A reference for terms that are frequently used in our pages:
#18: Refers to the standby song that you always sing when in a norae-bang (singing room)
Ajumma: (아줌마) a married woman characterized by short permed hair and aggressive attitude
Ajusshi: (아저씨) generally a married or older man characterized by poor sense of fashion and a huge ego
Apku (short for “Apkujong-dong”): Hip and happening area on the south side of the Han River in Gangnam. This is where the best restaurants, bars and plastic surgeons are located. A hang-out for celebrities and the stylish. Adjoining neighborhoods are Cheongdam-dong, Samsung-dong and Shinsa-dong.
Back: (백) strong and powerful social connections that can get you what you want (i.e. a job)
Black Day: (블랙 데이) Exactly 1 month after White Day (March 14th), it’s the day where singles eat “jja-jang-myun” (Korean style black bean noodles)
CC: acronym for “campus couple” or couples who meet and date during school (or sometimes work). A publicly announced school couple.
CF: acronym for “commercial film” or better known as “t.v. commercial”
Dongsaeng: (동생) a younger sister/brother
Gong-ju Byeong (공주병) literally refers to “princess sickness/disease”; a female who thinks she is a princess and above everyone else; conceited and vain.
Hoobae: (후배) a person who is younger than you at school or work
Hyung: (형) Older brother or close older male (used by males only) Being “hyung” comes with responsibilities
Kyopo (교포) A person of Korean descent who has lived in the west
Namchin: (남친/남자친구) short for “namja chingu” which means boyfriend
NG: “Not good” A term used for outtakes when filming a movie or taping a television show
Moos: (무다리) our own term derived from “moo-dari” or thick or hefty calves in reference to the shape of “moo” or Korean turnip
MV: music video
Nae-soong: (내숭) inconsistency between a girl’s true personality (i.e. extroverted), and external (i.e. introverted, shy and innocent) personality. In other words, trying to hide your true intentions self by acting sweet and innocent.
No chu nyu: (노처녀) an old maid or spinster
Nuna: (누나) a term used by males to address older sisters or older women
Mohm-sal: (몸살) a condition when your body is unable to function (i.e. get up) due to exhaustion or extreme fatigue- a uniquely Korean phenomenon. Many ajummas get this. However, “mohm-sal” affects all ages.
MT: “membership training” is a casual term that refers to trips taken for the purpose of bringing the members of a group closer together. Generally involves overnight stays, recreational activity (hiking, skiing etc) and drinking.
Oppa: (오빠) older brother or close older male (used by females only). Being “oppa” comes with responsibilities
Oppa-dongsaeng 
오빠-동생) used to describe a relationship between an older male and younger female. Also commonly used by celebrities to cover up their romantic relationship
Baram-doong-i: (바람둥이) a playboy; someone who is smooth with the ladies
Pi-bu-mi-in: (피부미인) a woman who has beautiful skin
Pepero Day: (빼빼로 데이) An informal holiday on November 11 (11.11) where peppero chocolate sticks are given out as presents
selca: (셀카): term that refers to “self-camera” or taking pictures of yourself
Sogaeting: (소개팅) blind date
Ssang-ul: (쌩얼) bare face or without make-up
Ssulung: (썰렁)a term widely used to describe cheesy jokes (literal translation: it’s cold)
Sunbae: (선배) a word used to address people that are older than you, usually in more formal situations
UCC: refers to “User Created Content” or short video clips
Ul-jjang: (얼짱) a term created by netizens to describe a person with the best face (ul-gul [얼굴]: face and jjang [짱]: best)
Yang-dari (양다리) : a two-timer; having 2 boyfriends/girlfriends at the same time
Yeochin: (여친/여자친구) short for ‘Yeoja Chingu’ which means girlfriend
Wang ja: (왕자) 6 pack or washboard abs
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Holidays and Traditions in Korea
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
November 11: Pepero Day. The chocolate covered biscuit sticks are eaten or given out as presents since it resembles the day “11.11″
Mid November : College entrance exams. (usually on the coldest day of the year) To “stick” or pass the exam, friends and family give test takers chocolates, rice cakes or “yeot” (traditional taffy) for good luck.
December 25: Christmas. Generally, the holiday is spent hanging out with close friends more than family.
January 1, New Years: Spent with family. To bring in the new year, rice-cake soup (떡국) is traditionally eaten. Yum!
