Korean Greetings
Korean has two ways to say goodbye, and which one you use depends on who is walking away. That distinction has no English equivalent and is the first thing to get right.
Arriving
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안녕하세요 annyeonghaseyo
ahn-nyuhng-hah-SEH-yoh
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Hello
The everyday polite hello, at any hour
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안녕 annyeong
ahn-NYUHNG
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Hi
Casual, to friends and children only
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안녕하십니까 annyeonghasimnikka
ahn-nyuhng-hah-SHIM-nee-kah
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Hello
Formal. News broadcasts, the military, speeches
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만나서 반갑습니다 mannaseo bangapseumnida
mahn-nah-suh bahn-GAHP-seum-nee-dah
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Nice to meet you
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오랜만이에요 oraenmanieyo
oh-raen-mah-nee-EH-yoh
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Long time no see
The two goodbyes
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안녕히 가세요 annyeonghi gaseyo
ahn-nyuhng-hee GAH-seh-yoh
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Goodbye, to the person leaving
Literally go in peace. You are staying
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안녕히 계세요 annyeonghi gyeseyo
ahn-nyuhng-hee GYEH-seh-yoh
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Goodbye, to the person staying
Literally stay in peace. You are leaving
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잘 가 jal ga
jahl gah
-
Bye
Casual version, said to someone leaving
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또 봐요 tto bwayo
toh BWAH-yoh
-
See you again
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내일 봐요 naeil bwayo
NAE-eel BWAH-yoh
-
See you tomorrow
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안녕히 주무세요 annyeonghi jumuseyo
ahn-nyuhng-hee joo-moo-SEH-yoh
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Good night
To someone older. Sleep peacefully
Who is leaving decides the word
Both goodbyes start with 안녕히, peacefully. The verb is what changes. 가세요 means go, so you say it to the person who is leaving while you stay. 계세요 means stay, so you say it to the person staying while you leave.
Walking out of a shop, you say 안녕히 계세요 and the shopkeeper says 안녕히 가세요. Both are correct at the same moment because each of you is doing something different.
If both of you are leaving, either works and nobody minds.
안녕 on its own is only for friends, children and people clearly younger. Using it with a stranger, a colleague or anyone older reads as rude in a way the English hi never does.
The -요 ending is the everyday polite level and is what a learner should default to. Dropping it makes the phrase casual; swapping it for -습니다 makes it formal.
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