I know in korean word

In this short lesson, you will learn how to say “I know” in Korean. You may be surprised to hear that “I know” is used incredibly often in Korean conversations. In fact, if you’ve ever watched Korean dramas, you’ve probably heard the characters saying 알아요 (arayo) or 알았어 (araseo) many times. Below we will teach you the meaning of these words and the different ways to say “I know” in Korean, and provide plenty of example sentences to help you understand.

알다 [al-da] = To Know

The basic verb form “to know” in Korean is 알다 [al-da]. To say “I know” in Korean, you must take this basic verb form and conjugate it into the present tense.

알아요 [a-ra-yo] = I Know (Polite)

The most common way to say “I know” in Korean is 알아요 [a-ra-yo]. This is the verb 알다 (to know) conjugated into the present tense with the polite ending 요 attached. As this is the polite way to say “I know”, you can use this in most situations and, you will sound polite and respectful. Here is an example sentence using 알아요 [a-ra-yo]:

A: 그 사람을 알아요? [geu sa-ra-meul a-ra-yo?] = Do you know that person?
B: 네, 알아요. [ne, a-ra-yo] = Yes, I know (that person).

압니다 [am-ni-da] = I Know (Formal)

The formal way to say “I know” in Korean is 압니다 [am-ni-da]. As this is a formal expression, you can use it when you want to say “I know” to people older than you and in situations when you want to sound extra respectful. Here is an example sentence using 압니다 [am-ni-da]:

A: BTS 압니까? [BTS am-ni-kka?] = Do you know BTS?
B: 네, 압니다. [ne, am-ni-da] = Yes, I know (them).

알아 [a-ra] = I Know (informal)

The informal way to say “I know” in Korean is 알아 [a-ra]. As you can see, there is no polite or formal ending attached, and so this expression should only be used with close friends/family and those much younger than you. In most cases, you should use polite or formal expressions. Here is an example sentence:

A: 포켓몬 알아? [po-ket-mon a-ra] = Do you know Pokemon?
B: 응, 알아. [eung, a-ra] = Yes, I know (Pokemon).

“I Got It” In Korean

The following expressions also use the verb 알다 (to know) but are used in situations where you want to say “I got it” or “I understood.“.

알았어 [a-ra-sseo] = I Got It (informal)

알았어 [a-ra-sseo], sometimes romanized as arrasseo or araso, means “I got it“. This expression is made from the verb 알다 (to know) conjugated into the past tense. So, 알았어 [a-ra-sseo] literally means “I knew it”, but a better translation in English is “I got it.” To help you understand what we mean, let’s look at an example sentence:

A: 오늘 저녁에 늦지 마! [o-neul jeo-nyeo-ge neut-ji ma] = Don’t be late tonight!
B: 알았어, 엄마. [a-ra-sseo eom-ma] = OK/Got It/Understood, mom.

As you can see, 알았어 [a-ra-sseo] also functions as “OK” in Korean in some situations.

알았어요 [a-ra-sseo-yo] = I Got It (polite)

알았어 [a-ra-sseo] is an informal expression, and so you should not use this with strangers and people older than you. Instead, you should use the polite expression. To make 알았어 polite, simply add 요: 알았어요 [a-ra-sseo-yo]. Here is an example sentence:

A: 방금 이메일 보냈어요. [bang-geum i-me-il bo-nae-sseo-yo] = I just sent you an email.
B: 알았어요. [a-ra-sseo-yo] = OK. / Got it. / Understood.

알겠어요 [al-ge-sseo-yo] = I Got It (softer)

알겠어요 [al-ge-sseo-yo] is a softer way to say “I got it” in Korean. This expression is made up of the verb 알다 (to know) with the ending 겠 attached, which roughly translates as ‘guess’. So, 알겠어요 [al-ge-sseo-yo] is like saying, “I guess I understood.” / “I guess I got it.“.

So now you know how to say “know” do you know what you should learn next? Learn more useful Korean phrases or start our free online Korean course.

By now you might already know how to say ‘I don’t know’ in Korean, but wouldn’t it be great to also know how to say ‘I know’ in Korean? After all, there will be many situations where this expression could be very handy for you to know.