January/February: Lunar New Year. One of the 2 biggest holidays of the year (the other is Chuseok) to celebrate the new lunar year. The dates varies according to the lunar calendar.
February 14, Valentines Day: Celebrated on February 14, On this day, the women give chocolates or big basket of goodies to their men. This tradition is opposite to the west.
March 14, White day: Celebrated on March 14, exactly 1 month after Valentines Day. On this day, the men give chocolates or big basket of goodies to their women
April 14:. Black day: A day for lonely singles. Celebrated exactly 1 month after White Day (see above) where single friends meet up to eat Jjajang-myun (짜장면 or Korean style black bean noodles) to mourn their status and to perhaps catch the eye of an attractive single slurping down noodles….
OK THAT MAKES IT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND!
i love these. esp. the ajumma & ajashi ones.
good terminology! but i was wondering…sometimes i see in posts “kya~~~~”- what doe that mean?is it a korean slang?
what does it mean to be an IDOL group???
I’ve always wondered what NG stands for. They use the acronym when the film/shot cannot be used.
Is it No Go or Not Good do you know?
Orchid, NG stands for “no good”
In one of your more recent posts you mentioned the term “yang-ah-chi”. I have the general idea of what it means, but what does it mean exactly?
@Chelsea
“Yang ah chi” is from how I understand it is a person that thinks they are so cool and tries to act like it. funky hair, funcky clothes, but puts it all together in a way that doesnt look genuine. It doesnt usually apply to stars, but more on the young high school kids you see handing out in apkujong pretending to be like stars.
What is WHITE DAY
I was wondering what is CF? is it a commercial???
@Sei
I’ll answer for you. Its celebrated on March 14th a month after Valentines Day. Guys are suppose to give girls gifts on White Day cuz us girls give guys chocolate or gifts on VDay.
ALSO Black Day in S.Korea is for single ppl which is celebrated on April 14th where you get with friends and eat jjajangmyun(make me hungry thinking about some) to celebrate being single hahaha so you don’t feel left out
How is oppa different from hyung? I’m confused…
Females call older brother oppa while males call their older brother hyeong.
wow kool site
me likey this site its so kool everyone likes all the korean celeb i like toos….and i thought i was crazy about them….by the way im a hmong girl so others may think im crazy…hehehe
where can i find more korean terminology like this?
haha.. this thing makes it a lot easier to understand kworld! =D
Am totally enjoying this site! I just hope the terms are updated once in a while.
Hehe, sogaeting sounds like “So gay ting” - perhaps this joke is lost on Koreans… is there a Jamaican/NW London room in here???
Thanks a lot for the data!! ^^
what is “Banjun” drama?
Hi Hany~
‘Ban jun drama’ mens reversed story
like the movie Six Sense~~
thanks a lot but what does it mean by “reversed” then? *I apologize for asking too much*
? tell me what Oppa means when used while speaking to a small little girl. I recall during a Super Junior episode one of the MC’s was cuddling up to a little girl on the show and was softly saying Oppa to her? Is this a term that can be used in gentle references as well. Thanks
reversal drama just for fun!
Banjun Drama is a comedy episode
oppa = older brother
saying oppa to a little girl? just a joke!
may not, explain the more situation
sorry for my lack of english writing ^^
thank you for enlightening me. and thank you for putting these terminologies here. it is very much appreciated. kumawo.
thank you … for telling me.
tHE wAy to cElEbrAte vAlEntinEs dAy,, and thEn whItE dAy imPrEssES mE vEry muCH<<< i’d gOnE t0 japAn eArliEr thiS monTH and I cAmE to knoW bT’ thAt And i wuS haPPy,,, iTs guD to hAVe ouR oWn wAy tO cElEbrATe oCCasIonS isn’T iT??
SArAh
P.S: lovE kAng dOng won
@Tg
What your referring to is when he was talking to the little girl. He wasn’t calling the little girl oppa he was referring to himself. It might be difficult to understand if you don’t know. I know to ppl who don’t understand Korean it either sounds like their calling the ppl they’re talking to in the third person or they’re referring to the person with their title(ex: umma, appa, hyung, oppa, unni, nuna, emo, ajussi). In English we don’t really state our name whenever we talk, but in Korean honorifics are important. So like when talking to a little kid and the kid says “I’m hungry”, the older person will say “unni make you food, okay”. Though, Korean guys do joking all the time call guys that are friends, but older which they look up to oppa as a joke nickname instead of saying just hyung. I haven’t heard girls do it though, so I don’t know.
