Dictionary — Entry No. 0716
안녕히 가세요
annyeonghi-gaseyo · honorific
안녕히 가세요
annyeonghi-gaseyo
[ahn-nyuhng-hee gah-SEH-yoh]
honorificbeginner
Meaning
A formal goodbye literally meaning ‘please go peacefully,’ said to the person who is leaving while you remain. 안녕히 means ‘peacefully’ or ‘safely,’ and 가세요 is the honorific imperative of 가다 (to go). It pairs with 안녕히 계세요 — which is said by the departing person to those who stay behind.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
This phrase is fundamental to Korean social etiquette and appears in virtually every K-Drama parting scene. The Goblin (도깨비) drama used farewells with extraordinary emotional weight given the immortality themes — every goodbye carried the unspoken possibility of permanence. Understanding that Korean has different goodbyes depending on who is moving gave international viewers a new appreciation for how the language encodes social roles.
Example Sentences
안녕히 가세요, 선생님. 내일 뵙겠습니다
Annyeonghi gaseyo, seonsaengnim. Naeil boepgetsseumnida
Goodbye, teacher. I will see you tomorrow (the very formal 뵙겠습니다 matches the honorific farewell — register consistency matters)
조심히 안녕히 가세요
Josimhi annyeonghi gaseyo
Please go safely and carefully (조심히 = carefully, adds genuine concern for the journey — common when someone travels far)
그럼 안녕히 가세요
Geureom annyeonghi gaseyo
Well then, goodbye (그럼 = well then, the natural conversational bridge before a formal parting)
⚠️ Don’t use annyeonghi-gaseyo when…
The most common mistake: saying 안녕히 가세요 when YOU are the one leaving. If you’re departing, say 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo — ‘please stay well’). Getting these backwards tells a Korean speaker you don’t know which direction you’re going in the social exchange.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) — every farewell between Gong Yoo’s immortal Goblin and the humans he loves is saturated with the awareness that his 안녕히 가세요 may outlast the person hearing it.
- K-Pop: 2NE1 — Goodbye (안녕, 2016)
ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.