6 ways to say thank you in Korean, from most formal to least
Korean has one word for 'thank you' per relationship, not one for everyone. The choice depends on how old the other person is, how well you know them, and whether you are in a shop, an office or a kitchen, and getting it right is one of the first things Koreans notice about a learner.
Here are six thank-yous ordered from the most formal to the most casual, with a note on who each one is for. Four are the same idea at different speech levels; the last one is the thank-you nobody teaches but everybody says.
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감사합니다.
gamsahamnida.
Thank you.
Literally: (I) do gratitude.
The safe default with anyone you do not know: shop staff, taxi drivers, a stranger who holds a door. 감사 is Sino-Korean, which gives it a slightly official ring.
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고맙습니다.
gomapseumnida.
Thank you.
Same formality as 감사합니다, built on the native Korean word 고맙다, so it sounds a touch warmer and more personal. Older speakers and public broadcasters often prefer it; you can use either.
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감사드립니다.
gamsadeurimnida.
I am grateful to you.
Literally: (I) offer gratitude.
드리다 is the humble 'to give', so this is a notch above 감사합니다. It belongs in emails, speeches and announcements, not at a convenience store counter.
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고마워요.
gomawoyo.
Thanks.
Polite 요 speech, soft rather than stiff. For coworkers you talk to every day, a friend's parent you know well, or someone a little older who has told you to relax. Too casual for a first meeting.
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고마워.
gomawo.
Thanks.
Casual speech (반말), only for close friends, younger people and family. Saying it to someone older or barely known will register as rude, however warmly you mean it.
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잘 먹었습니다.
jal meogeosseumnida.
Thank you for the meal.
Literally: (I) ate well.
Said to whoever cooked or paid, and called out to staff on the way out of a restaurant. Koreans say it far more than 감사합니다 after eating; among friends it becomes 잘 먹었어.
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If you only remember one, make it 감사합니다: it is never wrong, only occasionally a little stiff. And when someone thanks you, the Korean reply is not 'you are welcome' but 아니에요 (anieyo), 'not at all', or a simple 네 (ne) with a nod.