Students in Korea study English in school? I’m just curious to know about it. Thanks.
@Steven- They probably do, everyone learns english at school!
*pokes me*
At least, here in Europe everyone does ^^’
haha i just love the definition for ajuma. “short permed hair w/ aggressive attitude”–so true, so true.
wow tHIs is A LOT OF help :p
I LOVE these terms. Korean is such a cute language. I mean that in the best way. Individual terms are more charming than Japanese ones even though Japanese is actually my favorite language. I like the Korean words for boyfriend and girlfriend.
But who is the scary guy in that photo?? Is that Jang Dong-gun?? Whoever it is, he needs to never show that face again–especially around children and the elderly. LOL!
What does “gyopong” means? Also I’ve seen this quite a lot in Korean dramas, when they wet their finger with their saliva by touching their tounge and then touch their nose?
Would appreciate your response…
It’s dongsaeng, not dongsang~
haha..im so dumb..i didnt know that on V-day girls give chocolates to boys..i thought its the same as the west…thanx for the terminology
what does hallyu mean??
your terms craaaack me up! its my first time checking out your site - me likey.
@Ta ta -
“Hallyu, or Korean Wave, is the growing aspiration to know more about Korean culture.”
Hi! I usually hear the sound [-shi] after a name of a guy, and the sound [-ah] after a girl’s name in Kdramas. Example: Young-jae [shi] and Ji-eun[ah]. Why?
hey netizens,
may i ask a quesion?
how do you pronounce
Ssang-ul
and ul-jjang?
Hoobae
and yang-dari?
please answer me!! thanks
@coldfeetwarmheart
did you mean “gyopo?” in which case it means a korean person living in a foreign country. and putting spit on the nose is done as a superstition when a body part falls asleep and you want to wake it up some people think it helps lol
@missDNA
“shi/ssi” means mister or miss/mrs. “ah” or “ya” is added at the end of a name to sound more friendly when you’re addressing a familiar person. “ah” is used for names that end with a consonant letter and “ya” is used for names that end with a vowel ex: jieun(ah) yangpa(ya)
..koreans are very studios…they spent most of their time studying…its a big thing for them to learn english coz english is the business language,very important for progressive country like korea…koreans can have english lessons in their countries but its expensive,i dont think they have a curriculum which teaches english,i dont know…thats why they go to english speaking countries like Philippines(d nearest so far to korea)to study..its more cheaper and u’ll learn surely.,
dat message is for steven….
can you add some more? cause im trying to develop the korean side in me..hihi.. ^^v gamsamnida!
@Jaydah
It is in the curriculum to learn English in S.K, but it doesn’t have much emphasis just like how in US & UK schools where ppl end up forgetting the Spanish, French & Chinese we learn when we were in middle school thru high school(though I remember everything hehe cuz I luv languages). You take it and forget it pretty much, that is if you further your understanding in the language by taking classes.
@iloveyou
It’s pretty much the way it is romanized if you can enunciate with accent, but I’ll break it down for you.
Ssang-ul Sung-ol
Ul-jjang Ol-chang
Hoobae Who-bay
Yang-dari Yung-doddy
@Popseoul
Since the terminology is common words ppl hear you can add these becuz ppl always ask what these mean.
바람둥이(Param-dongi) which is a playboy
공주병(Gong-ju Pyeong) which is princess sickness/disease which means to be conceited
Great job with site! I stumbled upon this a few weeks ago and I am addicted.
I have a question tho, I watch a lot of Korean dramas and I noticed that most of the time when the characters say sorry to each other they say “bi-yane” (or something that sounds like it). What’s the difference of that sorry from “jwe-song-hahm nida”?
Thanks!!
@ Moony
The first is (Mianhae)informal simply saying sorry and the second is (jwesonghahmnida)formal, something you say to someone you respect or don’t know, but to be very sorry.
That cleared things up!! Thanks guys! And keep on bringin’ those great news. ^^
christaluvsdrama - thanks for answering the questions and for the suggestions!!!!
wow WAT A GREAT SITE!! i have been visiting this page like EVERYDAY since i discovered it a few weeks back, its so addictive!! and i had just discovered this terminology page which makes things a lot more understandable… keep it up!!
