“I’ve been so busy lately” in Korean: 요즘 너무 바빠요

요즘 너무 바빠요

yojeum neomu bappayo

Situation: Café & daily lifeLevel: Beginner (TOPIK 1–2)

Meaning

I’ve been so busy lately.

요즘 means “these days.” One of the most common replies when asked how you are lately.

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

A natural answer to “How are you?” or a polite way to explain why you can’t meet.

It’s 바빠요 (the ㅡ drops), not 바쁘어요. Saying it to turn down an invitation can sound like a brush-off, so add 다음에 봐요.

Syllables: 7 · Words: 3

It is pronounced just as it is written.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
요즘
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo
즘	ㅈ+ㅡ+ㅁ	jeum
너무
너	ㄴ+ㅓ	neo
무	ㅁ+ㅜ	mu
바빠요
바	ㅂ+ㅏ	ba
빠	ㅃ+ㅏ	ppa
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.

These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).

Korean	Part of speech	Meaning	Level
너무	adverb	too, so	TOPIK level 1

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “요즘 너무 바빠요” mean?

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Answer: I’ve been so busy lately

Question 2 How do you say “I’ve been so busy lately” in Korean?

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Answer: 요즘 너무 바빠요 yojeum neomu bappayo

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