“Don’t give up” in Korean: 포기하지 마세요 (pogihaji maseyo)

포기하지 마세요

pogihaji maseyo

Situation: Feelings & cheeringLevel: Intermediate (TOPIK 3–4)

Meaning

Don’t give up.

Strong encouragement for someone in the middle of an exam or challenge.

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

Syllables: 7 · Words: 2

It is pronounced just as it is written.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
포기하지
포	ㅍ+ㅗ	po
기	ㄱ+ㅣ	gi
하	ㅎ+ㅏ	ha
지	ㅈ+ㅣ	ji
마세요
마	ㅁ+ㅏ	ma
세	ㅅ+ㅔ	se
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

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

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

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

It contains the honorific -(으)시-, which shows respect to the person being talked about or talked to.

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “포기하지 마세요” mean?

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Answer: Don’t give up

Question 2 How do you say “Don’t give up” in Korean?

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Answer: 포기하지 마세요 pogihaji maseyo

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