The way you say hello depends on who you’re talking to. If you want to say hello to a close friend, or someone who is the same age as you that you’re close with, you can just say 안녕.
To anyone else, you should say 안녕하세요, which is more polite.
Korean has different politeness levels that affect the way you should talk to others. We will cover these politeness levels in more detail in a later lesson.
Conversation Practice
Formal/Honorific:
장미: 안녕하세요!
준우: 안녕하세요!
Casual:
장미: 안녕!
준우: 안녕!
Jangmi: Hello!
Junwoo: Hello!