당신

dang-sin · literally “You”

Situation: Asking a coworker or acquaintance a simple question, like 'Did you eat lunch?'

✕ What AI tells you

Outputs '당신은 점심을 먹었습니까?', mapping English 'you' directly to 당신.

Why it fails: In conversation, 당신 addressed to a peer or stranger can sound distant or even like the start of an argument. Korean usually drops 'you' or uses a name/title instead.

✓ What Koreans actually say

Drop 'you' when context is clear, or use the person's name + title. Reserve 당신 for spouses, song lyrics, ads, or written text.

  • 점심 드셨어요?

    jeom-sim deu-syeo-sseo-yo

    No pronoun at all — the most natural default

  • 민수 씨는 어떻게 생각하세요?

    min-su ssi-neun eo-tteo-ke saeng-ga-ka-se-yo

    Name + 씨 for colleagues of similar rank

  • 팀장님은 어떻게 생각하세요?

    tim-jang-nim-eun eo-tteo-ke saeng-ga-ka-se-yo

    Job title + 님 for superiors

Cultural nuance, in depth

Korean doesn't have a neutral, all-purpose 'you'. Speakers position each other through names, titles and kinship terms (선배님, 언니, 사장님), or simply omit the subject. 당신 survives in a few special registers: between married couples, in poetry and song, in advertising copy, and — spoken with an edge — in quarrels ('당신이 뭔데?'). Because AI defaults to 당신, learners often sound either like a textbook or like they're picking a fight.