As with most other languages, Korean has its own slang. In order to sound like a native, you’ll need to know some of the most common Korean slang words. These are the best!
Korean is among the oldest and most sophisticated languages in the world. However, this does not prevent it from having a combination of traditional and modern slang, which packs a powerful punch!
This probably goes without saying, but this slang will be South Korea-oriented. This is mostly because you probably won’t want to visit the North and its slang is relatively unknown outside of North Korea!
15. 멘붕 (men-bung) – Bummer
Have you ever heard a piece of news that just really bums you out? Well so have most Koreans. In English, we have the term “bummer”, in Korean slang, they use 멘붕 to mean the same sort of thing.
Literally, 멘붕 means “mental breakdown” and is used to refer to a person’s mental state after they’ve heard some really depressing news. However, this news can appear to be bad, but actually be quite good as well.
For instance, if you had a crush on a guy / girl and told your best friend, only for them to ask them out three days later, you’d be pretty 멘붕. However, this may lead you to meeting your future husband / wife.
Example:
Korean: “친구, 진주가 상훈과 데이트하는 거 봤어?” “멘붕”
Pinyin: “Chingu, jinjuga sanghungwa deiteuhaneun geo bwass-eo?” “Men-bung”
English: “Dude, did you see that Jin-joo is dating Sang-hoon?” “Bummer”
14. 비담 (bi-dam) – Good looking
In terms of slang, this term is actually relatively new, with it only having come into use in recent years. As you can probably imagine, it is used almost exclusively by teenagers and millennials.
비담 literally has no meaning. Instead, it is an abbreviation of the phrase 비주얼 담당 (bi-ju-eol-dam-dang) which was heavily used by previous generations.
Literally, 비주얼 담당 translates as “visually in charge”. More approximately, however, it is used to mean something like “attractive” or “Good looking”. It is commonly used to refer to boy band members as well as K-pop singers.
Example:
Korean: “지 드래곤 본 적있어?” “그는 너무 비담!”
Pinyin: “ji deulaegon bon jeog-iss-eo?” “Geuneun neomu bi-dam!”
English: “Have you seen G-Dragon?” “He’s so attractive!”
13. 엄친딸 (um-chin-ddal) – Ideal child
In Korea, as with most other Asian countries, the aim of a parent is to groom their child to be the perfect husband / wife. This means that they need to be smart, cool, good looking and most importantly, rich.
For Koreans, missing even one of these could make it so that you are lonely forever.
However, to describe this, Koreans have come up with their own term to describe this,엄친딸. Literally, 엄친딸 translates as “mother’s friend’s daughter” but more means something like “Perfect girl”.
Koreans also have a male term for it too, 엄친아 (um-chin-ah) meaning “mother’s friend’s son” and means the same thing as엄친딸 in English.
Example:
Korean: “찬미 보셨나요?” “그녀는 그런 엄친딸!”
Pinyin: “chanmi bosyeossnayo?” “geunyeoneun geuleon um-chin-ddal”
English: “Have you seen Chan-mi?” “She’s perfect!”
12. 바람둥이 (ba-ram-dun-gi) – Playboy / Girl
When you were growing up, you probably knew that one guy / girl who was constantly dating someone. One week, they’d dating someone and the next, they’d be dating someone completely different!
In English slang, we’d call them a playboy. In Korean, they use the term 바람둥이 to mean the same thing. However, in Korean, it also has a connotation of someone who sleeps around a lot, even if they’re in a relationship…
Literally, 바람둥이 means “wind” and is used to mean something like “someone who floats away with the wind!” It is also used as an insult by Korean parents to describe a boy / girl that they don’t approve of.
Example:
Korean: “정훈 봤어?” “그는 그런 바람둥이!”
Pinyin: “jeonghun bwass-eo?” “geuneun geuleon ba-ram-dun-gi!”
English: “Have you seen Jung-hoon?” “He’s such a playboy!”
11. 노잼 (no jaem) – Boring
Have you ever been on that one date, with a person you actually really liked, only to find that you’d rather have watched paint dry? As in, you really like them as a person, but they are just so boring!
In English, we have a vast array of terms to describe this, all with varying levels of vulgarity. However, the Koreans use only one term 노잼, which can means anything from “boring” to “Absolutely f***ing awful!”
