How to Say “Goodnight” in Korean – Wish someone a good sleep

In this article, we’ll tell you how to say “goodnight” in Korean.

Imagine you’re in your pajamas, your skincare routine is complete, your teeth are brushed, and you’re ready to sleep. What do you want to say to your roommate, sibling, or spouse before you dose off to dreamland? Of course, you’d like to wish them a good night! 

Although several phrases will be taught in this lesson, it may be best to pick one formal and one less formal expression and practice trying to use those expressions as much as possible.

We also have a FREE guide that you can take with you on the go. Check it out below:

You’ll notice that we use 한글 (Hangeul), the Korean alphabet, throughout this lesson. Learning the Korean alphabet is the best way to learn the language since it trains proper pronunciation and reading in you early on. So it’s a great time to learn the alphabet if you don’t know it already!

All set? Here we go!

Different Ways to Say “Goodnight” in Korean

In English, people normally say “goodnight” or “sweet dreams” to someone to wish them a good night. On the other hand, in Korean, there are plenty of ways to express this phrase, depending on who you are speaking with and when it happens. Let’s know more below!

“Good night” in Korean

Before reading the rest of the article, you can take a look at the video below.

Formal “Goodnight” in Korean

The first way is through its formal version. Below are ways to say “goodnight” when you are talking to someone older or someone of a higher social status than you.

안녕히 주무세요 (annyeonghi jumuseyo)

If you have studied “How to Say Goodbye in Korean,” then you will be aware of the word 안녕히 (annyeonghi | peacefully) already.

The next word 주무세요 (jumuseyo) is the formal version of 자다 (jada | to sleep). Both of these are some of the most common Korean words, similar to what is on this list. 

In order to show respect in Korean, you not only need to add 시 into expressions, but you also need to change certain words. 

From the lesson on saying goodbye, we learned that 계세요 (gyeseyo) comes from the honorific version of 있다 (itda). Likewise, if you want to say “sleep” in a formal setting, then you should use the word 주무세요 (jumuseyo). Use the expression 안녕히 주무세요 (annyeonghi jumuseyo) when speaking to people who are your senior or who are a generation or two older than you.

편안한 밤 되세요 (pyeonanhan bam doeseyo)

Another expression you can use is 편안한 밤 되세요 (pyeonanhan bam doeseyo). This comes from the verb 편안하다 (pyeonanhada | to be comfortable) and the word 밤 (bam), which means “night,” so the expression’s literal meaning is something like “have a comfortable night.”

Standard “Goodnight” in Korean

Next is the standard version of this phrase.

잘 자요 (jal jayo)

The verb 자다 (jada) means to sleep, and 잘 (jal) means “well,” so the expression 잘 자요 (jal jayo) means “sleep well.” You can use this expression to say goodnight to somebody.

Informal “Goodnight” in Korean

Lastly, here is how you can say “goodnight” in Korean in an informal way.

잘 자 (jal ja)

This is similar to the standard version, 잘 자요 (jal jayo). If you are speaking to somebody that you are close to, who is the same age or younger than you, then you can drop the 요 (yo) from the end of the regular expressions.

Other expressions related to “good night” in Korean

Apart from “good night,” there are other phrases that you can say to someone as a way to say “good night.” Here are some of them.

“Sleep well” in Korean 

잘 자요 (jal jayo)

This phrase, as also mentioned above, can be used to say “goodnight,” but directly means “sleep well” in Korean

What is “Sweet Dreams” in Korean?

Another phrase you often say when greeting someone goodnight is “sweet dreams.” Here’s how you can say it in Korean.

좋은 꿈 꿔요 (joeun kkum kkwoyo)

There are several Korean verbs that usually are made up of two separate words. 꿈을 꾸다 (kkumeul kkuda) is one of these, 꿈 (kkum) means dream, so literally 꿈 꾸다 (kkum kkuda) could be translated as “dream dreams,” but you should see the two words together as an expression meaning “to dream.” 좋은 (joeun) means “good this expression means something like “dream some good dreams.”

