How to Say Good Night in Korean: 16 Phrases for Every Situation

Saying Good Night the Korean Way

The most common way to say good night in Korean is 잘 자요 (Jal jayo) in polite speech, or 잘 자 (Jal ja) among close friends. Both literally mean "sleep well," but the speech level you choose (polite, casual, or honorific) carries as much meaning as the words themselves.

Korean is spoken by over 80 million people worldwide according to Ethnologue's 2024 data, and its nighttime farewell system reveals something fundamental about the language: Korean does not simply have one "good night." Instead, the phrase transforms depending on the listener's age, your relationship, and the social context. An elder requires the honorific verb 주무시다 (jumusida). A close friend gets the stripped-down 잘 자. A coworker might hear 푹 쉬세요 (rest well). And a romantic partner on KakaoTalk might receive 좋은 꿈 꿔~ (have good dreams~) with a tilde for warmth.

"Korean honorific verbs like 주무시다, 드시다, and 계시다 are not optional politeness markers. They are lexical replacements that a speaker must use when the subject of the verb is socially superior. Failure to use them constitutes a grammatical and social error."

(Ho-Min Sohn, The Korean Language, Cambridge University Press, 1999)

This guide covers 16 essential Korean good-night phrases organized by speech level and context: polite everyday phrases, casual expressions for friends, honorific forms for elders, romantic and text-message goodnights, and workplace evening farewells. Each includes Hangul, romanization, pronunciation, an example sentence, and cultural context.

Quick Reference: Korean Good-Night Phrases at a Glance

The Honorific Sleep Verb: 주무시다 vs. 자다

Before exploring individual phrases, you need to understand one critical distinction. Korean has two verbs for "to sleep," and choosing the wrong one can cause real offense.

According to Yeon and Brown in Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge, 2011), 주무시다 belongs to a small set of Korean honorific verbs that completely replace their plain counterparts when the subject is a respected individual. You do not add a politeness suffix to 자다; you swap the entire verb.

This means "sleep well" said to your grandmother is 안녕히 주무세요 (using 주무시다), not 잘 자세요 (using 자다). The latter, while grammatically polite in its ending, uses the wrong verb entirely and sounds disrespectful.

Polite Good-Night Phrases (존댓말)

These phrases are your safe defaults for most everyday situations: coworkers, acquaintances, people you are not close enough with to use casual speech.

잘 자요 (Jal Jayo)

This is the Korean good-night phrase you will use most often. The construction is straightforward: 잘 (well) + 자요 (sleep, polite). It hits the middle ground of Korean politeness: respectful without being stiff, warm without being overly familiar.

You will hear 잘 자요 at the end of evening gatherings, on phone calls winding down at night, and in polite text messages. It is the equivalent of a friendly "sleep well" in English, suitable for the widest range of relationships.

좋은 꿈 꾸세요 (Joeun Kkum Kkuseyo)

This is Korean's equivalent of "sweet dreams." The verb 꾸다 means "to dream" and takes the polite ending -세요. It is almost always used as a follow-up to 잘 자요 rather than as a standalone goodnight, creating a gentle two-part farewell: "Sleep well. Have good dreams."

편안한 밤 되세요 (Pyeonanhan Bam Doeseyo)

A refined good-night expression that you will encounter in professional and semi-formal contexts. Hotel staff might say it to guests. A team leader might type it in a company group chat after a long day. It is warmer than a simple 잘 자요 and carries a sense of genuine care for the other person's evening rest.

푹 쉬세요 (Puk Swiseyo)

The adverb 푹 (puk) adds emphasis; it means "deeply" or "thoroughly," turning a simple "rest" into "rest completely." This phrase is particularly appropriate when you know the listener has had a tiring day or is not feeling well. It carries more empathy than a generic goodnight.

Casual Good-Night Phrases (반말)

These are strictly for close friends, siblings, romantic partners, or people clearly younger than you. Using them with elders or strangers is a social mistake.

잘 자 (Jal Ja)

The casual counterpart to 잘 자요, stripped of the polite -요 ending and left at its most direct. This is the goodnight you will hear most often in Korean dramas between friends and couples. It is short, warm, and intimate.

If you watch K-dramas, pay attention to the shift from 잘 자요 to 잘 자 between two characters, as it often signals that their relationship has crossed from formal acquaintance into genuine closeness. Check out our guide to the best Korean movies to hear these speech-level shifts in action.

