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Korean Phone Call Phrases: 여보세요 and Beyond

Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers

Published · Updated · How we write & review

After this page, you can answer with 여보세요 (yeoboseyo), ask for someone and handle a wrong number on a Korean phone call.

10-second answer

The short answer

Korean has a hello you'll hear almost only on the phone: 여보세요 (yeoboseyo). Face-to-face, people greet each other with 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo). Beyond that, phone Korean is a small, fixed set: 지금 통화 괜찮으세요? (jigeum tonghwa gwaenchaneuseyo, is now a good time?), ~ 좀 바꿔 주세요 (~ jom bakkwo juseyo, may I speak to ~), and 전화 잘못 거셨어요 (jeonhwa jalmot geosyeosseoyo, you have the wrong number).

Quick check — did that land?

  1. 1. When can you use 여보세요?

여보세요! 전화 받을 때 하는 인사예요. 누구세요?라고 물어볼 수 있어요.

Full Dialogue Walkthrough

Answering a call, then handling a wrong number. Try "Practice as You" and answer each line before checking.

Practice as:
You

여보세요?

yeoboseyo?

Hello?

Caller

지수 씨 좀 바꿔 주세요.

jisu ssi jom bakkwo juseyo.

May I speak to Jisu, please?

You

잠시만요.

jamsimanyo.

One moment, please.

A note on spelling. The official romanization of 여보세요 is yeoboseyo, but you'll also see it written yoboseyo, yeobosaeyo or yobosaeyo. They're all the same word.

See also: 안녕하세요 — the standard hello

The Core Phone Set

여보세요?

yeoboseyo?

Hello? (phone only)

Rising tone. Today it's almost only used on the phone.

지금 통화 괜찮으세요?

jigeum tonghwa gwaenchaneuseyo?

Is now a good time to talk?

통화 = phone conversation; the considerate opener after identifying yourself.

민수 씨 좀 바꿔 주세요.

minsu ssi jom bakkwo juseyo.

May I speak to Minsu, please?

Literally "please switch to Minsu" — 바꾸다 (to change) + 주세요. Name + 씨 keeps it polite.

잠시만요.

jamsimanyo.

One moment, please.

The all-purpose "hold on" — also works off the phone.

전화 잘못 거셨어요.

jeonhwa jalmot geosyeosseoyo.

You have the wrong number.

Literally "you dialed wrongly" — said politely with the honorific -시-.

나중에 다시 전화할게요.

najunge dasi jeonhwahalgeyo.

I'll call back later.

The graceful exit when they're busy.

Why 여보세요 Exists

The dictionary gives 여보세요 two jobs: calling out to someone nearby, and calling to the other person on the phone. The first one is fading — to get a stranger's attention today, people say 저기요 — so in practice 여보세요 has become the phone hello, and that's why it sounds odd as a greeting in person.

The Reality: Koreans Barely Call

Younger Koreans much prefer messages to calls: everyday conversation runs on 카카오톡 (KakaoTalk) and texts, and before calling someone, people often send a message first to check it's a good time. So alongside phone phrases, learn 문자 보낼게요 (munja bonaelgeyo, I'll text you) and 카톡할게요 (katokalgeyo, I'll KakaoTalk you) — you'll probably use them more. The internet-slang toolkit covers what happens inside those chats.

Common Mistakes

Mistake #1 — Greeting someone in person with 여보세요

In person, say 안녕하세요. Calling out 여보세요 face-to-face is rare now and sounds old-fashioned — to get a stranger's attention, use 저기요.

Mistake #2 — Translating "May I speak to X" word-for-word

The Korean idiom is 바꿔 주세요 ("please switch [the phone] to them") — X와 말할 수 있어요? sounds like machine translation.

Mini Quiz

2 short questions — about 1 minute

  1. 2. How do you ask to speak to someone on the phone?

  2. 3. What does 전화 잘못 거셨어요 mean?

Part of Everyday Korean: Phone Calls, Plans, Weather & Health

Part of Life in Korea: Practical Guides for Foreign Residents

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