How to Say “I don’t know” in Korean: 몰라요 (mollayo)

몰라요

mollayo

Situation: Greetings & basicsLevel: Starter (just learning Hangul)

Meaning

I don’t know.

The polite form of 모르다, a 르-irregular verb: 모르 + 아요 becomes 몰라요 (doubled ㄹ). Its opposite is 알아요 (I know).

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

The polite “I don’t know” when you lack the information (from 모르다). With close friends it is 몰라. 잘 몰라요 (“I don’t really know”) sounds softer.

Said flatly, it can sound curt, like “no idea (and I don’t care)”. To elders, 잘 모르겠어요 (“I’m not sure”) is more polite.

Syllables: 3 · Words: 1

It is pronounced just as it is written.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
몰	ㅁ+ㅗ+ㄹ	mol
라	ㄹ+ㅏ	la
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.

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “몰라요” mean?

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Answer: I don’t know

Question 2 How do you say “I don’t know” in Korean?

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Answer: 몰라요 mollayo

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