Please, thank you, sorry
You elbow a stranger in a Seoul convenience store, panic, and say... nothing, because you don't have the words yet. Grab the wrong word and your 'sorry' comes out as 'hey, over here!'
Arm me before I offend a nationThe words — Please, thank you, sorry
Running situation: Nujoom works the register at a tiny shop. Hilal walks in. It escalates.
Meaningplease (asking for something)
저기요, 물 주세요.
Excuse me, water please.
Meaningthank you
누줌: 물 여기 있어요. 힐랄: 감사합니다.
Nujoom: Here is the water. Hilal: Thank you.
Meaningsorry (casual, everyday)
힐랄: 미안해요, 물이 바닥에 있어요.
Hilal: Sorry, the water is on the floor.
MeaningI'm sorry (formal, serious)
힐랄: 죄송합니다, 물이 가방 안에도 있어요.
Hilal: I'm sorry, there's also water inside the bag.
Meaningexcuse me (calling attention)
저기요! 누줌 씨!
Excuse me! Nujoom!
The scene — Please, thank you, sorry
Another day, another tiny snack shop: Hilal minds the counter, Nujoom wants a pack of gim (seaweed snacks) before it closes, and Sama stands in the queue saying nothing at all.
- 저기요!Excuse me!
- ......
- 김 하나 주세요.One seaweed snack, please.
- 정말 감사합니다.Thank you so much.
- 네!Yes!
The idea — Please, thank you, sorry
저기요 (jeogiyo) gets someone's attention, and 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida) apologizes — different words for different jobs.
Next time you need help in a shop, you already know which word to reach for first.
Questions about Please, thank you, sorry
How do you say 'please' in Korean?
You say 주세요 (juseyo) when asking for something, as in '물 주세요' (water, please).
How do you say 'thank you' in Korean?
감사합니다 (gamsahamnida) means 'thank you' and is used in polite everyday situations.
What's the difference between 미안해요 and 죄송합니다?
미안해요 (mianhaeyo) is a casual, everyday 'sorry,' while 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida) is the formal, more serious way to apologize.
How do you get someone's attention in Korean?
You say 저기요 (jeogiyo), which means 'excuse me' when calling attention, not when apologizing.
You've seen the idea. Now make it stick.
The journey continues in Zeeza — free to start, made to adapt to how you learn.
- Hear it and choose
- Build the sentence
- Say it after the voice
- …and more, adapted to you