6 ways to say I'm tired in Korean (피곤해요, 힘들어요 and the rest)
Ask a Korean how they are and the honest answer is often some form of tired. The language has more than one word for it, and the choice tells the listener whether you need a nap, a holiday, or someone to talk to.
These six run from a plain 피곤해요 to the loanword office workers now use, in polite 요 speech with a note on where the casual form belongs.
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피곤해요.
pigonhaeyo.
I'm tired.
Physical tiredness from a long day or too little sleep, and the one to reach for by default. 피곤해 to friends in casual speech (반말), 피곤하시죠? (you must be tired) to someone older as a kindness.
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졸려요.
jollyeoyo.
I'm sleepy.
Korean separates sleepy from tired. 졸려요 means you could fall asleep right now; 피곤해요 means you are worn down whether or not you could sleep. Mixing them is a classic learner mistake.
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힘들어요.
himdeureoyo.
It's hard. I'm struggling.
Literally: Strength is lacking.
Not sleepiness but strain: a hard week, a job, a relationship. As an answer to 요즘 어때요? (how are things lately?) it invites the other person to ask what is wrong, so do not say it idly.
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기운이 없어요.
giuni eopseoyo.
I have no energy.
Literally: There is no 기운.
기운 is vitality or spirit, so this is low and listless rather than sleepy; it is what you say when you are coming down with something. 기운 내세요 (keep your spirits up) is the reply you will hear.
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피곤해 죽겠어요.
pigonhae jukgesseoyo.
I'm dead tired.
Literally: Tired, I could die.
죽겠어요 is the all-purpose intensifier: 배고파 죽겠어요 (starving), 더워 죽겠어요 (dying of heat). It is dramatic but completely normal in speech; keep it for friends and colleagues, not your boss.
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번아웃 왔어요.
beonaut wasseoyo.
I'm burned out.
Literally: Burnout came.
A loanword that office workers use constantly. Korean describes states as arriving, so 왔어요 (it came) is also how you say you have caught a cold (감기 왔어요). Said seriously, it is a real admission, not a figure of speech.
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The distinction to hold on to is 피곤해요 versus 힘들어요: the first is about your body, the second about your life. Koreans answer 피곤해요 with 푹 쉬어요 (rest well) and 힘들어요 with 무슨 일 있어요? (is something going on?), which tells you how differently the two are heard.