Slang
Korean expressions and words about Slang, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Slang
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뻘짓 (ppeoljit) — The Word That Comes Out When Two Hours of Work Means Starting Over
**뻘짓 (ppeoljit)** means a useless act — something you put time and energy into that ended up amounting to absolutely nothing. Riding the subway for a full thirt
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사기캐 (sagikae) — The Compliment for Someone So Good It Feels Like Cheating
**사기캐 (sagikae)** is a word for someone whose ability or circumstances are so outstanding that it feels like cheating. It started as gamer talk for "a character
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스불재 (seubuljae) — What Someone Says After Turning Off All Three Alarms and Going Back to Sleep
**스불재 (seubuljae)** is an abbreviation built from the first letter of each word in "**스스로 불러온 재앙** (seuseuro bulleoon jaeang)" — "a disaster you brought on your
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텐션 (tensyeon) — How Koreans Put a Number on a Mood
Eleven o'clock on a Friday night, in a noraebang (karaoke room). One person is standing on the couch shaking a tambourine; another is off in the corner drinking
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티키타카 (tikitaka) — The One Word for When a Conversation Just Clicks
**티키타카 (tikitaka)** describes two people trading short, quick lines without a break, the rhythm of the conversation falling perfectly into place — or that well-
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배꼽 빠지다 (baekkop ppajida) — Laughing So Hard Your Belly Button 'Falls Out'
Have you ever seen someone clutch their stomach and fold in half, laughing so hard that no sound comes out — just their shoulders shaking? Tears streaming, brea
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Don't Stir the Pot: The Korean Internet Slang '어그로' for Baiting Attention
These days, if you browse the comment sections on Korean YouTube or online communities, you'll often run into posts that seem designed to make people angry or g
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갑툭튀 (gaptuktwi) — When Something Pops Up Out of Nowhere
You're walking down a quiet alley at night when a cat suddenly darts out from behind a wall. You're creeping through an empty hallway in a game when a zombie bu
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인정 (ㅇㅈ): The Two Syllables Koreans Fire Off When They Totally Agree
When a friend casually tosses out "요즘 여름 진짜 너무 덥지 않냐? (isn't the summer way too hot these days?)", you don't need a long sentence to agree. Just two syllables a
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The One Little Syllable Heating Up KakaoTalk Chats — Everything About '짤'
Today's expression is one you'll bump into dozens of times a day, the moment you turn on your phone. When a friend casually tosses a funny picture into the grou
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찐 (jjin) — Today's One-Syllable Shortcut for '진짜'
When you listen in on conversations between Korean people these days, you'll very often hear a short "찐" tacked onto the front of a phrase. "찐친," "찐맛집," "찐텐"… Y
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내로남불 (naeronambul) — "When I Do It, It's Romance; When You Do It, It's an Affair"
Picture this: someone who nags a friend for showing up late — "Why are you always late?" — but when *they're* the one running late, they brush it off with "The
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넘사벽 (neomsabyeok): 'An Unclimbable Wall' — Awe and Resignation in a Single Word
When you scroll through Korean variety shows or the comment sections on YouTube, you'll often run into a moment where someone marvels at another person's skill
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Seongjisullye — A Fan's Pilgrimage to Their Beloved Places
After binge-watching a Korean drama, a strange feeling creeps in. You start wondering where that beach — the one where the lead cried — actually is, or that all
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열일 (yeoril): The One Word for When Your Favorite Star 'Never Stops Working'
Your favorite actor wraps up a drama and immediately shows up on a variety show, and the very next day they pop up in a new commercial too. As a fan, it's excit
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취저 (chwijeo): The Moment Something Hits Your Taste Dead-On
Have you ever had a friend recommend a café, and the second you opened the door, the lighting, the music, and the smell of coffee were all exactly to your likin
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억텐: Forced-Up Energy — Is It Real or Fake?
