9 Korean Commands You Hear in Every K-Drama: 잠깐만, 가지 마, 비켜

Quick answer: The short orders K-drama characters shout at each other — 잠깐만 (jamkkanman) "hold on," 가지 마 (gaji ma) "don't go," 비켜 "move" — are 반말 imperatives, made by taking the plain -아/어 form of the verb with no ending attached. They are normal between close friends, family and lovers, and they sound aggressive to anyone else. Add -요 or use -(으)세요 and the same line becomes polite.

Here is the one idea to walk away with: a Korean imperative is not a separate "command form" you have to memorize. It is the same -아/어 shape you already know, said with a downward, pushing intonation. 가 is "go," 기다려 is "wait," 봐 is "look." What changes the whole feeling of the sentence is the politeness layer, not the verb.

That is also why subtitles flatten these lines. "Wait!" on screen tells you nothing about whether the character just spoke to their best friend or insulted a stranger. The nine below are the ones you will hear in almost every episode, with the real-life version beside each.

1. 잠깐만. — "Hold on. / Just a second."

잠깐만. — Hold on.

This is probably the single most frequent short line in Korean drama. It stops someone mid-sentence, mid-step, or mid-decision. With a friend it is completely neutral; it is not even really a command so much as a hand raised in the air.

In public you want the -요 version: 잠깐만요 or 잠시만요. On a crowded subway, 잠시만요 is the standard way to ask people to let you through — softer and more common than telling anyone to move.

2. 이리 와 봐. — "Come here for a sec."

이리 와 봐. — Come here for a second.

이리 means "this way," and 와 is "come." Adding -아/어 봐 makes it casual and inviting rather than barked — compare the plain 이리 와, which lands like a parent calling a child in from the yard. The -아/어 보다 pattern softens many commands this way; there's more on it in this guide to -아/어 보다's cousin, -아/어 주다.

To someone older or outside your circle, you would not use this at all. You'd say 이쪽으로 오세요 ("come this way"), which is what a staff member says to you at a restaurant.

3. 기다려. — "Wait."

기다려. 금방 올게. — Wait. I'll be right back.

기다려 on its own is blunt. It is also what people say to a dog, so saying it to an adult you are not close with is genuinely rude. Between a couple or two old friends, it is ordinary.

The everyday polite version is 기다려 주세요 or 잠시만 기다려 주세요 — "please wait a moment." You will hear that one from cashiers and receptionists dozens of times a day in Korea.

4. 가지 마. — "Don't go."

가지 마. 아직 얘기 안 끝났어. — Don't go. We're not done talking.

The form is -지 마, the plain negative command. Despite the grammar, 가지 마 usually lands as a plea rather than an order — it is the line said to someone's back as they reach for the door, and the tone is almost always pleading.

Polite forms: 가지 마세요 (firm, polite) and 가지 말아요 (softer, a bit more emotional). If you are comforting a person who is about to walk out on a bad night, some of the lines in this list of comforting phrases pair naturally with it.

5. 이거 놔. — "Let go of me."

이거 놔. — Let go.

놔 is the contracted plain form of 놓다 ("to let go, to release"). It shows up whenever one character grabs another's wrist and the other one wants free. It is sharp, and it is meant to be.

There is no gentle way to use this with a stranger — if someone you don't know is holding your arm, you'd say 놓으세요 or 이거 놓으세요, which is polite in form but still very firm in tone. The politeness marker -(으)시- does not make a sentence friendly, only respectful; see how -(으)시- works.

6. 비켜. — "Move. / Out of my way."

비켜. — Move.

비키다 means "to step aside." 비켜 is what a character says when they are angry and walking through someone. It is genuinely rude to a Korean ear — not a swear word, but close to the line.

Do not borrow this one. If you need someone to step aside in real life, say 잠시만요 ("excuse me, one moment") or 좀 지나갈게요 ("I'll just squeeze past"). Even 비켜 주세요 sounds pushy; Koreans rarely use it unless something urgent is happening.

7. 따라와. — "Follow me. / Come with me."

따라와. 할 얘기 있어. — Come with me. I need to talk to you.

따라오다 is "to follow," and 따라와 is the plain command. It is confident and a little dominant — the line a character says while already walking away, not waiting for an answer. Notice there is no "you" anywhere in it; Korean leaves the person out constantly, which is covered in this article on dropped subjects.

The polite version, 따라오세요, is perfectly normal and friendly in service situations: a host leading you to your table will say exactly that.

8. 말해 봐. — "Tell me. / Go on, say it."

말해 봐. 괜찮아. — Tell me. It's okay.

Bare 말해 is a demand. 말해 봐 adds that same 봐 from item 2 and turns it into encouragement: "go ahead, try saying it." That one syllable is the difference between an interrogation and a friend giving you room to speak.

Polite and natural: 말씀해 주세요 ("please tell me," honorific) or simply 얘기해 주세요. With a coworker your own age, 말해 주세요 is fine.

9. 조심해서 들어가. — "Get home safe."

조심해서 들어가. — Get home safe.

This is the warm one, and the one subtitles mangle most. 들어가다 is "to go in," but at a goodbye it means "go home" — the image is of you entering your own front door. Literal subtitles sometimes render it as "go inside," which makes no sense if the characters are standing on a street.

Polite: 조심해서 들어가세요, or 들어가세요 on its own, which is also the standard way to end a phone call politely. If someone says it to you, the easy reply is 네, 들어가세요 or 감사합니다.

FAQ

What does 비켜 mean in Korean?

비켜 means "move" or "get out of the way." It is the plain, non-polite form of 비키다 ("to step aside") and it sounds genuinely harsh — in dramas it is usually said in anger. In real life, say 잠시만요 or 좀 지나갈게요 when you need to get past someone.

How do you say "wait a second" in Korean politely?

Say 잠시만요 or 잠깐만요 for a quick "one moment," and 잠시만 기다려 주세요 when you are actually asking someone to wait for you. The 반말 version, 잠깐만, is only for friends, family, and people clearly younger or very close to you.

Is 가지 마 rude?

It isn't rude in itself, but it is 반말, so it only works with people you already speak casually with. Said to a stranger, a coworker or anyone older, it sounds startlingly intimate and bossy at the same time. Use 가지 마세요 or 가지 말아요 instead.

Practice

1. You are a customer and the staff member needs a moment. What do they say to you?
2. You need to get through a crowd on the subway. 비켜 or 잠시만요?
3. Make 따라와 polite for a guest you are leading to a table.
4. A friend is leaving your apartment at night. What do you say at the door?
5. What does 들어가세요 mean at the end of a phone call?