Self Introduction

Learn how to introduce yourself

안녕. 에이미야: Hi I’m Amy. (informal)

안녕: Hi (informal)

에이미: Amy

야: to be (informal)

안녕하세요. 에이미입니다: Hello. I am Amy. (formal)

안녕하세요: Hello (formal)

에이미: Amy

입니다: to be (formal)

반가워: Nice to meet you (informal) / Glad to meet

반갑습니다: Glad to meet (formal)

Cultural Insight

When you introduce yourself in Korean, it’s polite to make a small bow. If

you’re a guy, bow with your hands at your sides (Figure 1). If you’re a girl,

bow while clasping your hands in front of you (Figure 2). Bow from the waist.

You don’t have to dip down very far.

In Korean culture, respect for age and seniority is still important and influences

how people bow to each other.

 Figure 1: Bow male

Figure 2: Bow female

There are quite a few rules about when and how to bow, but some general

rules of thumb you can use to get you buy are:

Rule 1 – If someone bows to you, return the bow.

Rule 2 - If you are greeting someone older than you or is more senior (e.g.

your school principal) you should ALWAYS bow, even if you are just passing
them for the 1000th time in the hallway.

These two rules mean you basically bow to everyone unless you are friends

or they scan your groceries at your local supermarket.

If you are unsure if you should bow, then bow. You will never offend

someone by bowing but you may offend them if you should bow but don't.

Worst case is they may think you a little strange if you bow when you don't

need to.

Don't just slump your shoulders forward and think that is good

enough. When doing a proper bow, you should bend at your waste. The

more you bend your body, the more respect you are showing. If for example

you are a teacher meeting the school principal for the first time you need to

bow quite deep to show your respect.

There are some cases where Koreans will bow so far that their head will

touch the floor. They call this a "big bow".

However, generally speaking your body will bend forward between 15 and

45 degrees depending on the situation.

Oh, and when you bow make sure you look down. Don't bow and maintain

eye contact with the other person.

Dialogue:

[informal]

안녕. 에이미야.
반가워.
[formal]

안녕하세요. 에이미입니다.

반갑습니다.

Others expressions:

안녕하세요. 여러분. : Hello everyone (formal)

선우야! 안녕! : Seonu! Hello.

전뎃말: 안녕하세요 여러분. 페드로입니다. 반갑숩니다! = Hello everyone. I’m

Pedro. Nice to meet you. (formal)

반말: 아영. 페드로야. 방아워! = Hello. I’m Pedro. Glad to meet you. (informal)

Dialogue Building

Me: 안녕하세요 여러분. 페드로입니다. 반갑숩니다!

Person: 안녕하세요. 반갑습니다.

Me: 감사합니다.

 Others ways

저는 페드로예요. = I’m Pedro.

내 이름은 페드로야. = (informal) My name is Pedro.

제 이름은 페드로입니다. = (formal) My name is Pedro

There are two levels of politeness in Korean. The most formal is used in
business situations or when you address someone your senior/older. That
would be polite suffix 입니다.
예요/이에요 is a more informal, but polite way to say one's name. You could
use it in informal situations when you want to politely introduce yourself.
Same rule would apply to 반갑다-->반갑습니다 =most polite way to say 'nice
to meet you', and 반가워요=informal formal way to say 'nice to meet you'.