thank a person you know well but who is older than you, this expression indicates respect for the age of your interlocutor. However, it is still considered an informal phrase and you shouldn't use it with strangers.
If you use 고마워요 (go-ma-weo-yo) with people you don't know, this polite phrase suddenly becomes rude. If you're not sure you can use this phrase, use one of the formal expressions of gratitude
Step 2. Use 고마워 (go-ma-weo) when thanking a close friend or relative
This phrase is very informal and is only considered appropriate if you are talking to close friends or relatives your age or younger than you. If you have a lot of Korean friends or go to school in Korea, you will hear from her very often.
Avoid using this expression to thank people you don't know, even if they are much younger than you, unless they are small children. Informal Korean is never used among adults who do not know each other, even when the age difference is noticeable
Advise:
note that 고마워요 has only one more character than 고마워. The final character is pronounced "yoh" and is what transforms the expression from informal to polite. Whenever you see a word in Korean that ends with 요, it expresses respect for the person to whom it is addressed.
Step 3. Add 정말 (jeong-mal) before thanksgiving to indicate greater gratitude
If you say 정말 고마워요 (jeong-mal go-ma-weo-yo) or 정말 고마워 (jeong-mal go-ma-weo), you use an expression that comes close to "thank you very much" or "I am very grateful". You can use it when someone really helps you a lot or when you want to seem more sincere.
- You can add 정말 (jeong-mal) to the beginning of formal expressions of gratitude as well. For example, if you lost your wallet at a restaurant you can say 정말 고마워요 (jeong-mal go-ma-weo-yo) to the waiter who helped you find it.
- You can also add 정말 (jeong-mal) to more emphatically reject something that is offered to you. For example, you can say 아니요 정말 괜찮아요 (a-ni-yo jeong-mal gwaen-chan-a-yo). In this context, it's like saying "No, thank you really, it doesn't matter" or "Thank you so much, but no" in Italian.
Method 3 of 3: Respond to a Thanksgiving
Step 1. Use 아니에요 (a-ni-ae-yo) in most situations
아니에요 (a-ni-ae-yo) is the phrase Koreans most commonly use in response to "thank you". Even if it is an expression that is equivalent to "of nothing" or "there is nothing", it literally means "no, it is not". If you know a little Korean, it may seem strange to use it as an answer to "thank you", but Koreans don't use it with the literal meaning.
아니에요 (a-ni-ae-yo) is the most polite form, but it is appropriate in almost all situations. If you need to be more formal, for example when responding to someone older than you or in a position of authority, use 아닙니다 (ah-nip-nee-da)
Advise:
on Korean textbooks you may find that 천만 에요 (chun-man-e-yo) means "you're welcome". However, even though this phrase is equivalent to "please" in Italian, it is rarely used in the spoken language, except in extremely formal environments, for example when you meet a government representative. You will find it most often in written Korean.
Step 2. Use 별말씀 을 요 (byeol-mal-sseom-eol-yo) to say "don't worry"
별말씀 을 요 (byeol-mal-sseom-eol-yo) is another common expression for saying "you're welcome" in Korean when someone thanks you for something. This is the polite version of the phrase and is appropriate when talking to strangers.
- Usually this sentence means that thanks are not needed; are you happy to have helped or it was not a problem for you to do so.
- There is no more polite form of this particular expression, so don't use it when talking to someone much older than you or your superior. You may seem rude.
Step 3. Try 괜찮아요 (gwen-chan-ah-yo) as an alternative to 아니에요 (a-ni-ae-yo)
괜찮아요 (gwen-chan-ah-yo) is another common response to "thank you" in Korean. It can be translated as "okay" or "there is no problem" in Italian. It is interchangeable with 아니에요 (a-ni-ae-yo).
