How to Say How Are You in Korean: Speech Level Guide to Korean Check-Ins

The Short Answer

The most common way to ask "how are you" in Korean is 잘 지내세요? (jal ji-nae-se-yo), which literally translates to "are you spending time well?" It is polite, warm, and appropriate for the vast majority of social situations.

But here is what most textbooks do not tell you: Koreans ask "how are you" far less often than English speakers. According to linguist Ho-Min Sohn in The Korean Language (Cambridge University Press, 1999), Korean greetings tend to be situational rather than formulaic. Instead of a direct "how are you," a Korean speaker is more likely to ask 밥 먹었어? (Have you eaten?), 어디 가? (Where are you going?), or simply open with 안녕하세요 and skip the follow-up entirely. Whether you're looking up "how are you in korean" for travel, study, or conversation, this guide covers everything you need.

"In Korean culture, concern for the other person is expressed not through abstract inquiries about well-being, but through specific, concrete questions about daily activities: eating, sleeping, traveling. This reflects a relational pragmatics fundamentally different from Western greeting conventions."

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

Korean is spoken by over 80 million people worldwide, according to Ethnologue's 2024 data, and it is one of the most speech-level-sensitive languages on Earth. Every "how are you" phrase in this guide shifts form depending on who you are talking to -- their age, your relationship, and the social context. This guide covers 12 essential Korean check-in expressions organized by formality: formal, polite, casual, and culturally unique. Each one includes Hangul, pronunciation, and the cultural context you need to use it correctly.

Quick Reference: Korean "How Are You" Expressions

Understanding Speech Levels: 존댓말 vs 반말

Before choosing how to ask "how are you," you need to understand the system that governs every Korean sentence. Korean has seven grammatically distinct speech levels, though modern daily life uses three primary ones. The National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) classifies them as follows:

The concept is straightforward: 존댓말 (jondaenmal) is polite/respectful speech, and 반말 (banmal) is casual speech. But the social consequences of choosing wrong are real. As Brown and Levinson note in Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage, Korean is among the languages where politeness is not optional social lubrication but a grammatically encoded obligation.

Formal Expressions

These are reserved for structured settings: business presentations, military exchanges, formal ceremonies, and broadcast media. They sound stiff in everyday conversation.

잘 지내십니까?

This is the formal-register version of "how are you." The -십니까 ending places it at the highest speech level. You will hear it from news anchors, in corporate boardrooms, and at official ceremonies. Using it with a friend would be like asking "How does one find oneself this fine day?" in English, technically correct but socially strange.

어떻게 지내세요?

While 잘 지내세요? assumes the answer is positive (it literally asks "are you doing well?"), 어떻게 지내세요? is genuinely open-ended. The word 어떻게 (eotteoke) means "how" or "in what way," making this a more thoughtful inquiry. Use it when you actually want to know how someone has been, not just as a passing greeting.

Polite Expressions

The polite level (-요 ending) is the workhorse of Korean conversation. These expressions cover roughly 80% of daily interactions, according to King Sejong Institute educational guidelines.

잘 지내세요?

This is the expression you should learn first and use most. The verb 지내다 (jinaeda) means "to spend time" or "to get along," and the 잘 (jal) means "well." Together with the polite -세요 ending, you get a respectful, warm check-in that works in almost every situation.

A key cultural note: unlike English, where "How are you?" is nearly automatic after "Hello," Korean speakers do not always follow 안녕하세요 with a "how are you" question. Using 잘 지내세요? signals a degree of personal interest, and it is best when you genuinely want to check in rather than as a reflexive greeting filler.

잘 지내셨어요?

The past tense and the honorific marker -셨- (syeoss) make this a perfect reunion greeting. You would not use this with someone you saw yesterday. Save it for reconnections: running into an old classmate, seeing a colleague after a long holiday, or visiting family you have not seen in months.

Casual Expressions (반말)

These expressions drop the polite endings and are strictly for close friends, siblings, or people younger than you. Using them with the wrong person is a genuine social offense.

잘 지내?

