Introducing Yourself

Korean Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 2 · Introducing Yourself

🤝 Introducing Yourself — 자기소개

In this chapter you learn to say who you are, ask someone's name, and say "nice to meet you" the Korean way, including the phrase 잘 부탁드립니다, which has no direct English equivalent. You also learn the order of Korean names, how to address someone politely with 씨, and the two Korean words for "I". The sentence pattern is the one from Korean Grammar 1, chapter 5: 저는 민수예요, "I am Minsu."

eo = ㅓ (short, open "uh") eu = ㅡ (unrounded "oo") ae = ㅐ (like the vowel in "bed") [ ] = how the word is actually said, where it differs from the spelling - in romanization = where a name ends and its ending begins

① Meeting for the First Time (formal) — 처음 만났을 때

A: 안녕하세요. 처음 뵙겠습니다. 저는 김민수입니다. Annyeonghaseyo. Cheoeum boepgetseumnida. Jeoneun Gim Minsu-imnida. Hello. Pleased to meet you. I am Kim Minsu.

B: 안녕하세요. 저는 이지연입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다. Annyeonghaseyo. Jeoneun I Jiyeon-imnida. Mannaseo bangapseumnida. Hello. I am Lee Jiyeon. Nice to meet you.

A: 네, 만나서 반갑습니다. 잘 부탁드립니다. Ne, mannaseo bangapseumnida. Jal butakdeurimnida. Yes, nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you.

B: 저도 잘 부탁드립니다. Jeodo jal butakdeurimnida. Me too.

② What's Your Name? — 이름이 뭐예요?

A: 안녕하세요. 이름이 뭐예요? Annyeonghaseyo. Ireumi mwoyeyo? Hello. What's your name?

B: 저는 에이미예요. 지연 씨는요? Jeoneun Eimi-yeyo. Jiyeon ssi-neunyo? I'm Amy. And you, Jiyeon?

A: 저는 지연이에요. 만나서 반가워요. Jeoneun Jiyeon-ieyo. Mannaseo bangawoyo. I'm Jiyeon. Nice to meet you.

B: 만나서 반가워요. Mannaseo bangawoyo. Nice to meet you too.

③ This Is My Friend — 제 친구예요

A: 지연 씨, 이쪽은 제 친구예요. Jiyeon ssi, ijjog-eun je chingu-yeyo. Jiyeon, this is my friend.

B: 안녕하세요. 저는 박준호예요. Annyeonghaseyo. Jeoneun Bak Junho-yeyo. Hello. I'm Park Junho.

C: 안녕하세요. 만나서 반갑습니다. Annyeonghaseyo. Mannaseo bangapseumnida. Hello. Nice to meet you.

④ At the Hotel Desk (very polite) — 호텔에서

A: 안녕하세요. 성함이 어떻게 되세요? Annyeonghaseyo. Seonghami eotteoke doeseyo? Hello. May I have your name?

B: 에이미 스미스예요. Eimi Seumiseu-yeyo. Amy Smith.

A: 에이미 스미스 씨, 맞아요? Eimi Seumiseu ssi, majayo? Ms Smith, is that right?

B: 네, 맞아요. Ne, majayo. Yes, that's right.

⑤ Two Young People (casual) — 친구끼리

A: 안녕! 이름이 뭐야? Annyeong! Ireumi mwoya? Hi! What's your name?

B: 나는 민수야. 너는? Naneun Minsu-ya. Neoneun? I'm Minsu. And you?

A: 나는 지연이야. 만나서 반가워! Naneun Jiyeon-iya. Mannaseo bangawo! I'm Jiyeon. Nice to meet you!

B: 나도! Nado! Me too!

⑥ Mistaken Identity — 사람을 잘못 봤어요

A: 지연 씨예요? Jiyeon ssi-yeyo? Are you Jiyeon?

B: 아니요, 저는 지연이 아니에요. 수진이에요. Aniyo, jeoneun Jiyeon-i anieyo. Sujin-ieyo. No, I'm not Jiyeon. I'm Sujin.

A: 아, 죄송합니다! A, joesonghamnida! Oh, I'm so sorry!