When you watch Korean variety shows or YouTube these days, there's always that moment where someone suddenly raises their voice two tones and shouts, "우와~ 대박! (
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Jeommechu: The One Phrase Koreans Shout Every Single Lunchtime
At 11:30 a.m., offices and schools across Korea start wrestling with the exact same problem, without fail: "What should I eat for lunch today?" Why is picking a
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Styled but Not-Styled: Today's Expression '꾸안꾸'
As you scroll through K-fashion accounts on Instagram, there's a four-syllable word that pops up in the comments unusually often: **꾸안꾸 (kkuankku)**. It shows u
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개꿀 (gaekkul) — The Exclamation Korean Youth Shout When They Score a Total Win
When you watch Korean variety shows or gaming streams, you'll often catch a moment where a contestant suddenly throws both arms up in the air and shouts "개꿀! (g
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극혐 (geukyeom): 'Extremely Disgusting' in a Single Word — Mastering Korean Internet Slang
Spend even a little time in online communities, YouTube comments, or a KakaoTalk chat with friends, and there's one expression you'll run into almost immediatel
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What Does 모쏠 Mean? A Complete Guide — You've Been Single Since Birth?
Whenever friends start swapping dating stories, this moment always seems to come up. Someone asks, "When was your first relationship?" and one person laughs she
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리즈시절 (rijeu sijeol) — 'The Prime of Your Life' in One Word
A friend flips through an old photo album, sees a picture of themselves in their early twenties, and sighs. "Ah... this was my **리즈시절 (rijeu sijeol)**." K-pop f
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We're Not Officially Dating Yet — Learning the Korean of "Talking Stage" with '삼귀다'
When you watch Korean dramas or variety shows, you'll come across scenes where two people text every day and even go on dates, yet when someone asks, "Are we da
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츤데레 (Cheundere) — Cold on the Outside, Warm on the Inside
A friend is sick and can't come to school, and that gruff, always-grumbling boy shows up out of nowhere with a bowl of rice porridge in hand, without a word. "I
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단톡방 (dantokbang) — The Chat Room Where a Korean's Day Begins and Ends
Once you make a Korean friend, there's a phrase you're almost guaranteed to hear: "Let's make a **단톡방 (dantokbang)**!" Whether it's a travel meetup, a study gro
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광탈 (gwangtal): Falling at the Speed of Light — Essential Slang for the Audition & Job-Hunting Era
A contestant on an audition show who performs a single stage and then immediately packs their bags. A job seeker who gets a "rejected" text just one day after t
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The Meaning of 현타 (hyeonta): That Moment When Reality Suddenly Hits You
The moment when you've been gaming all night, you notice the sky brightening outside, and you think, "Wait, what am I even doing right now?" The moment when you
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인생샷 (insaeng-syat): The Word for That One Perfect Photo of Your Life
Imagine you're on a trip, taking a photo with the sea in the background, and by pure luck the light is perfect, your expression looks natural, and even the angl
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잠수 타다 — When Someone Suddenly Goes Silent, Here's How Koreans Say It
You send a message to a friend, but a day, two days, even a week goes by with no reply. You could've sworn they were online, yet suddenly it's as quiet as if th
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관종 (gwanjong): A Person Starved for Attention? Mastering Korean Slang from the SNS Era
Today we're learning a piece of slang that pops up dozens of times a day across the Korean internet and social media. Have you ever heard someone say "쟤 완전 관종이야
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Read but No Reply? Master '읽씹', the Essential Slang of the KakaoTalk Generation
You sent your friend a message on KakaoTalk. A moment later, the number **1** next to your message disappears. That means they've definitely read it. But… hours
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Gone in the Blink of an Eye! Today's Korean Slang: '순삭 (sunsak)'
Have you ever ordered a whole chicken, only to snap out of it and find nothing but bones left? Or hit play on a two-hour drama that somehow felt like it was ove
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오히려 좋아 (ohiryeo joa) — The Positive Spell Koreans Use to Turn a Crisis Into a Chance
Hey everyone! Have you ever had your plans completely fall apart? Maybe you agreed to meet at a café but there were no seats, or the clothes you wanted to buy w
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팩폭 — The Truth That Hurts: Mastering Koreans' 'Fact Attack'
Imagine you tell a friend, "I think I bombed this exam," hoping for a little comfort — and instead they hit you with, "Well, you didn't study at all last week."
