Korean Repair Phrases: What to Say When You Get Stuck

You do not need to understand every Korean sentence to keep a conversation going. You need to know what to do when you do not understand.

That skill is called conversational repair: asking for repetition, slowing the speaker down, checking a meaning, or buying yourself a few seconds.

For beginners, a small set of repair phrases can be more useful than another fifty isolated nouns.

1. 다시 말해 주세요

다시 말해 주세요. → Please say it again.

Use this when you heard the sentence but missed part of it.

A slightly shorter conversational version is:

다시요? → Again? / Sorry?

With strangers or in a formal situation, the full 주세요 version is the safer beginner default.

2. 천천히 말해 주세요

천천히 말해 주세요. → Please speak slowly.

This is especially useful when you understand the vocabulary but the speed is too high.

You can combine it:

죄송한데 천천히 말해 주세요. → Sorry, but please speak slowly.

The -는데 lead-in can soften requests; see the -는데 guide.

3. 무슨 뜻이에요?

무슨 뜻이에요? → What does it mean?

Use it after a word or phrase you do not know.

For example:

A: 오늘 회식 있어요. → We have a company dinner today.

B: 회식이 무슨 뜻이에요? → What does 회식 mean?

This keeps the conversation in Korean while asking for meaning.

4. 한국어로 뭐라고 해요?

한국어로 뭐라고 해요? → How do you say it in Korean?

If you know the object but not the Korean word, point or describe it and ask.

You can also insert an English word if both people understand English:

“receipt”은 한국어로 뭐라고 해요? → How do you say “receipt” in Korean?

The natural answer might be 영수증이에요.

5. 맞아요?

맞아요? → Is that right?

Use this to confirm your Korean or your understanding.

• 이렇게 말하면 맞아요? → Is it right if I say it like this?
• 제가 이해한 게 맞아요? → Did I understand correctly?

Confirmation phrases are useful because they turn uncertainty into interaction.

6. 잘 못 들었어요

잘 못 들었어요. → I did not hear it well.

This is different from saying you did not understand the meaning. Maybe there was noise or the speaker was too quiet.

Follow it with:

다시 말해 주세요.

7. 잘 모르겠어요

잘 모르겠어요. → I'm not really sure / I don't really know.

This phrase is extremely useful because it is softer and more conversational than freezing in silence.

If the topic itself is unfamiliar, this is often enough:

그건 잘 모르겠어요. → I don't really know about that.

8. 잠깐만요

잠깐만요. → One moment / Wait a second.

Use it when you need a second to think, check something, or restart.

It is a good alternative to filling five seconds with English while you search for Korean.

9. 다시 설명해 주세요

다시 설명해 주세요. → Please explain it again.

Use this when repetition alone will not solve the problem.

A speaker can repeat the exact same difficult sentence three times. Asking for an explanation gives them permission to rephrase.

10. 쉽게 말해 주세요

쉽게 말해 주세요. → Please say it simply / in an easier way.

This is useful when the speaker is using vocabulary above your level.

You can combine it with a reason:

제가 아직 한국어를 잘 못해서 쉽게 말해 주세요. → I'm not very good at Korean yet, so please say it simply.

Review 안 vs 못 if the inability meaning of 못 is still unclear.

A complete repair sequence

Imagine someone says a sentence too quickly.

You can do this:

1. 죄송해요. 잘 못 들었어요. → Sorry, I didn't hear it well.
2. 다시 말해 주세요. → Please say it again.
3. Still difficult? 천천히 말해 주세요. → Please speak slowly.
4. Unknown word? ___이 무슨 뜻이에요? → What does ___ mean?
5. Confirm: 아, ___이라는 뜻이에요? → Ah, does it mean ___?

That is a real conversation skill, not a failure to understand.

Practice before you need them

Repair phrases need to be fast. If you only recognize them on a list, you may still switch to English when pressure appears.

Role-play this alone:

• pretend you did not hear
• ask for repetition
• pretend one word is unknown
• ask its meaning
• confirm the answer

Then use the same phrases in the conversation practice hub.

Common mistakes

Pretending to understand

Nodding can keep the interaction comfortable for five seconds but often makes the next sentence even harder because the speaker assumes you followed everything.

Asking only in English

Using English is fine when necessary, but knowing a Korean repair phrase helps keep the interaction inside Korean longer.

Forgetting politeness

Bare commands can sound abrupt. For beginners, -아/어 주세요 forms are a safe default with strangers and people you do not know well.

Continue speaking

• Korean speaking guides
• Conversation starters
• Why you understand but can't speak
• Reaction words and fillers
• Conversation practice hub

A strong beginner conversation is not one where nothing goes wrong. It is one where you know how to recover when something goes wrong.