So you’ve just arrived in Korea, fresh off the airplane and in a taxi on your way to your new apartment or hotel. But maybe you need a little extra help in getting your things to your place.
How would you ask for help? Well, we’re here to teach you how now.
Let’s start with the basic phrase ‘Help me’. Now when asking for help, you don’t want to phrase it as a command, as that could come off as a little rude. The direct translation of ‘Help me’ as sort of a command would be:
도와주세요 [do-wa-ju-se-yo]
If you want to be even more polite, you could say:
도와주시겠어요 [wa-ju-si-ge-seo-yo] or 도와주실래요 [do-wa-ju-sil-lae-yo]
Some example sentences:
도와주실래요? [do-wa-ju-sil-lae-yo?] = Would you like to help? Could you help me?
시간 있으면 좀 도와주실래요? [si-gan i-seu-myeon jom do-wa-ju-sil-lae-yo] = If you have some time, could you help me out?
한 분 도와주시겠어요? [han bun do-wa-ju-si-ge-seo-yo] = Could someone help me?
우리 좀 도와주시겠어요? [u-ri jom do-wa-ju-si-ge-seo-yo] = Will you help us?
빨리 저 도와주세요. [ppal-li jeo do-wa-ju-se-yo.] = Hurry and help me.
*Side note: One word you might notice often being used with these phrases is ‘좀’ [jom]. This is a common word that is used to ask for something a bit more politely than usual and is similar to ‘please‘. So it makes sense that you would see it used often in the context of asking for help.
It’s not the same as ‘조금’ which people often think. Here are some examples with ‘좀’:
소리 좀 줄여 = Please keep the noise down.
물 좀 주세요. = Please give me some water.
Now back to the phrases for help. If you want to sound more causal or you’re talking to a close friend or family member, you could simply say:
도와줘 [do-wa-jwo]
Some examples:
형 도와줘! [hyeong do-wa-jwo!] = Hyeong help me!
뭐 도와줘? [mwo do-wa-jwo?] = Is there anything you need help with?
제발 날 도와줘. [je-bal nal do-wa-jwo.] = Please help me.
Finally, if you want to thank someone for helping you, you could say:
도와줘서 고마워요. [do-wa-jwo-seo go-ma-wo-yo] = Thank you for helping me. (polite)
도와줘서 감사합니다. [do-wa-jwo-seo gam-sa-ham-ni-da] = Thank you for helping me. (formal)
Happy studying!