How to Say “Help Me” in Korean

Whenever you are in a foreign country, there will be times when you need help. Whether you are being attacked by a bear, or simply want directions to the nearest internet café, being able to ask for help is an absolutely vital thing to learn.

This article will show you how to say “help me” in Korean. Learn this important phrase to be sure you’ll have a fantastic time in Korea!

“Help Me” in Korean

To help

The verb “to help” in Korean is 돕다 (dopda).

When asking for help, this verb is usually combined with the verb 주다 (juda) which means “to give”. The resulting combination of these two verbs is 도와주다 (dowajuda). Most of this article’s phrases and expressions are based on 도와주다 (dowajuda).

If your life is in danger, then instead of saying “help me”, another verb you can use is 살려주다 (sallyeojuda). It means “save me” or “rescue me”.

Formal “Help Me” in Korean

1. 도와주시겠어요 (dowajusigesseoyo)

2. 도와주실래요 (dowajusillaeyo)

You can use either of the above phrases to say “help me” in Korean, but 도와주시겠어요 (dowajusigesseoyo) is a bit more polite than 도와줄래요 (dowajullaeyo). It can be made a bit more polite by adding 시 (si) so that it becomes 도와 주실래요 (dowa jusillaeyo).

Example:

아저씨, 실례합니다. 좀 도와 주시겠어요. (ajeossi, sillyehamnida. jom dowa jusigesseoyo)

Excuse me sir, could you help me please.

이 문제가 이해가 잘 안 되는데요, 좀 도와 주실래요?

(i munjega ihaega jal an doeneundeyo, jom dowa jusillaeyo)

I don’t understand this problem, could you help me?

Standard “Help Me” in Korean

1. 도와주세요 (dowajuseyo)

도와주세요 (dowajuseyo)is the most common way to say “help me” in Korean in an emergency or in everyday life.

Informal “Help Me” in Korean

1. 도와줘 (dowajwo)

You can use these expressions with people who are close to you and who are of a similar or younger age.

Example:

나를 도와줘 (nareul dowajwo)

Help me.

누구 없어, 도와줘! (nugu eopseo, dowajwo)

Somebody, help me!

This video shows How to Say “Please help me” in Korean

An important word used in the video is “please.” We have a separate article on “please” in Korean that will teach you different ways to say this word.

“How can I help you” in Korean

You can say “how can I help you” in Korean as 제가 무엇을 도와드릴까요 (jega mueoseul dowadeurilkkayo). This can be useful if you want to offer your help but you’re unsure of how you should approach the person.

Another way of saying this is 제가 뭘 도와드릴까요? (jega mwol dowadeurilkkayo). The only difference is 뭘 (mwol), which is an abbreviation of 무엇을 (mueoseul), is used.

A Word of Caution About Romanization

Although the phrases in this article use Romanization to make your studying easier, learning the Korean alphabet (Hangeul) is very easy and will benefit you in the long term. If you start learning Hangeul today then you will see the benefits right away.

Being able to read Korean allows you to identify word and grammar patterns as well as improve your pronunciation. It only takes a few hours to learn Hangeul, and after you can read Hangeul, your learning speed will increase dramatically.

If you are serious about learning Korean, why don’t you take a look at our free list of Korean phrases or our full Korean course for all the help you will need when studying Korean. As well as learning “help me”  in Korean, you may also want to learn other basic Korean words and phrases such as “hello”, “nice to meet you”, and “goodbye”.

Now that you know how to say “help me” in Korean, life in Korea should be much easier. Let us know when you have needed to ask for help in Korea.