The way you say goodbye in Korean depends on whether you are leaving or staying in the current situation.
If you are leaving where you are (a friend’s dinner party, for example), you say:
If you are the one staying and want to say goodbye to someone leaving, you say:
안녕히 literally means “peacefully”. 가세요 is the honorific form of the verb 가다, meaning “to go”. 계세요 is the honorific form of the verb 있다, meaning “to exist”.
So the literal translations are:
and
Or “Go in peace” and “Stay in peace”, respectfully.
We will cover the 세요 form of verbs in later lessons.
To say bye to a close friend, you can just say 안녕 (so 안녕 can mean both hello or goodbye).
Conversation Practice
Formal/Honorific:
도현: 안녕히 가세요!
윤: 안녕히 계세요!
Casual:
도현: 안녕!
윤: 안녕!
Dohyun: Goodbye!
Yoon: Goodbye!