Recent years have also seen this become quite common on social media with hastags arising from it. You’ll also see Korean teenagers using it in texts in place of Standard Korean.
Example:
Korean: “한결과의 데이트는 어땠나요?” “너무 노잼!”
Pinyin: “hangyeolgwaui deiteuneun eottaessnayo?” “neomu no jaem!”
English: “How was your date with Han-Gyeol?” “It was so boring!”
10. 대박 (dae-bak) – Amazing!
Have you ever gotten that test score back that just made you so happy? Or just found that your crush has asked you out? In English, there are several terms we’d use following this. In Korean slang, they’d use 대박.
Literally, 대박 means “Jackpot!” and could, in theory be translated as such. However, in English, it’s a bit more than that, it’s like actually finding an actual jackpot, which in turn is absolutely amazing!
For most Koreans, they’ll only use it when it is something overwhelmingly good, usually involving them winning something. And most importantly, there are no other Korean slang words that can be used in its place.
Example:
Korean: “게임에서 이겼습니다. 축하합니다. 축하합니다!” “대박!”
Pinyin: “geim-eseo igyeossseubnida. chughahabnida. chughahabnida!” “dae-bak”
English: “You won the game, congrats. I’ll take you out to celebrate!” “Amazing!”
9. 짱 (jjang) – Awesome
Whilst 대박 may be used to say “amazing”, it doesn’t always work in every context, both in Korean and in English. For every other other situation where, 대박 doesn’t work, you’d use the rather simple 짱.
If you were to look up 짱 in the dictionary, you’d find that it does indeed mean “awesome”. This is actually a byproduct of Korean slang- it was so popular, the dictionary added it in.
Unlike a lot of Korean slang words, you don’t actually need to use 짱 in a sentence. Grammatically speaking, 짱 can be used on its own, and is quiet often used in this way.
Example:
Korean: “상함의 새 여자 친구가 있나요?” “짱!”
Pinyin: “Sangham-ui sae yeoja chinguga issnayo?” “Jjang!”
English: “Have you seen Sang-hamm’s new girlfriend?” “Yeah, she’s awesome!”
8. 극혐 (geukyeom) – Disgusting!
Have you ever found that something that is utterly repulsive and makes you want to be physically sick? In English we have numerous terms to describe them, all with varying levels of vulgarity.
In Korean, they only use one term – 극혐. If you were to look up the term in a Korean dictionary, it simply wouldn’t appear. And that’s because it’s an abbreviation of a much longer Korean phrase – 극한의 혐오 (geukanui hyeomo).
Literally, 극한의 혐오 translates as something like “Extreme disgust” or “Extremely disgusting”. It is almost solely used to describe something that is so disgusting you want to be sick, be it a photo, video or even a book!
Example:
Korean: “이 극혐 영상 보셨나요?”
Pinyin: “I geughyeom yeongsang bosyeossnayo?”
English: “Have you seen the disgusting YouTube video?”
7. 파이팅 (paiting) – C’mon
If you’ve ever spent any time in Korea, especially during any kind of sporting event, you’ve likely heard the term 파이팅 at least once or twice!
파이팅 actually has its origins with the English word “fighting”. During the Korean War, Koreans heard American soldiers cheer for their favorite teams, but couldn’t pronounce the American words that easily.
However, they often heard the term “fighting” which they could pronounce. Soon enough, fighting and cheering a football or a soccer team became indistinguishable.
The term is also used in Korean dramas for things like job interviews and tests as well. In this case, it is used to mean something akin to “break a leg” or more accurately “good luck”.
Example:
Korean: [Sports team playing] “파이팅!”
Pinyin: [Sports team playing] “Paiting!”
English: [Sports team playing] “C’mon!”
6. 엄마야 (oem-ma-ya!) – OMG!
When you were learning Korean, you were probably taught that 마야 translates as “Mom” or “Mother”. And indeed, it does. But in Korean slang, it also has another meaning – something akin to the expression “OMG!”.
In Korea, their religion have changed several times, adopting their own religion, as well as Chinese and Japanese religions. More recently, they have also taken up Christianity, making a literal “OMG!” phrase untenable.
