아니에요 – How To Say You’re Welcome in Korean

You’re Welcome / No Problem in Korean

In this lesson, we will take a look at how to say “no problem” or “you’re welcome” in Korean. A lot of textbooks will teach you the word:


cheonmaneyo (bookish / unnatural)

(in Hangul: 천만에요)


Which literally means “ten million” but is used to express modesty when someone thanks you. It is however rare to use this in spoken Korean and will make you sound unnatural. So it is mainly used in written language such as novels and other books. When speaking, you should instead use:


anieyo (polite)

(in Hangul: 아니에요)


“anieyo” (아니에요) means “no” and is more suitable than cheonmaneyo (천만에요) in spoken Korean. Let’s simulate a short conversation between two people to highlight how you would use this:

A: kamsahamnida (감사합니다)

= A: Thank you.

B: anieyo (아니에요)

= B: You’re welcome.

Note however that you should take into account the different politeness levels. This is the polite form and you should mainly use it when:

  • Talking to someone older than you.
  • Talking to someone you’re not close friends with.
  • You are not sure what form to use.

If you want to be more informal and friendly, you should use:


aniya (informal)

(in Hangul: 아니야)


It still means “no” but in a different politeness level than the one above. Use this when:

  • Talking to a close friend or sibling
  • Talking to someone younger than you


animnida (formal / polite)

(in Hangul: 아닙니다)


While you are you are unlikely to use this in a real-life situation as a beginner, many language schools start out by teaching formal Korean so it’s still good to know. Formal Korean is mainly used in:

  • Debates
  • The news (television)
  • Speeches
  • Meetings
  • etc…

We made an entire lesson on how to say no in Korean, so be sure to check it out if you’re interested!

Please like or share if you found this useful. If you have any questions or something else on your mind, let us know by leaving a comment below and we will do our best to help you out!

By: Kimchi Cloud
