# You're welcome



## formerphilly

Can someone tell me how to say "You're welcome" in Korean?
I have been told it is
  "Chum man ay yo"
Is that correct?
Thanks for your help


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## 한국어

아닙니다. "천만에요" 라는 말은 영어 교과서에서나 볼 수 있고, 실생활에서는 쓰이지 않습니다. 거의 대부분 그냥 "예" 아니면 뭔가 큰 감사를 받았을 때 "아이구 뭐 별말씀을" "뭐 이런거 가지고요"라고 대답합니다.

No. There's no equivalent to English "You're welcome." I would say "예" or even perhaps "아이구 뭐 별말씀을" "뭐 이런거 가지고요".


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## formerphilly

So what does "chum man ay yo" mean?  Please write in Latin letters.  I don't read Korean.


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## kenjoluma

Here's a simple bottom line:

Chun man e yo (천만에요) IS 'you're welcome'.
'You're welcome' MAY be '천만에요'.


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## formerphilly

Thanks for your help.


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## gjuhetar

In fact, *천만에요* means *not at all* or *no way*, so it can be used for an answer to _thank you_ in a way.
However, _천만에요_ (cheon man e yo according to standard Romanization) for _you're welcome_ is just a textbook expression that almost nobody actually uses.

You say he's interested in me? No way, he doesn't like me at all.
In this sentence _no way_ is _cheon man e (yo)_.


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## formerphilly

Thanks for your help...gam sa ham ni da.


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## terredepomme

Yes, I hate the expression 천만에요, because although I've been taught that this expression is the equivalent of the English phrase "you're welcome," I have never, never seen it being used in real life.
The reality is, we do not have a conventional phrase dedicated to replying to words of gratitudes.
Some suggestions might be 뭘요(mweolyo), 아니에요(anieyo), or simply, just a smile.


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## formerphilly

That's interesting because the Korean ladies in my nail salon have taught me to say "chun man e yo" in answer to "gam sa ham ni da".  Are they laughing at me?


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## terredepomme

> That's interesting because the Korean ladies in my nail salon have been taught to say "chun man e yo" in answer to "gam sa ham ni da". Are they laughing at me?


No, most people will teach you that without thinking twice, because in schools they have taught that it is "the" right translation to the English expression, and you will hear/see it in American films dubbed/subbed into Korean. So it's only natural that they will teach you this expression if they are asked how to say "you're welcome," because simply we don't have any other conventional phrase for such things. It is the kind of expression that really uniquely serves this purpose of translating this English phrase. But when Koreans speak/write in Korean they won't use it, at least not in this sense.
As an amateur translator myself, I never employ this expression in any of my translations, and would discourage any foreigner from using it.


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## gjuhetar

Those Korean ladies were just forced to find an equivalent word or phrase, that's why they told you so.
For example, *you* cannot be simply translated into Korean, which has a highly complicated honorific system.
So, if foreigners ask what the Korean word for *you* is, most Koreans unaware of translation will tell them *dangshin* (당신), which is, however, limited to very specific situations.


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## formerphilly

Thanks for all your thoughtful answers.  It certainly has been an eye-opener.


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