If you are enthusiastic about learning the Korean language, we are sure you have all heard of Hwaiting (화이팅!), it's an expression you can easily hear in dramas and variety shows. It's an expression of encouragement to cheer a friend every time they are down or is about to do something difficult.
Other ways to cheer someone up in Korean will be discussed in this article. This will be especially useful if you have Korean friends who may be taking examinations in the future. Koreans, as you may know, take exams seriously, particularly the College Scholastic Ability Test, or Suneung, which is an eight-hour marathon of back-to-back exams. In a later piece, we'll go through this in further detail.
- Himnae! / Himnaeseyo! (힘내/힘내세요)
Him means strength and Naeseyo is a polite way to have or make so it literally means have strength. Like 'Cheer Up' or 'Hang in there'.
Here's a kindergarten song entitled 'Abba Himnaeseyo', which translates to 'Dad, cheer up'. It's a kid's song about seeing her dad looking so awry coming home from work. Hence, this song is meant to encourage her dad.
Try singing along.
2. Gwaenchana/ Gwaenchanayo! (괜찮아/괜찮아요)
This expression means OK, It's alright. Although, this can also be used to ask if someone is doing good 'Gwaenchanayo?' (Are you OK?), it can also be an answer and a way to tell someone. 'It's alright; It's going to be okay!'
This is commonly seen in Korean game shows, when someone loses, the audience automatically shouts "kwaenchana" in unison to cheer up the losing team/ player.
3. Da Jal DwaelGoya (다 잘 될 거야)
Da meaning 'everything or all', jal means good and dwaelgoya, will be. 'Everything will be good or all will be fine'. This is another way to assure someone not to worry as these worries will all just pass.
4. GeokJeong Ma / Geokjeonghajimaseyo (걱정하지 마세요)
When we have troubles, it is natural for us to worry a lot. The verb for worry in Korean is Geokjeonghada (걱정하다) 'to worry'. To comfort people who have a lot of worries, we usually say, 'Don't Worry'. Don't in Korean is 'Hajima'. When we want someone not to do something we should say the verb first followed by the expression 'Hajima'. When we want to be polite then we add 'hajimaseyo'.
Here's an OST of the movie 'Brother' (형) Sang by Exo's D.O Jo Jungsuk (조정석). This is a heartwarming story of a brother's love.
5. Choiseoneul dahaseyo (최선을 다하세요)
This sentence means 'Do your best!' Choigo means best, da means all and hada or haseyo means to do/ do. This is perfect for those Koreans of yours who are about to venture into something new or someone who has challenging things to do in the near future.
These are only a few of the basics. There are a variety of different encouraging statements that may be used to lift someone's spirits in the Korean language. What expressions do you familiar know? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