Use these expressions with people who are of a similar age and rank but you don’t know too well.

좋은 꿈 꿔 (joeun kkum kkwo)

For this version, we just dropped the 요 (yo) if you will say this to someone you’re close with. 

“Did you sleep well?” in Korean

If you see somebody the next day and want to ask them if they slept soundly or they slept well, here’s what you can say.

안녕히 주무셨어요? (annyeonghi jumusyeosseoyo)

 The verb 주무시다 (jumusida) has been put into the past tense and asked as a question forming 안녕히 주무셨어요? (annyeonghi jumusyeosseoyo).

“Good Morning” in Korean

Apart from 안녕히 주무셨어요? (annyeonghi jumusyeosseoyo), you can also use these words to greet someone in the morning in Korean:

잘 잤어요? (jal jasseoyo)

You can use 잘 잤어요? (jal jasseoyo), which is the standard form of “good morning” with your fellow housemates or if you’re traveling with someone who is older than you.

잘 잤어? (jal jasseo)

잘 잤어? (jal jasseo) is informal, so you can use this with people the same age or close friends.

“See you tomorrow” in Korean

In addition to knowing how to say “good night,” you may wish to use the expression “see you tomorrow” (내일 봐요 – naeil bwayo) in certain situations too.

“Sleep” in Korean

Now, how do you say “sleep” in Korean? The word “sleep” can be used as a noun or a verb. 

“Sleep” in Korean (Verb)

There are three ways say “sleep” in Korean as a verb. These are 자다 (jada), 잠자다 (jamjada), and 잠을 자다 (jameul jada). 

Sample sentences:

호텔에서 자려고 해요. ( hotereseo jaryeogo haeyo)

I’m going to sleep in a hotel.

아기가 잠을 자고 있어요. (agiga jameul jago isseoyo.)

The baby is sleeping.

잠자는 동안 꿈을 꿨어요? (jamjaneun dongan kkumeul kkwosseoyo?)

Did you dream while you were sleeping?

“Sleep” in Korean (Noun)

If used as a noun, you can say “sleep” with the words 잠 (jam) and 수면 (sumyeon).

Sample sentences:

Here are some sample sentences using 수면 (sumyeon):

짧은 수면 시간은 건강에 나빠요. (jjalbeun sumyeon siganeun geongange nappayo.)

Short sleep times are bad for your health.

최근 수면 부족으로 고통 받는 사람들이 늘고 있어요. (choegeun sumyeon bujogeuro gotong banneun saramdeuri neulgo isseoyo.)

Recently, more and more people are suffering from a lack of sleep.

Sample sentences:

Below are sentence examples using 잠 (jam).

나는 잠이 많아요. (naneun jami manayo.)

I sleep a lot.

잠이 부족하면 집중력이 떨어져요. (jami bujokamyeon jipjungnyeogi tteoreojyeoyo.)

If you lack sleep, you lose concentration.

“Oversleep” in Korean

The word for “oversleep” in Korean is 늦잠 (neutjam). This can also mean “sleep in.”

If you have noticed, the word 잠 (jam) for “sleep” is used in this word.

Sample sentence:

오늘은 주말이니까 늦잠 자도 돼요. (oneureun jumarinikka neutjam jado dwaeyo.)

Today is the weekend, so you can sleep in.

“Nap” in Korean

You can say “nap” in Korean as 낮잠 (natjam).

Sample sentence:

고양이가 낮잠을 자고 있어요. (goyangiga natjameul jago isseoyo.)

The cat is taking a nap.

Wrap Up

Now you should have a good understanding of how to say “goodnight” in Korean. If you liked this phrase and want to learn more about the language, check out our complete online resource guide for how to learn Korean. We also have a step-by-step online Korean language program that teaches you how to have a 3-minute conversation in the first 90 days.

잘 자요 (jal jayo)!

Need more Korean phrases to study? Check out our list of everything you need!