The infinite form of the expression is the verb ‘to know’ which in Korean is 알다 (alda). To turn it into an ‘I know’, you need to drop the 다 (da) and attach the proper conjugation depending on which level of formality the expression will be used in. Below is a guide on how to say ‘I know’ in Korean, with examples of each level.

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Formal ‘I Know’ in Korean

1. 압니다 (amnida)

2. 알고 있습니다 (algo isseumnida)

3. 알겠습니다 (algesseumnida)

The first one is the formal conjugation –ㅂ니다 simply attached to the base of the verb ‘know’, 알 (al). As part of the group of verbs with them stem ending in ㄹ, the ㄹ disappears when the ㅂ gets attached as part of the conjugation. However, as the ㅂ is followed by ㄴ, it will be pronounced with an ㅁ-sound instead. You won’t hear 압니다 being spoken much outside of presentations and equivalent situations, though.

알고 있습니다 has a very similar meaning, however with this type of conjugation you are trying to convey that you know of the topic you are currently discussing in a deeply manner. It sounds more natural to use in speech, however, than 압니다 does.

알겠습니다 can also be used as an ‘I know’ response in some situations, but oftentimes its meaning is closer in align with that of ‘I got it’ rather than ‘I know’, so keep that in mind before using it.

Examples:

A: 이 사람을 압니까? (i sarameul amnikka?)– Do you know this person?

B: 네, 압니다 (ne, amnida) – Yes, I do (know this person).

A: 이 사람을 알고 있습니까? (i sarameul algo issseumnikka?)– Do you know this person?

B: 네, 알고 있습니다 (ne, algo issseumnida) – Yes, I do know this person.

Standard ‘I Know’ in Korean

1. 알아요 (arayo)

2. 알고 있어요 (algo isseoyo)

If you attach the word 잘 (jal) in front of the verb, you can really demonstrate that you know of the topic well. For example, if you want to say that you speak Korean well, just add 잘 in front of 알아요, and you’re good to go!

Also notice that when the consonant ㄹ is followed by a vowel, in this case ㅏ, the pronunciation of the letter is closer to an ‘r’ as opposed to ‘l’, whereas if it’s followed by another consonant, it will be pronounced as ‘l’.

Example:

A: 이 책을 알아요? (i chaek alayo?) – Do you know this book?

B: 네, 알아요. (ne, alayo) – Yes, I do know this book.

Informal ‘I Know’ in Korean

1. 알아 (ara)

Once you’ve become close with the person you are talking to, you can drop the 요 and speak informally like this. If you speak to a stranger or a much older person (without getting their permission) using informal words, you’ll likely offend them, but to a close friend or equivalent, they’ll be very delighted to have you use the informal version.

Example:

A: 이 영화 알아? (i yeonghwa ala?) – You know this movie?

B: 응, 알아. (eung, ala) – Yeah. I know.

And now you know how to say ‘I know’ in Korean! To further your knowledge on the verb 알다, here are some other similar usages of the word that might come in use soon.

Alternate Uses of ‘I Know’ in Korean

1. 알겠어요 (algesseoyo)/알겠어 (algesseo)

By using this word, you are conveying that you understood, aka you ‘got it’, what the other person was saying.

Example:

A: 선생님 말 이해했어요? (seonsaengnim mal ihaehaesseoyo?) – Did you understand what the teacher said?

B: 네, 이제 알겠어요 (ne, ije algesseoyo) – Yes, I got it now.

2. 알았습니다 (arasseumnida)/알았어요 (arasseoyo)/알았어 (arasseo)

Like the word above, 알았어요 also has a meaning close to saying that you understood what you just heard. In addition to that, it can also simply be used to mean ‘Okay’.

A: 나한테 나중에 전화해 (nahante najunge jeonhwahae) – Call me later

B: 알았어 (alasseo) – Okay

Now that you know how to say ‘I Know’ in Korean, go out and tell people about the things that you know!

*Want more Korean phrases? Go to our Korean Phrases Page for a complete list!

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