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Korean · TOPIK Band 1 · Chapter 15

만나서 반갑습니다 Nice to meet you

Mannaseo bangapseumnida

The book's final chapter: no new grammar — we gather everything learned so far. We also briefly meet the more formal sentence ending -(스)ㅂ니다, as in 만나서 반갑습니다 — 반갑습니다, 감사합니다. It is the more polite twin of -아/어요; just recognise it (details in Book 2). New words: to be glad, to meet, all, together, again, hi/bye, to love, words, to speak, story. Culture corner: family titles you can't avoid. Hangul corner: a checkpoint reading of the final dialogue without romanization.

Dialogue

만나서 반갑습니다 — Nice to Meet You

Park 안녕하세요. 저는 박 선생님입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다. Hello. I'm Park, your teacher. Nice to meet you. (formal -입니다 / 반갑습니다)
Michael 안녕! 저는 마이클이에요. Hi! I'm Michael. (too casual: 안녕 is for friends; with a teacher use 안녕하세요)
Park 선생님에게는 "안녕하세요"예요. 마이클 씨, 가족 이야기를 해 주세요. With a teacher, it's "안녕하세요". Michael, please tell me about your family.
Michael 네! 저는 형이 한 명 있어요. 우리 가족은 모두 네 명이에요. 만나서 반갑습니다! Yes! I have one older brother. My family is four people in all. Nice to meet you!

Dialogue

또 만나요 — See You Again

Minsu 오늘 우리 모두 함께 있어요. 마이클 씨, 가족이 몇 명이에요? Today we are all together. Michael, how many are in your family?
Michael 네 명이에요. 저는 우리 가족을 사랑해요. Four. I love my family.
Jieun 마이클 씨는 한국어를 말해요! 우리 이야기 또 해요. Michael, you speak Korean! Let's talk again.
Michael 고마워요, 모두! 또 만나요. 안녕! Thanks, everyone! See you again. Bye!

Vocabulary

汉字	Pinyin	POS	Meaning
반갑다	bangapda	adj.	to be glad (to meet)
만나다	mannada	v.	to meet
모두	modu	adv.	all, everyone
함께	hamkke	adv.	together
또	tto	adv.	again
안녕	annyeong	intj.	hi / bye (casual)
사랑하다	saranghada	v.	to love
말	mal	n.	words, speech
말하다	malhada	v.	to speak, say
이야기	iyagi	n.	story, talk

Grammar

격식체 -(스)ㅂ니다 (인식만) The formal -(스)ㅂ니다 (recognition only)

새 문법은 없어요 — 대신 더 격식 있는 말끝 -(스)ㅂ니다를 알아 둬요. 지금까지 쓴 -아/어요(반가워요, 감사해요)는 친근하고 정중한 말끝이에요. 격식체 -(스)ㅂ니다는 더 딱딱하고 공식적이에요: 반갑습니다, 감사합니다, 만나서 반갑습니다. 받침이 있으면 -습니다, 없으면 -ㅂ니다. 발표, 뉴스, 첫 인사에서 들려요. 지금은 알아만 두고, 평소엔 -아/어요를 쓰면 돼요(자세한 비교는 2권).

No new grammar — instead, get to know the more formal ending -(스)ㅂ니다. The -아/어요 you have used (반가워요, 감사해요) is the friendly-polite ending. The formal -(스)ㅂ니다 is stiffer and more official: 반갑습니다, 감사합니다, 만나서 반갑습니다. With a final consonant it is -습니다, without one -ㅂ니다. You hear it in presentations, the news, and first greetings. For now just recognise it; keep using -아/어요 day to day (the full contrast is Book 2).

만나서 반갑습니다. Mannaseo bangapseumnida. Nice to meet you. (formal -습니다)
감사합니다. Gamsahamnida. Thank you. (formal twin of 감사해요)
안녕히 계세요. 또 만나요! Annyeonghi gyeseyo. Tto mannayo! Goodbye. See you again! (casual -아/어요)
우리 가족 모두 함께 있어요. Uri gajok modu hamkke isseoyo. All of my family is together.

Culture

꼭 알아야 하는 호칭 Family titles you can't avoid

형, 누나, 오빠, 언니 look like family words — but you'll use them constantly with people who aren't your family. The catch: which one you use depends on who's speaking, not just who you're talking to.

The four words, by speaker

These words encode the speaker's gender and the older person's gender. A man calls an older man 형, an older woman 누나. A woman calls an older man 오빠, an older woman 언니. The same older person is your 형 or your 오빠 depending on your own gender.

Not just relatives

A slightly-older friend, a university senior (선배), a friendly café regular — all can become 형/오빠/언니/누나. Using the kin term signals warmth and closeness; using 씨 keeps polite distance. And anyone younger in your circle is your 동생 — again, regardless of blood relation.

Why it matters

Reaching for the wrong-gender term (a man saying 오빠) is an instant giveaway. And jumping to 형/오빠 too fast with someone who expects 씨 can feel over-familiar. When unsure, stay with 씨 + name until you're invited closer.

Rule of thumb: the title starts from who you are, not just who they are. When unsure, start with 씨, and move to 형/누나/오빠/언니 as you grow closer.

hangul

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