As such, Koreans have chosen to use their mother instead of God. Literally, 엄마야 translates as “Oh mama!” or “Oh mother!”, but roughly means something like “OMG!”
However, not all people like the idea of 엄마야 and some may tell you to not use it with them, even if you are really good friends.
Example:
Korean: [Enter bad/surprising news] “엄마야!”
Pinyin: [Enter bad/surprising news] “oem-ma-ya!”
English: [Enter bad/surprising news] “OMG!”
5. 남친 (nam-chin) / 여친 (yeo-chin) – Boyfriend / Girlfriend
Sometimes, calling your boyfriend / girlfriend by their name is just too much effort, or you’d rather call them an endearing term. Just like us, the Koreans do too!
In English we use a wide range of nicknames for our boyfriend / girlfriend. In Korean slang, they only really have one term for either their boyfriend or their girlfriend and that is 남친 or 여친 .
Oddly enough, the terms can have an abundance of odd translations. For the most part, it can be translated as “bf” or “gf” as well as cute nicknames like “honey” and/or “sweetheart” as well as odder translations too.
Example:
Korean: “성호의 새로운 모습 보셨나요 여친?” “아니”
Pinyin: “Seonghoui saeloun moseub bosyeossnayo?” “Aniyo”
English: “Have you seen Sung-ho’s new gf?” “No, not yet.”
4. 아싸 (ah-ssa) – Oh yeah!
Has someone every said something to you that requires an immediate fist bump or some kind of victory dance? In English, we’d use something like “Oh yeah!” or “Hell yeah!” in Korean slang, they’d use something like 아싸.
Literally, 아싸 translates as “yeah” and/or, depending on context, “yes”. In recent years especially, the term has become increasingly more popular, both in Korea and in the surrounding countries.
Alternatively, it is also used to mean “yeah” – as in another way of saying “yes”. Just saying it, it also sounds a lot like the American term “Awesome”, which is also another interpretation of it.
Example:
Korean: [Enter good news] “아싸!”
Pinyin: [Enter good news] “Ah-ssa!”
English: [Enter good news] “Oh yeah!”
3. 핵 (heck) – More
For many of these slang terms, they are used as adjectives to describe how good/bad something is/was. However, what if you want to emphasize how good/bad it is/was?
In Korean, there are several intensifiers. However, there is only one in Korean slang, a rarity in almost every language I have ever come across. This is 핵 and is used similarly to how we use “more” in English.
Naturally, this won’t work with all of them. The slang term before this one, 아싸, for example, simply doesn’t work with it. However, the vast majority of slang-based adjectives do!
Example:
Korean: “나는 그를 너무 싫어 핵”
Pinyin: “Naneun geuleul neomu silh-eo haeg”
English: “I hate him so much”
2. 행쇼 (haeng-syo) – See ya
In English, we tend to use things like “See ya” with our friends in order to tell them that we going, but we will see them at some point in the near future. Koreans have this too, albeit with a different word…
This term is행쇼. Similarly to its English counterpart, the term is commonly used after the word goodbye, however, many people (especially those who are good friends) use it on its own.
Literally, the term has no meaning, with it simply being an abbreviation of the slang term 복하십쇼 (haeng bok ha sip syo) which literally means “Be happy!”. Both terms were popularized by famed K-pop singer G-Dragon.
Example:
Korean: [End of conversation] “행쇼”
Pinyin: [End of conversation] “haeng-syo”
English: [End of conversation] “See ya”
1. ㅋㅋ (kkkkkkk) – Lol
Throughout this article I have only really covered “traditional” Korean slang words. However, Korean, as with most other languages, has seen a rise in “text speak” otherwise known as text slang.
One of the most common “test speak” slang (in any language) is laughter. In Chinese slang, they use 牛牛牛 (niuniuniu), in English, we use lol, lmao and hahahaha.
In Korean slang, they use ㅋㅋ, the letter “k”. To Koreans, the letter “k” simulates laughter, much like the aforementioned “hahahahaha” does in English. As you can imagine, it is commonly used after someone writes something funny and / or outrageous.
Example:
Korean: [Insert joke] “ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
Pinyin: [Insert joke] “kkkkkk”
English: [Insert joke] “hahahahahaha”
Which are your favorite Korean slang words? Tell me in the comments!