B: 괜찮아요. Gwaenchanayo. It's okay.

🗝️ Key Phrases — 중요한 표현

Use the polite columns with anyone you don't know well. The casual column is for friends your own age or younger, and for understanding what you hear (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 10).

Situation	Polite	Casual
Pleased to meet you (first meeting)	처음 뵙겠습니다 cheoeum boepgetseumnida	(not used)
Nice to meet you	만나서 반갑습니다 / 만나서 반가워요 mannaseo bangapseumnida / mannaseo bangawoyo	만나서 반가워 mannaseo bangawo
I am …	저는 …입니다 / 저는 …예요 jeoneun …imnida / …yeyo	나는 …야 naneun …ya
What's your name?	이름이 뭐예요? ireumi mwoyeyo? (very respectful: 성함이 어떻게 되세요?)	이름이 뭐야? ireumi mwoya?
And you? (returning a question)	지연 씨는요? jiyeon ssi-neunyo?	너는? neoneun?
Please look after me / I look forward to working with you	잘 부탁드립니다 / 잘 부탁해요 jal butakdeurimnida / jal butakhaeyo	잘 부탁해 jal butakhae
This is my friend	이쪽은 제 친구예요 ijjogeun je chinguyeyo	얘는 내 친구야 yaeneun nae chinguya
That's right	맞아요 majayo	맞아 maja

🔤 Three Verbs You Can Already Use — 동사

"To be" is the heart of every introduction. Here are the forms of 이다 (to be), 아니다 (to not be) and 반갑다 (to be glad to meet). See Korean Grammar 1, chapter 5 for the full explanation.

Verb	Everyday polite (-요)	Formal (-ㅂ니다)	Casual
to be (이다)	이에요 / 예요 ieyo / yeyo	입니다 imnida	이야 / 야 iya / ya
to not be (아니다)	아니에요 anieyo	아닙니다 animnida [아님니다]	아니야 aniya
to be glad to meet (반갑다)	반가워요 bangawoyo	반갑습니다 bangapseumnida [반갑씀니다]	반가워 bangawo

이에요 or 예요? Look at the Last Sound After a name or noun that ends in a consonant (a final consonant in the last block) use 이에요: 지연이에요, 수진이에요. After one that ends in a vowel use 예요: 민수예요, 에이미예요. The formal 입니다 and casual forms follow the same split: casual 지연이야 but 민수야.

📛 Names, 씨, and the Words for "I" — 이름과 호칭

Korean names

A Korean name is the family name first, then the given name. The family name is usually one syllable and the given name usually two. The three most common family names are 김, 이 and 박.

Name	Family name	Given name	Romanization
김민수	김	민수	Gim Minsu (often written Kim)
이지연	이	지연	I Jiyeon (often written Lee)
박준호	박	준호	Bak Junho (often written Park)

Koreans usually give their full name when they introduce themselves. As a foreigner you can give just your first name: 저는 에이미예요. A foreign name is written in Hangul as it sounds, so Amy is 에이미, James is 제임스 and Smith is 스미스.

씨: a polite "Mr / Ms" after a name

Do	Don't
민수 씨 (given name + 씨)	김 씨 (family name alone + 씨 sounds disrespectful)
김민수 씨 (full name + 씨, a little more formal)	저는 민수 씨예요 (never use 씨 for yourself)
김 선생님, 박 사장님 (family name + a title, for senior people)	씨 to a boss, a teacher or a much older person: use their title instead

Two words for "I" and "my"

	Polite (humble)	Casual
I	저 jeo → 저는, 저도	나 na → 나는, 나도
my	제 je (제 친구)	내 nae (내 친구)
you	use the person's name + 씨, or a title, or just leave it out	너 neo → 너는

📖 Vocabulary — 어휘

20 key words. Read the Korean first, then check the romanization and the "Say it" column.