This is 잘 지내세요? with all the politeness markers removed. The -세요 ending is gone, leaving the bare verb form. This stark contrast illustrates how Korean speech levels work: the core meaning stays identical, but the social packaging changes everything.

잘 있었어?

Where 잘 지내? asks about the ongoing process of daily life, 잘 있었어? focuses on the state of being ("have you existed well?"). It carries a slightly warmer, more concerned tone. You would text this to a close friend you have not heard from in a few weeks.

뭐 해?

If you could see a Korean twentysomething's KakaoTalk message history, 뭐 해? would appear hundreds of times. It is the default casual opener: part greeting, part question, part signal that you want to chat or hang out. The expected response is usually 그냥 (geunyang, "nothing much") or a brief description of what you are doing.

Culturally Unique Check-Ins

These expressions do not translate directly to "how are you" but function as Korean equivalents of checking on someone. They reveal more about Korean social values than any textbook phrase.

밥 먹었어?

This is the expression that fascinates linguists and cultural researchers alike. During the Korean War (1950-1953) and the decades of poverty that followed, food scarcity was a daily reality for millions. Asking "have you eaten?" was not small talk; it was a genuine welfare check. The habit embedded itself so deeply into Korean culture that it persists today, long after South Korea became one of the world's wealthiest nations.

The polite version is 밥 먹었어요? (Bap meogeosseoyo?). The expected answer is always 네, 먹었어요 (Ne, meogeosseoyo, "Yes, I ate"), even if you have not eaten yet. It is not really about the food.

밥 먹었어요?

This polite form is particularly common between adult children and their parents. Calling your mother and opening with 밥 먹었어요? is one of the most natural and affectionate things you can do in Korean. The King Sejong Institute's cultural curriculum identifies it as a key expression for understanding Korean relational values.

어디 가?

This one puzzles many Korean learners at first. A neighbor passes you on the street and asks "Where are you going?" It feels intrusive by Western standards, but in Korean culture it is a warm, casual acknowledgment, closer to "hey, what's up?" than to an actual geographical inquiry. The expected response is something vague: 네, 잠깐 나왔어요 (Ne, jamkkan nawasseoyo, "Yeah, just stepped out for a bit").

The polite version, 어디 가세요? (Eodi gaseyo?), is commonly used by older Koreans greeting each other in apartment complexes and neighborhoods.

무슨 일이야?

Unlike the neutral check-ins above, 무슨 일이야? carries a note of concern. You would use it when a friend looks tired, seems upset, or is acting differently than usual. It signals "I noticed something is off, and I care enough to ask." The polite form is 무슨 일이에요? (Museun irieyo?).

How to Respond to Korean Check-Ins

Standard Responses

Responses to Cultural Check-Ins

Notice the pattern: Korean responses are brief, positive, and reciprocal. The phrase 덕분에 (deokbune, "thanks to you") in 덕분에 잘 지냈어요 is a graceful touch that credits the other person for your well-being, reinforcing the relational nature of Korean communication.

K-Drama Influence on Korean Check-Ins

Korean dramas (한국 드라마) have become a global cultural force, and they are one of the best resources for hearing these expressions in natural context. In Reply 1988, neighborhood families greet each other with 밥 먹었어? multiple times per episode, showcasing the warmth of that cultural check-in. In workplace dramas like Misaeng, you can hear the formal 잘 지내십니까? in boardroom scenes contrasted with casual 잘 지내? among close coworkers.

The speech level shifts in K-dramas are particularly educational. Watch for moments when characters switch from 존댓말 to 반말, which often signals a relationship milestone, whether romantic, friendly, or confrontational. That shift is one of the most emotionally loaded moments in Korean storytelling.

Wordy lets you watch Korean shows with interactive subtitles, so you can tap on any check-in phrase to see its speech level, literal meaning, and cultural context in real time. Instead of memorizing phrases from a list, you absorb them from the way real Koreans actually talk.

For more Korean content, explore our blog for guides including the best movies to learn Korean. You can also visit our Korean learning page to start practicing today.