P.S: KIM KIBUM IS SO SEXY!! *faints*
what’s “elves” and “cassepieoias”?
@ SELAH
“elves” is the name for the Super Junior fanclub and “cassiopeias” is the one for TVXQ/DBSK
lol the terminologies are great! i’m a fob and the terminologies r so cute and true lol
i really like the humor in this site… i make it a point to read all the postings. I just opened this page on the terminologies and its fun reading them. Uhmm i just learned of the Black
to PARKJIEUN : If you don’t mind, can you explain me why they’re called elves and cassiopoeias ?
Theres a question Id like to ask. In Korea I mean according to the Korean custom, do children take their surname after their fathers? or do sons take after their fathers and daughters take after their mothers?
isnt wang ja supposed to be wang JJA with double ji-eut?
@ genius yes it is pronounced wang jja
@ michelle the children take their surname after there father regardless their gender so if my dad’s lastname is yoon my lastname is yoon and so is my sister and brother’s. just like america (i’m a girl)
@ ily - Thankyou for replying. I was a bit confused because Kim Tae Hee and Lee Wan have diff surnames and they’re siblings. Han Ye Seul’s english name is Leslie Kim ( again the diff surname). But then Uhm Tae Woong and Uhm Jung Hwa are siblings and they do have the same surname. Anyways thanks again.
=)
I’m totally in love with this site…I love how you always have the latest Kpop news…but that that is always dry humor/sarcasm in addition to the entertainment news…
I loved the terminologies…I know of a fellow coworker who’s addicted to Korean dramas, and she’s always asking me the same things…she’s always asking me about the subtitles, and how doesn’t seem to go well with the words that are actually being said on the show…
In response to Michelle’s questions…lots of Korean celebrities have a stage name. They’ll either change their name for 1) there’s another celebritiy with that name (example Park Eun Hye/Hae and Lexy (her name is also Park Eun Hye/Hae) 2) they want a catchy, less “chone-she-run” (countyish/ugly) name (example Gong Yu is really Gong Ji Chul) 3) some people will just change their last name to have a better stage name (example Han Ye Seul is really Kim Ye Seul). The name changes are “highly” recommended by agent/entermainment managment…who pretty much owe the celebrities. In addition to name change, they “choose” their characters for them (example HaHa and his “young boy” character on Infinity Challenge)…
@ Jenny - thank you heaps for your explanation. =]
“wang ja” can also mean prince
when prounounced “wang jja” = 6pack
What does APKU mean? like from this post where it talks about Kim Bokyung : http://popseoul.com/2008/03/20/son-jung-wan-fall-collection-attracts-stars/
Wang-jja - Wang means King, Jja means symbol. The Chinese symbol for King looks like a six-pack. three horizontal lines with one vertical, hence, wang-jja = six pack.
Barrahm-doongie - player; it means drifting where-ever the wind takes one.
adding ‘nim’ to the end of a name or title is honorific. I.E. Hyung-nim, Seonsaeng-nim, noo-nim, abeo-nim. equivalent to japanese ’sama.’
shi is mr/ms
another reason siblings have different last names(surnames) is because they are celebrities and they have stage names or names they use in the public han yeseul is probably one of them. they could have changed their names too
Popseoul should give us more of these terms! its pretty interesting reading this lol!
you should put in dweon-jang nyeo: girls who really aren’t much, but act as if they are by placing an overemphasis on designer items and foreign things, i.e. they only drink starbucks b/c it’s expensive and foreign and they think it gives them cachet.
in my experience, -nim doesn’t exactly correlate to -sama… it’s a little less formal than that. would you refer to your teacher as -sama? otou-sama doesn’t really have a familiar ring to it (hyung-nim, on the other hand, is almost exclusively used among, and parodied with regards to, gangsters, who refer to their seniors/superiors in the gang by that term). -shi is a bit less formal than -nim, and doesn’t always mean mr/ms in the strictest sense, although its range of formality does cover it. there is also -yang, which is more formal than -shi.
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What does “selca” mean??
Bella: “Selca” is included in the list - selca: (셀카): term that refers to “self-camera” or taking pictures of yourself.
