Korean Expressions for the Everyday American

South Korea is located between China and Japan. Due to this geographical feature, those three countries have shared plenty of similar cultural values. One of them is respecting older people, and it is reflected well in its languages.
There are two forms of Korean. One is called “Jondeamal,” which is an honorific used to respect someone. The other one is called “Banmal.” which is informal language used in a close relationship.
A standard of which form you should use is age. You should use “honorific” if the person who you are going to talk to is older than you.
Fundamentally, it is polite using “Jondaemal” when you meet a person at first no matter how old they are. However, if the older person allows you to use “Banmal,” you can use it even if the person is 20 years older than you. If not, the other party could think you are rude even if both you and the person are the same age.
As K-pop became popular, more and more tourists from western countries have visited South Korea. Here are some basic expressions in Korean;

Jondaemal
-[an nyeong haseyo]
It means “Hello, Hi”.
-[gomap seup nida]
-[gamsa hap nida]
It means “Thank you”.
-[jal meok gess seup nida]
It is used before you eat. In English, it means “Thank you for the meal”, but it means more like “Bon appétit” in French.
-[jal meo geoss seup nida]
It means “It was good, I enjoyed the food” It is used very often in restaurants as a meaning of “I’m done or I’m leaving now” even when you don’t enjoy the food.
Banmal
-[annyeong]
It means “Hi, Hello”, and you can use this one as “Bye”.
-[jalga]
It means “Bye” and “See you later”.
-[gomawo]
It means “Thank you”
-[daebak]
It means “amazing,” and it can be used in any situation, such as when you get surprised or when you admire something.
-[her]
Same as the above one. It’s an interjection.

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