This is one of the most common phrases you will use and come across, especially if you are dating a Korean significant other. If you watch a lot of Korean dramas or listen to a lot of Korean songs, you will hear this A LOT.
My wife and I still use this a lot ;p
Since missing someone implies closeness, the most common form you will be using is 보고 싶어 which is the casual/informal form. This form drops the “요”. The phrase is a combination of the verb 보다 (to see) and the grammatical form to want (~고 싶다). We will be starting a grammar series soon so we will go more in-depth about this form at some point in the future.
The standard/polite form will rarely be used with people close to you as missing someone implies closeness. You may use this form while asking someone if they miss someone else or when talking to an acquaintance or coworker about how you miss your family. For example:
엄마가/아빠가 보고 싶어요. (I miss my mom./ I miss my dad.)
There are also ways to make this phrase cute or write it with modern slang.
When texting, some people may type “보고 시퍼”. It basically sounds the same, but just makes it quicker to type.
To make it sounds cute you could use:
보고싶당 (bo-go-ship-dang)
보고싶어용 (bo-go-ship-eo-yong)
To make a lot of words/phrases cuter, Koreans like to add 당 or change the ending 요 to 용.
그립다
Many people see this as a translation for “to miss” but this doesn’t apply to missing people. You would use this when saying something like I miss my old school (옛학교가 그리워요).
All in all, this is an easy and useful phrase to learn. It’s not advanced by any means, but good to know all the same.