“Good Evening” in Korean – How to use this greeting

Do you know how to say “good evening” in Korean? Until now, we’ve learned a little about the Korean greetings covered in this article. And another standard greeting around the world is “Good evening.”

In the early hours of the day, you may say “Good morning,” and for most of the school and work hours, it may be “Good day” or even “Good afternoon,” and when going to bed, you may wish someone “Good night.”

But between afternoon and night, typically around dinner time or other evening activities, after work and school are out, is the perfect time to wish someone a “good evening!” So, today we will learn the Korean way to say “good evening.” You will also learn when native speakers like to use this greeting. Let’s get to learning!”

How to say “Good evening” in the Korean language

There are many ways to say the Korean greeting “good evening.” We’ve divided them into formal, standard, and informal/casual ways.

Formal ways to say “Good evening” in Korean

The phrase for “good evening” in the Korean language is 좋은 저녁입니다 (joeun jeonyeogimnida), which is used in a formal situation. It should be pretty easy to remember as 저녁 (jeonyeok) is also used to refer to dinner, and 좋은 (joeun) is simply a conjugation of the verb for good, 좋다 (jota). Officially the literal translation of the word 저녁 (jeonyeok) is “evening.”

Standard ways to say “Good evening” in Korean

Another way to wish someone “good evening” is by saying 좋은 저녁 되세요 (joeun jeonyeong doeseyo). As you may notice, it is essentially the same phrase and has the same meaning, with a slightly different verb ending in use. Of course, you may not always need to be so formal when wishing or greeting someone with “good evening.”

For a more polite and neutral version, you may use either 좋은 저녁이에요 (joeun jeonyeogieyo) or 좋은 저녁 돼요 (joeun jeonyeok dwaeyo).

Informal ways to say “Good evening” in Korean

You may say 좋은 저녁이야 (joeun jeonyeogiya) or 좋은 저녁 돼 (joeun jeonyeok dwae) for a more informal or casual way. And, of course, you may always simply wish someone 좋은 저녁! (joeun jeonyeok!) without any type of verb ending. You can use this with your friends, family, or younger people you know.

However, it may not be terribly common for Koreans to hear this phrase. Instead, it’s pretty usual for Koreans to simply greet each other with “hello,” so you can use this when you speak with your Korean friends. You can read more about “hello” in Korean from our dedicated article.

What time is “Good Evening” used in Korea?

Generally, you can start wishing someone a “good evening” from 6 pm onward. You can then continue using the greeting until right around midnight.

Of course, you may also opt to switch to “goodnight” earlier in the late evening. For example, it may sound odd if you wish someone “good evening” when you’re about to go to bed, even if it is not midnight.

Good Evening vs. Good Night in Korean

As we mentioned above, “good evening” can be used until midnight. Only after that must you say “good night.” However, on many occasions, it may be more natural to say “good night” rather than “good evening” when talking to someone even earlier in the evening.

Especially if you are about to sleep or say bye to someone at the end of a meeting, “good night” may sound better. On the other hand, if you are greeting someone at the start of a meeting, even if it’s late evening, saying “good evening” will be better than “good night.” And do remember that “hello” and “goodbye” are perfect greetings any time of day.

Sample sentences and related vocabulary

In this below section, you will find sentences and related vocabulary, which hopefully will make it easier for you to use the phrase “good evening” in Korean.

좋은 저녁이에요! 오랜만이네요, 어떻게 지내고 있어요? (joeun jeonyeogieyo! oraenmanineyo, eotteoke jinaego isseoyo?)

Good evening! Long time no see. How have you been doing?

안녕하세요! 좋은 저녁이에요? (annyeonghaseyo! joeun jeonyeogieyo?)

Hello! Are you having a good evening?

좋은 저녁 되세요! (joeun jeonyeok doeseyo!)

Have a good evening!

집에 가기 전에 그에게 좋은 저녁을 기원했어요. (jibe gagi jeone geuege joeun jeonyeogeul giwonhaesseoyo.)

I wished him a good evening before I went home.

오늘 저녁 너무 좋지 않아요? (oneul jeonyeok neomu jochi anayo?)

Isn’t it such a nice evening today?

Korean Greetings related to “Good evening”

Here are other Korean words and phrases related to “good evening.”

English	Korean
Good evening	좋은 저녁 (joeun jeonyeok)
Good night	좋은 밤 (joeun bam)
Good afternoon	좋은 오후 (joeun ohu)
Good morning	좋은 아침 (joeun achim)
Good day	좋은 날 (joeun nal)
Hello	안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo)
Goodbye (go well)	안녕히 가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo)
Goodbye (stay well)	안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo)
Goodbye (go well)	잘 가요 (jal gayo)
How are you?	어떻게 지내요? (eotteoke jinaeyo?)
Good, nice	좋다 (jota)
Evening	저녁 (jeonyeok)
It's good to see you	만나서 반가워요 (mannaseo bangawoyo)

Wrap Up

How do you usually greet a friend or other people? Does it change depending on the time of day? Or do you simply stick with “hello” around the clock?

With this information useful in your daily life, you should now be able to greet people using the Korean phrase “good evening!” Do you still remember what time of day and which situation it’s best to use? Let us know below in the comments if this is a common greeting used by you, either in the Korean language or in your native language!

Next up, if you’d like to learn Korean further, maybe you would like to brush up more on your Korean conversation skills in general.