좋은 꿈 꿔 (Joeun Kkum Kkwo)

The casual version of "sweet dreams," universally popular in text messages. On KakaoTalk (South Korea's dominant messaging app used by over 90% of the population) 좋은 꿈 꿔 is one of the most common nighttime sign-offs. The tilde character (~) is almost always added in writing to soften the tone.

푹 쉬어 (Puk Swieo)

Where 잘 자 is a standard goodnight, 푹 쉬어 carries extra care. You would say it to a friend who just finished exams, came home from a grueling shift, or is recovering from being sick. It says, "I know you're exhausted. Please rest properly."

내일 봐 (Naeil Bwa)

Often paired with 잘 자 as a combination farewell: "Sleep well! See you tomorrow." It is a staple among Korean students and young coworkers who see each other daily. The forward-looking nature of the phrase adds optimism: you are not just saying goodnight, you are already looking ahead to the next meeting.

나 먼저 잘게 (Na Meonjeo Jalge)

The nighttime equivalent of the workplace phrase 먼저 갈게요 (I'll go first). Just as leaving work before colleagues requires acknowledgment in Korean culture, going to sleep before someone else in a shared context (a group chat, a late-night phone call, a dormitory) calls for this softening phrase. It says, "I know you are still up, but I need to sleep."

푹 자 (Puk Ja)

The intensified version of 잘 자. While 잘 means "well," 푹 means "deeply" or "soundly," so 푹 자 carries the sense of "really knock out tonight." It is the Korean equivalent of "sleep tight" or "crash hard."

Honorific Good-Night Phrases

These phrases are reserved for parents, grandparents, teachers, and other respected elders. They use the honorific sleep verb 주무시다, which is not optional; it is required.

안녕히 주무세요 (Annyeonghi Jumuseyo)

This is the most important honorific good-night phrase in Korean. Korean children say 안녕히 주무세요 to their parents and grandparents every night; it is part of the fabric of family life. The phrase combines 안녕히 (peacefully) with 주무세요, the polite imperative form of 주무시다 (to sleep, honorific).

As the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) notes in its Standard Korean Language Dictionary, 주무시다 is the designated honorific replacement for 자다, falling into the same category as 드시다 (honorific for 먹다, to eat) and 계시다 (honorific for 있다, to be/stay).

안녕히 주무십시오 (Annyeonghi Jumushipshio)

The most formal good-night expression in Korean. The -십시오 ending signals maximum deference. You will encounter this in formal speeches, military contexts, and when addressing someone of very high status. In everyday life it would sound unnaturally stiff, like saying "I bid you a restful slumber" in English.

Text Message and KakaoTalk Goodnights

Korean digital communication has developed its own set of good-night conventions, especially on KakaoTalk, the messaging app used by virtually all South Koreans.

굿나잇 (Gunnait)

English loanwords adapted into Hangul (known as Konglish) are increasingly common in casual Korean text communication. 굿나잇 is a direct phonetic transcription of "good night" and functions as a trendy, casual alternative to 잘 자. It is most common among teens and young adults on social media and in group chats.

Evening Workplace Farewells

When leaving work late at night, Korean workplace culture calls for specific phrases that acknowledge the shared effort of a long day.

수고하셨습니다 (Sugohasyeosseumnida)

While 수고하셨습니다 is a general workplace farewell (covered more fully in our Korean goodbye guide), it takes on special weight during late-night departures. When a colleague leaves at 11 PM after overtime, saying 수고하셨습니다 followed by 푹 쉬세요 (rest well) carries genuine empathy, acknowledging both the sacrifice and the human need for recovery.

In Korean work culture, where long hours remain common, this nighttime combination functions as more than a goodbye. It is a small act of solidarity.

Good-Night Speech Level Summary

Here is the complete speech-level breakdown for the core good-night phrases.

How to Respond to Korean Good-Night Phrases

Practice With Real Korean Content

Reading about good-night phrases builds your foundation, but hearing them spoken naturally by native speakers is what transforms knowledge into instinct. Korean dramas are especially rich in nighttime scenes: late-night phone calls between characters, family bedtime routines, and after-work farewells all showcase how speech levels shift in real-time based on relationships and emotions.

Wordy lets you watch Korean content with interactive subtitles, tapping on any good-night phrase to see its meaning, speech level, and the relationship dynamics behind the speaker's choice. Instead of memorizing a list, you absorb the patterns from authentic Korean conversations with natural intonation, facial expressions, and context.

For more Korean language guides, explore our blog for articles on greetings, farewells, and cultural context, or visit our Korean learning page to start practicing with native content today.