How to Say “Well done” in Korean: 잘했어요! (jalhaesseoyo!)

잘했어요!

jalhaesseoyo!

Situation: Feelings & cheeringLevel: Starter (just learning Hangul)

Meaning

Well done!

The basic phrase for praising effort. To someone senior, use 잘하셨어요 instead.

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 4 · Words: 1

Said aloud, it sounds like [잘해써요].

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
잘	ㅈ+ㅏ+ㄹ	jal
했	ㅎ+ㅐ+ㅆ	[해] hae
어	ㅇ+ㅓ	[써] sseo
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 했어 → [해써]

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Exclamation

Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “잘했어요!” mean?

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Answer: Well done

Question 2 How do you say “Well done” in Korean?

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Answer: 잘했어요! jalhaesseoyo!

Question 3 How is “잘했어요!” pronounced?

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Answer: [잘해써요]

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