Everyday Korean – how to say “I miss you” in Korean
보고 싶어요. Bo Go Shi Paw Yo.
In this episode, we will learn how to say “I miss you” in Korean. We say,
보고 싶어요. Bo Go Shi Paw Yo.
It literally means, I want to see you, but usually it is used as the same meaning of “I miss you.”
When you say to your girlfriend or boyfriend or friends, people younger than you, you say
보고 싶어 Bo Go Shi Paw.
without Yo in the end.
As some of you have noticed, a lot of Korean songs say “그리워요 (Geu Ri War Yo) ” or “그리워 (Geu Ri War)” meaning of “i miss you”.
In everyday conversation, Korean people say 보고싶어요 (Bo Go Shi Paw Yo) for “I miss you”. 그립다 (Geu Rip Da), 그리워요 (Geu Ri War Yo), 그리워 (Geu Ri War) are mostly used as meaning like “oh.. I miss old times” or “oh I miss my hometown.”, “I miss my country as i live in Singapore.”
그립다 (Geu Rip Da), 그리워요 (Geu Ri War Yo), 그리워 (Geu Ri War): these phrases are mostly used in poems or songs and it’s more a poetic way of saying “miss you” and its meaning is more to “long for” in English.
So, when you say “I miss you” to your girlfriend or boyfriend, you say
보고싶어요 Bo Go Shi Paw Yo
보고 싶어 Bo Go Shi Paw without 요 Yo in the end for friends and people younger than you. (between couples, they usually say this.)
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질문 있어요!
When you meet a friend and you want to say “I missed you!”, do you say 보고 싶었어요, or 보고 싶었어? Is it ok to say that?
Thanks for your question. If you want to say, “I missed you”, you are right, you say “보고 싶었어(요)”. Depending how close you are with your friend, you can omit 요 in the end.
If you want to ask “Did you miss me?”, then you say “나(Na) 보고 싶었어?” (You say this if your friend is close or younger than you). More formal way to say or when you and your friend are friends but still there is a bit of distance, then you say ” 저(Jeo) 보고 싶었어요?”
It’s ok to say this but… I think if you say this to a Korean girl, she might think “oh? Does he like me? or Is he interested in me?” something like that. Vice versa to Korean guy, too. I guess it’s the same when you say “I miss you” in English. Hope this helps!
hello.. i would like to know more about korean language and its usage coz im currently writing a novel….
how you say this in korean formal or to a stranger, informal like a friend or younger than you:
1. wait for me
2. you’re so nice/kind
3. what is honey/sweetheart?
4. i’m not interested in you.
please help me.. waiting for ur reply… thank you.
Hi. If I want to say, “I miss my cat.” would this be correct?
내 고양이를 보고싶어.
Hi atari, thank you for your question. Yes, you can say “내 고양이를 보고싶어.” but more commonly, you can say “내 고양이가 보고싶어.”
Goodevening
first of all I love your lessons
second i have a questions
i am in love with this korean girl and she keeps saying Bo Go Shi Paw Yo
almost everyday
now i don’t know how she means this
is it in a more close way like boyfriend girlfriend or just a casual way
I am younger then her
and i told her numerous times i like her more then just a friend
so now i don’t know if she means it in a loving way or not
Please Help me
Hi Sender, first of all, thank you for sharing this with me. It’s very cute!
haha…
I can see that you are confused! Since you told her that you liked her many times, I think she’s flirting with you or teasing you. ‘Bo Go Shi Paw Yo’ is mostly used between boyfriends/ girlfriends or sometimes within family (saying to parents when they are away, etc.)
I’m not sure about your culture, but in Korean culture, you don’t usually say “Bo Go Shi Paw Yo” to your friends, particularly different-gender friend.
Hope this helps. I wish you good luck!!
anyyeong ! great explananation, now I understand what they meant in k-drama
btw, I want to ask something I already read few of your post and did we must add ‘ yo ‘ if we say it to someone who older than us ? like, if I say it to my older brother ?
Hi Alma, Basically, you can put “yo” to older people, but it’s not always that way. Certain phrases have a specific way of saying to older people or in a formal setting. That’s why I put two different ways of saying. (Korean has 6 different speech levels, so it’s very tricky!)
For your older brother, since he’s your family and I’m sure that you are close to him, then you can just say without ‘yo’.