#	Korean	Say it	English	Type
1	처음 뵙겠습니다	cheo-eum bwep-kket-sseum-ni-da	pleased to meet you (first time)	phrase
2	만나서 반갑습니다	man-na-seo ban-gap-sseum-ni-da	nice to meet you	phrase
3	만나서 반가워요	man-na-seo ban-ga-wo-yo	nice to meet you (everyday polite)	phrase
4	잘 부탁드립니다	jal bu-tak-tteu-rim-ni-da	please look after me; I look forward to working with you	phrase
5	맞아요	ma-ja-yo	that's right	phrase
6	저	jeo	I (polite)	pronoun
7	나	na	I (casual)	pronoun
8	제	je	my (polite)	pronoun
9	너	neo	you (casual only)	pronoun
10	이름	i-reum	name	noun
11	성함	seong-ham	name (respectful)	noun
12	성	seong	family name	noun
13	씨	ssi	Mr / Ms (after a name)	suffix
14	선생님	seon-saeng-nim	teacher; a respectful title	noun
15	친구	chin-gu	friend	noun
16	이쪽	i-jjok	this person; this way	noun
17	이다	i-da	to be	verb
18	아니다	a-ni-da	to not be	verb
19	반갑다	ban-gap-tta	to be glad to meet	verb
20	어떻게	eo-tteo-ke	how	adverb

잘 부탁드립니다: A Phrase With No English Equivalent Literally something like "I humbly ask you to treat me well". You say it at the end of a first meeting, especially when you will work or study with the person, join a group, or the other person is older or senior to you. The other person says it back (저도 잘 부탁드립니다). With friends and equals the shorter, softer 잘 부탁해요 is fine.

How Much to Say "I" 저 is the polite, humble word for "I" and is the right one with strangers, elders and in shops and offices. 나 is for friends and family. But you will drop the word for "I" far more than you would in English: if it is obvious who you mean, just say 민수예요 (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 1). You is trickier: avoid the word 당신; use the person's name + 씨, or their title, or nothing at all.

And You? Use 은/는요 To return a question without repeating it, add -은요 / -는요 to the person's name: 지연 씨는요? means "And you, Jiyeon?" or "What about you?". It works with any noun: 커피는요? "And the coffee?" (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 3 explains 은/는.)

As Heard in Dramas — 드라마에서 In a company or school drama, the polished 처음 뵙겠습니다. 저는 …입니다. is how a new colleague or a trainee introduces themselves, often with a bow, and it ends with 잘 부탁드립니다. Between friends you will hear 나는 …야 or just …야, and 이름이 뭐야? Characters at work are often called by a title rather than a name (선생님, 사장님, and many others), which shows their relationship before you even hear the rest of the conversation. At a reception desk you may hear the very respectful 성함이 어떻게 되세요?

Grammar Pointer The pattern "noun + 이에요/예요" is explained in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 5; the topic marker 은/는 in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 3; and the three speech levels in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 10.

✍️ Try It Yourself — 연습

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. You meet a company director for the first time. Introduce yourself formally as James (제임스).

Show answer

안녕하세요. 처음 뵙겠습니다. 저는 제임스입니다. 잘 부탁드립니다. (Annyeonghaseyo. Cheoeum boepgetseumnida. Jeoneun Jeimseu-imnida. Jal butakdeurimnida.)

2. Choose 이에요 or 예요: 지연__, 민수__, 수진__, 에이미__.

Show answer

지연이에요, 민수예요, 수진이에요, 에이미예요. (지연 and 수진 end in a consonant; 민수 and 에이미 end in a vowel.)

3. Ask a stranger their name politely. How would you ask a hotel guest very respectfully?

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이름이 뭐예요? and, very respectfully, 성함이 어떻게 되세요?

4. Why is it wrong to call a colleague "김 씨"? What should you say instead?

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씨 is attached to the given name or the full name, not to the family name alone (that sounds disrespectful). Say 민수 씨 or 김민수 씨, or use a title such as 김 선생님 for someone senior.

5. A colleague says 저는 민수예요. 지연 씨는요? You are Amy. Answer.

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저는 에이미예요. (Jeoneun Eimi-yeyo.)

6. Someone mistakes you for Jiyeon. Say "No, I'm not Jiyeon."

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아니요, 저는 지연이 아니에요. (Aniyo, jeoneun Jiyeon-i anieyo.)