I am not sure if it is a real world, or it is just an online slang. I have used it on cyworld before and an online friend of mines was confused. I mentioned it in my message and he did not know what it meant O__o
sorry, but noticed a spelling mistake.
아주마 (X) -> 아줌마 (O)
you can use 아주마, but technically, if you want to use 표준어, which you have been for rest of the vocabs, 아줌마 is more commonly used and correct. 아주마 is a derivative of 아줌마 in 사투리.
and why did u only put Moos for 무다리?;;;
무다리 Moodari
as for Back, yes, that’s what it means and that’s how it “should” be spelled in Korean, but in reality, people say it 빽 instead of 백, but this is just for pronunciation sake.
Perhaps you should include some latest netizen vocabs such as 지못미, 안습, etc. and other important Korean holidays such as 단오 just to be more educational and informational.
Does anyone know bbo-rok means? Please help!!! Thanks
뽀록, in English bbo-rok means someone found out what you had lied about.
I want to make friend with korean people. Please invite mrwaihin@gmail.com
it’s very interesting to read these as a korean person!
it’s really hard to explain certain korean terms in english
interestinG!
i was just confused with:
-the sounds of ‘g’ and ‘k’
(i heard sum1 said kamsahamnida and gamsahamnida;))
-sounds of ‘p’ and ‘b’
-and the vowel sounds like ‘ae’, ‘oo’.'ii’
i mean is there really a big difference on how you pronounce certain words???
help!haha;)
thankS!
Woah interesting =D haha!! learn something everyday!! haha (y)
I have a question. What does wangja byung means? Six pack? Or prince?
first time to view this site and was really astonished with the terms used! very helpful indeed esp for people like me who are just beginning to study korean language and culture. (^^,)v
interestinG!
i was just confused with:
-the sounds of ‘g’ and ‘k’
(i heard sum1 said kamsahamnida and gamsahamnida;))
-sounds of ‘p’ and ‘b’
-and the vowel sounds like ‘ae’, ‘oo’.’ii’
i mean is there really a big difference on how you pronounce certain words???
help!haha;)
thankS!
——————–
1. The letters g and k are the same in Korean (ᄀ), I think ‘g’ is just written sometimes (in English) so that non-Korean speaking people do not stress the ‘k’ sound - for if its stressed too much, it becomes a different letter: ᄁ or ᄏ. So it is sometimes more safe to use the letter ‘g.’
2. The same rule for b and p (ᄇ). The actual sound is a mix between the two. Example: “선배” which means “senior” is pronounced “seonbae” with a strict ‘b’ sound. Although some words that begin with this letter like “바람” (”param” = wind) are pronounced with more ‘p’ sound.
3. The sounds ['Ae' = 애], ['Oo' = 우], & ['Ii' = 이] are three completely different letters in the Korean language. And YES, if you pronounce these vowels incorrectly, you are screwing up the word and people are not likely to understand you..
Imagine saying
~ “에기” (Egi = ???)” when you meant “애기” (Aegi = baby)…
or
~ “배밀” (Paemil = ???) when you meant “비밀” (Pimil = secret).
I know that was a wordy explanaition, but I hope it helps. Ahhh…. ᄏ ᄏ ᄏ….. I’m so silly.
Ohh and to B -
Wangja Byeong 왕자병, means like “Prince Complex/Disease” which is the same as the above description of gongju byeong, only for guys. I think. haha
nina,
Thx for the explaination! I was so confused with the terms. Thx a lot! =)
wow niNa
super ThanKs!!!
haHa..
im enlightened!
Gamsahamnida!
kamsahamnida …..
thank’s …
hehe i like March 14 xD
@miss DNA
YAY FULL HOUSE!!!!!
WOW thanks a bunch mwah
Question >< :
How do you pronounce “Jja” and when the word has the double “Ss-” in it?
@TOP♥ - “Jja”, in basic, sounds like “cha”. But it really depends on the word itself cause sometimes the double j sounds like a regular j. For example, 짠 (Jjan) which is similar to Ta-da in English, is pronounced like “chan”. Whereas 짱 (Jjang) meaning best has more of a “j” sound to it.
As for the Ss- … I don’t understand that one so well ^^”
I’ve heard it used on SGB when they were introducing SHINee and the MC pronounced it wrong (instead of 샤이니, he said 쌰이니). But other than that, I have no idea. Sorry.
haiiii haiiiiii
hepi nu yier….hehehe