🇺🇸 Translation
Good night, My ae 🩷🤍
📙 Lesson point
How to say “Good night, My ae” in Korean
Hello, everyone! We’re going to learn two things today. First, we’ll learn about the expression ‘잘 자.’ We’ll not only learn about the meaning of ‘잘 자,’ but we’ll also learn about expressions that are used with the adverb ‘잘.’ Next, we’ll take a closer look at the adverb ‘잘.’ ‘잘’ has mainly six different meanings, so we’ll briefly learn about each of the meanings.
After reading today’s post, not only will you be able to learn how to say “Good night, My ae” in Korean, but you’ll also understand how this Korean expression is grammatically formed. Moreover, we’ll look into the actual expression that Giselle of AESPA used for her Instagram post. Let’s begin!
What does ‘잘 자’ mean?
To begin with, let’s take a look at the expression ‘잘 자.’
‘잘’ is a Korean adverb that means “well, in a great manner,” and ‘자다’ is a verb that means “to sleep.” However, in this expression the imperative form of ‘자다,’ which is ‘자,’ is used. Therefore, if we directly translate the expression ‘잘 자,’ it would mean “sleep well, sleep tight.”
잘 (adv.) : well, in a great manner
자다 (verb) : to sleep
잘 자 : sleep well, sleep tight
Similar expressions : ‘잘 가’ and ‘잘 있어’
Now, let’s move a step further. Let’s learn about two commonly used expressions that also have a similar form with ‘잘 자.’
‘잘 가’ is composed of ‘잘’ and ‘가,’ which is the imperative form of ‘가다,’ which means “to go.” Therefore, when translating ‘잘 가’ directly, it would mean “go well.” However, we translate liberally, we mostly translate it as “good bye.”
잘 (adv.) : well, in a great manner
가다 (verb) : to go
잘 가 : Good bye (when the other person is leaving while you’re staying)
The next expression we’ll learn about is ‘잘 있어.’
‘잘 있어’ is composed of the words ‘잘’ and ‘있어,’ which is the imperative form of ‘있다.’ ‘있다’ means “to be, to exist, to stay.” When translating this expression directly, it would mean “stay well,” or “be where you are in a great manner.” However, we liberally translate it as “good bye.”
잘 (adv.) : well, in a great manner
있다 (adj.) : to be, to exist, to stay
잘 있어 : Good bye (when you’re leaving while the other person is staying)
How to use expressions in honorific form
All of the previous expressions are informal, so they can only be used for close friends or younger siblings. You should use honorifics when you need to be polite to strangers. Let’s take a look at the honorific versions of these expressions.
잘 자 (Good night) - 안녕히 주무세요
잘 가 (Good bye) - 안녕히 가세요
잘 있어 (Good bye) - 안녕히 계세요
Various meanings of the adverb ‘잘’
Finally, let’s learn more thoroughly about the Korean adverb ‘잘.’
The adverb ‘잘’ is used in various situations in slightly different meanings, but it is overall mostly used in positive terms. Let’s take a look at the meanings of this word.
(1) ‘잘’ as in “well” – The first meaning ‘잘 ‘has is “well.”
잘 있어야 해
= You need to stay well
엄마는 잘 먹고 지내고 있어
= Mom is eating well and living a good life
(2) ‘잘’ as in “skillfully” – The second meaning of ‘잘’ is “skillfully.”
데이빗은 축구를 잘 한다
= David is good at soccer
나는 요리를 잘 하고 싶다
= I want to cook skillfully
(3) ‘잘’ as in “carefully,” or “attentively”
조준을 잘 해야 물이 넘치지 않아
= You need to aim carefully for the water to not overflow
이 다리를 잘 건너봐
= Cross this bridge carefully
(4) ‘잘’ as in “properly”
문제를 다시 잘 읽어봐
= Try reading the question again properly
옷을 다시 잘 입어봐
= Try wearing your clothes again properly
(5) ‘잘’ as in “fully” or “thoroughly”
그 백화점은 잘 만들어진 건물이다
= That department store is a fully well-made building
그 식단은 정말 잘 구성된 것 같아
= I think that diet-plan is really thoroughly composed
(6) ‘잘’ as in “frequently”
나는 우유를 잘 먹지 않아
= I don't drink milk frequently
지민이는 디저트를 잘 사지 않아
= Jimin doesn't buy desserts frequently
Giselle says: “잘 자, 마이 🩷🤍”
To conclude, let’s take a look at the post Giselle of AESPA posted on Instagram. She used the expression ‘잘 자,’ which we learned in this post. She seems to be saying good night to her fans!