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프사 (peusa): What Do You Get When You Shorten "Profile Picture"? The Essential Korean Social-Media Slang
As you scroll through your KakaoTalk friends list, one day someone's little round photo suddenly changes from a puppy to a selfie. When that happens, Koreans sa
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알잘딱깔센 (aljaltakkkalsen) — 'Figure It Out and Do It Well, Precisely, Cleanly, and with Sense' in Five Syllables
At a company dinner, a manager says to a junior colleague, "For this project, could you handle it nice and **알잘딱깔센 (aljaltakkkalsen)**?" The junior smiles and n
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취존 (chwijon) — The Two-Syllable Way to Say "Respect My Taste," Explained
Imagine a friend says this to you: "Mint chocolate chip ice cream is the most delicious thing in the world." Some people would recoil, insisting it tastes like
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The Meaning of 금사빠 (geumsappa): Someone Who Falls in Love Fast — An Essential Slang Word of Korean Youth Romance
Have you ever felt your heart start pounding just because the person next to you smiled and lent you a pen on the first day of a new semester? Or spun a whole f
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Jamanchu: Not a Blind Date, but a 'Natural Encounter' — Modern Korean Dating in a Single Word
When you watch Korean dramas, you see so many scenes where two people bump into each other by chance at a café, or cross paths a few times in the same club and
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낄끼빠빠 (nkkilkkippappa): Jump In When It's Time, Bow Out When It's Time — Four Letters Born in the Land of Nunchi
Have you ever hesitated, wondering whether it's okay to jump into a conversation while your friends are chatting away excitedly? Or the opposite — that awkward
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The Meaning and Use of 럭키비키 (leokibiki) — Learning Today's Korean Positive Slang Through '원영적 사고 (Wonyeong-style Thinking)'
You missed the bus. The next one comes in 20 minutes. Normally that would be annoying, right? But some people say this instead: "Thanks to that, now I've got ti
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That Word for When You Cringe So Hard Your Hands and Feet Curl Up: A Complete Guide to '오글거리다 (ogeulgeorida)'
K-culture fans around the world! You know that feeling when you're watching a drama and the male lead makes a super cheesy love confession, or when you reread t
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폼 미쳤다 — The Ultimate Compliment Koreans Use to Show They're Blown Away
In a soccer match, a player scores a fantastic goal. On stage, an idol nails a flawless dance move. A friend shows up in a new outfit with absolutely killer sty
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여사친 / 남사친: A "Girl Who's a Friend" Is Totally Different from a "Girlfriend"
If you watch enough Korean dramas, you'll run into this scene again and again. The male lead is on the phone, laughing with another woman, and the female lead's
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You Shorten Literally Everything? The One Word That Teases Koreans' Love of Abbreviations — '별다줄'
When you watch Korean variety shows, scroll through YouTube comments, or read KakaoTalk chats, you'll be flooded with short little words that make absolutely no
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어쩔티비 (eojjeoltibi) — Teens' Playful Comeback That Bounces Off Nagging
Have you ever come across the phrase **어쩔티비 (eojjeoltibi)** while watching a Korean drama or variety show, or scrolling through your Korean friends' social medi
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흑역사 (heukyeoksa): The Past I Want to Erase — Here's How Koreans Say It
You're flipping through an old photo album when you stumble on a picture from middle school. The dated hairstyle, the awkward expression, an outfit that makes y
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Manleb — What Does '레벨 만렙 찍었다' Mean? A Top-Expert Expression Straight from Gaming
When you talk about games with your Korean friends, or watch variety shows and YouTube, you'll hear the word **만렙 (manleb)** all the time. Things like "나 이 게임 만
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Mastering "사바사" — "It Depends on the Person" in Just Three Syllables!
Imagine you ask a friend, "How's this café? Is the coffee good?" — and the answer comes back: "Hmm… that's kind of **사바사 (sa-ba-sa)**." If you're a Korean learn