다녀요 하나로 말하는 학교와 회사 표현

What does “다녀요” mean in Korean?

다녀요 is the polite form of 다니다, the verb for going somewhere regularly — attending or commuting, not making a one-time trip. Where 가요 (from 가다) just means “I go,” 학교 다녀요 means “I attend school” as an ongoing thing. One verb covers it all: 회사 다녀요 (I work at a company), 은행 다녀요, 병원 다녀요, 대학교 다녀요. If you go there habitually, you 다녀요.

The split is between a single journey and a standing routine. 회사 가요 (“I’m going to the office”) is today’s trip; 저 회사 다녀요 (“I work at a company”) is your life. That’s why “what’s your job?” gets answered with 다녀요 plus a place — 대학교 다녀요 (I’m a university student), 수영장 다녀요 (I go swimming regularly). 다니다 is old: first attested in Middle Korean in the 1447 Yongbi eocheon’ga, its first syllable historically tied to 닫다 (“to run”) — a fitting root for a word about going to and fro.