Slang
Korean expressions and words about Slang, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Slang
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복붙 (bokpput) — 'Copy and Paste,' and the Sound of 'Not Even Trying'
If you ask a Korean friend for their bank account number over KakaoTalk, nine times out of ten this is what comes back: **"잠깐만, 복붙해서 보낼게."** (jamkkanman, **bokp
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병맛 (byeongmat) — It Looks Badly Made, But You Can't Stop Watching
**병맛 (byeongmat)** describes something that is absurd, sloppy, and makes no logical sense — and is funny precisely because of that. Say you're watching YouTube
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대환장 파티 (daehwanjang pati): The Five Syllables That Turn a Ruined Day Into a Laugh
**대환장 파티 (daehwanjang pati)** means "a situation where so many things go wrong at once that nobody can keep their head straight — an absolute mess." Plates are
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댕댕이 (daengdaengi) — The Word That Was Born When People Misread 멍멍이 with Their Eyes
**댕댕이 (daengdaengi)** is Korean internet slang for a dog or puppy — a cute, warm-hearted way to call one. Spend even a few minutes on Korean social media and yo
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단호박 (danhobak) — the Korean slang for someone who tells it to you straight
**단호박 (danhobak)**, in the sense you'll find in the dictionary, is the name of a sweet-tasting squash — that round vegetable with dark green skin and bright yel
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드립치다 (deuripchida) — The One-Liner You Toss Out for a Laugh: The Humor Grammar of Young Korea
**드립치다 (deuripchida)** means to toss out a funny line off the cuff, just to get a laugh. It doesn't describe a gag you prepared in advance — it's the joke that
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돈맥경화 (donmaekgyeonghwa) — What Koreans Say When the Money Stops Flowing
Around the 25th of the month, when credit card bills come due, a familiar phrase starts floating around Korean group chats. The paycheck definitely landed, but
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「각이다 (gagida)」 — One Look at the Sky and You Know: The Word Koreans Use to Read a Situation
If you're walking down the street with a Korean friend and the sky suddenly goes dark, your friend might say, “어, 비 올 각인데? (eo, bi ol gaginde?)” — “Uh, looks li
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갓성비 (gatseongbi) — The Word That Makes You Look at the Price Tag Twice
**갓성비 (gatseongbi)** means that something's quality is god-tier (신, *sin*, "god") compared to what it costs. In other words, it packs the gasp of "I can't belie
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갓띵작 (gattingjak) — The Highest Praise the Korean Internet Ever Invented
When you're talking dramas with a Korean friend, there comes a moment when "재미있다 (jaemiitda)" — "it's fun" — just doesn't cut it. **갓띵작 (gattingjak)** is the wo
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장난 아니다 — The First Thing Out of a Korean's Mouth When Something Blows Them Away
**장난 아니다 (jangnan anida)** means “the degree of something goes so far past ordinary that it's astonishing.” Word for word it's “it's not a joke” — as in, “this
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제곧내 (jegonnae) — The Body Isn't Empty; It Means I Already Said It All in the Title
If you've ever clicked on a Korean message-board post with a promising title, found nothing but a single "ㅋㅋ" in the body, and felt cheated — these four letters
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저메추 (jeomechu) — The Three Syllables Koreans Trade Every Day at Six in the Evening
At six in the evening, almost the same message goes up in Korean group chats nearly every single day. **저메추 (jeomechu)** is an abbreviation made from the first
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짠테크 (jjantekeu) — When Pinching Pennies Becomes an Investment Strategy
**짠테크 (jjantekeu)** means taking the act of scrimping — down to the price of one coffee, down to a 3,000-won delivery fee — and treating the money you save that
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찐텐 (jjinten) — Not Forced Hype, but Hype That Genuinely Erupts
**찐텐 (jjinten)** is a shortened form of **진짜 텐션 (jinjja tensyeon)**, “real tension,” and it refers to the buzzing, excited energy that bursts out of you all on
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족보 (jokbo) — From Family Genealogy to Exam Files: Slang Every Korean Student Knows
**족보 (jokbo)** means a book that records a family's lineage and blood relations — and, among students today, it is also slang for the past exam papers and study
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무해력 (muhaeryeok) — The Power of Someone Who Could Never Hurt a Soul, Korea's Kindest Compliment Right Now
**무해력 (muhaeryeok)** means "the soothing charm that radiates from a person or creature who seems like they could never do harm to anyone — so much so that simpl
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문찐 (munjjin) — Someone Who Has No Idea What's Trending
**문찐 (munjjin)** describes a person who barely knows any of the songs, dramas, memes, or slang that are trending right now — someone in the dark about pop cultu
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MZ세대 (MZ sedae) — The Word Plastered All Over Korean Ads and News: What's Its Real Temperature?
