6 ways to say goodbye in Korean (and when it's 가세요 or 계세요)
Korean has no single word that covers "goodbye". The phrase changes depending on who is leaving, who is staying, and whether you are at work, on the phone, or at a friend's door. 안녕 on its own is for children and close friends, so adults reach for one of the forms below.
All six are polite 요 or 습니다 speech unless the note says otherwise, and the first two are the pair that trips up every beginner.
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안녕히 가세요.
annyeonghi gaseyo.
Goodbye (to the person leaving).
Literally: Go peacefully.
Said by the person who stays to the person who goes. If you are the one walking out of a shop, this is what the staff say to you, not what you say to them.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
안녕히 계세요.
annyeonghi gyeseyo.
Goodbye (to the person staying).
Literally: Stay peacefully.
The other half of the pair, said by the one leaving. Leaving a shop, a friend's home, or a phone call with someone older, this is yours. When both of you are leaving, you both say 가세요.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
잘 가요.
jal gayo.
Bye, take care.
Literally: Go well.
Lighter than 안녕히 가세요 and fine between people of similar age or to someone younger. Drop the 요 for 잘 가 with friends in casual speech (반말), which is the everyday goodbye among people who are close.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
들어가세요.
deureogaseyo.
Get home safe.
Literally: Go in.
What Koreans say at the end of a night out or a phone call. 조심히 들어가세요 (go in carefully) is the warm version. It works on the phone even though nobody is physically going anywhere.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
내일 봐요.
naeil bwayo.
See you tomorrow.
Swap the time word freely: 다음에 봐요 (see you next time), 또 봐요 (see you again), 주말에 봐요 (see you at the weekend). Naming a time makes the goodbye warmer than a bare 안녕.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
수고하셨습니다.
sugohasyeotseumnida.
Good work today.
Literally: You went to trouble.
The workplace goodbye. Say it as you leave to colleagues who are also finishing; to someone still working say 수고하세요, and when you leave before the others add 먼저 들어가겠습니다 (I will head off first).
Ask Ipsae about this phrase →
The rule to remember: 가세요 to the one who goes, 계세요 to the one who stays. Everything else is choosing the warmth you want. In daily life 들어가세요 and 내일 봐요 do most of the work, and 안녕히 가세요 is kept for formal settings and for people older than you.