**MZ세대 (MZ sedae)** is a Korean-made coinage that bundles Millennials (M) and Gen Z (Z) into a single lump — a label for the young generation born roughly betwe
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느좋 (neujot) — That Good Feeling Caught in a Single Photo
**느좋 (neujot)** is a shortened form of **느낌 좋다 (neukkim jota)**, "the feeling is good." It means you like the mood coming off a person, a place, a photo, or an
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능력자 (neungnyeokja) — The One Line You Throw at the Friend Who Actually Got the Tickets
**능력자 (neungnyeokja)** means a person whose ability or power to get something done stands out. It's a dignified Sino-Korean word that sits properly in the dicti
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뇌정지 (noejeongji) — Those Three Seconds When Your Brain Just Stops, and How Koreans Say It
**뇌정지 (noejeongji)** refers to the state where your head stops dead for a moment and not a single thought will come out. When the door code you've punched in ev
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오늘만 산다 (oneulman sanda) — The One Line That Dumps Everything on Tomorrow's You
**오늘만 산다 (oneulman sanda)** means handing tomorrow's problems over to tomorrow's you and betting everything on today's fun. The moment you open a delivery app a
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핑프 (pingpeu) — The Person Who Asks What Three Keystrokes Would Have Answered
**핑프 (pingpeu)** is a half-teasing name for someone who asks other people first instead of looking up something that even a tiny bit of searching would turn up
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빵터지다 (ppangteojida) — The Laugh You Tried to Hold In, and the Word Koreans Use Every Day
**빵터지다 (ppangteojida)** means laughter you've been holding in suddenly bursting out loud, all at once. The quieter the place you're in, the more often this word
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슬세권 (seulsegwon): The Neighborhood Where Slippers Get You Everywhere
**슬세권 (seulsegwon)** describes a neighborhood where everything you need for daily life — convenience stores, cafés, restaurants, clinics — sits close enough tha
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심멎 (simmeot) — The One Word for When Something Is So Good Your Heart Stops
**심멎 (simmeot)** means that something is so startling and thrilling it stops your heart. When an idol on stage suddenly looks straight into the camera, when the
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Sojanggak — How to Say 'I Have to Save This' in One Word
**소장각 (sojanggak)** means "it's a waste to just let this slide by — this is worth saving and pulling back out again and again." The moment your hand freezes whi
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유리멘탈 (yurimental) — A Heart That Breaks Like Glass, and How Koreans Poke Fun at Themselves
**유리멘탈 (yurimental)** — literally "glass mental" — describes a heart that breaks as easily as glass: a fragile mental toughness that gets badly shaken and caves
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밥맛이다 (bammasida) — "You Put Me Off My Food"
**밥맛이다 (bammasida)** describes someone whose words or attitude are so off-putting that the very thought of food goes away — in plain terms, "that person is the
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번아웃 (beonaut) — The Word That's Left After Everything Has Burned Down
**번아웃 (beonaut)** refers to the state you end up in after trying hard for so long that the fuel in your body and mind has burned all the way down — no strength
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촉이 좋다 (chogi jota) — The Person Who Just Knows, Without Being Able to Explain Why
**촉이 좋다 (chogi jota)** means having an unusually sharp sense for what's coming, or for what someone is really thinking — catching it before anyone else does, wi
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돌직구 (doljikgu) — The People Who Don't Talk Around It and Throw It Straight Down the Middle
**돌직구 (doljikgu)** means saying what you have to say straight out, without stopping to check the other person's position or feelings — or the remark itself, del
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뒷목 잡다 (dwinmok japda) — Why Koreans Grab the Back of Their Neck When They Get Angry
**뒷목 잡다 (dwinmok japda)** describes the state of being so exasperated, or so angry, that you feel like you're about to keel over backwards. Read literally, it's
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어장관리 (eojang-gwalli) — The Person Who Won't Reel You In or Let You Go
**어장관리 (eojang-gwalli)** means keeping several people who have feelings for you close by without dating any of them — giving each one just enough attention that
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강약약강 (gangyagyakgang) — Bowing to Those Above, Barking at Those Below
**강약약강 (gangyagyakgang)** describes the attitude of shrinking to nothing in front of powerful people and suddenly getting loud in front of weaker ones — or the
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급식체 (geupsikche) — The Teen Slang Your Textbook Never Taught You
**급식체 (geupsikche)** is the umbrella term for the exaggerated, playful way of talking used by kids who are still eating school lunches — in other words, teenage
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혜자스럽다 (hyejaseureopda) — "All This for This Price?" The Word Koreans Use When They're Impressed
**혜자스럽다 (hyejaseureopda)** means that the amount or quality you get is surprisingly generous for the price — in other words, seriously good value for money. Whe
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인만추 (inmanchu): The Three Syllables for People Who Gave Up on 'Meeting Naturally'
**인만추 (inmanchu)** is short for **인위적인 만남 추구 (inwijeogin mannam chugu)** — 'the pursuit of artificial encounters' — and it means you **prefer to meet a romantic
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정줄놓 (jeongjulnoh) — Ever Let Go of the String Holding Your Mind?
When you doze off on the subway, open your eyes, and the station name outside the window is one you've never seen before. When you open the fridge and forget wh
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칼출 (kalchul) — The People Who Arrive at 8:59
칼출 (kalchul) means showing up at work at exactly your official start time — not a minute early, not a minute late. The person who steps into the ground-floor el
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물올랐다 (mul-ollatda) — The Korean Slang for "You're at Your Peak Right Now"
**물올랐다 (mul-ollatda)** means that someone's skills, looks, or overall condition have gotten noticeably better lately — that this, right now, is their peak. The
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물타기 (multagi) — Why Do People Suddenly Change the Subject When You Call Them Out?
**물타기 (multagi)** started out as a word for pouring water into liquor or milk to thin it down. Today it means **dragging in some unrelated topic to blur the foc
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뇌피셜 (noepisyeol) — The 'Official Announcement' That Came Out of My Own Head
**뇌피셜 (noepisyeol)** refers to putting forward a thought that came from nowhere but your own head as if it were an official announcement — or to the claim itsel
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뼈 때리다 (ppyeo ttaerida) — If It Hurts, That Means It's True
**뼈 때리다 (ppyeo ttaerida)** literally means “to hit the bone.” It describes saying something so exactly right that it hurts — putting your finger precisely on a
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떡상 (tteoksang) — What Koreans Say When a Price or a Person's Fame Skyrockets Overnight
**떡상 (tteoksang)** is internet slang for a price, a view count, or someone's popularity shooting up explosively in a very short time. When something that cost 3
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안물안궁 (anmul-angung) — Cutting "I didn't ask and I'm not curious" down to four syllables
**안물안궁 (anmul-angung)** is a piece of slang that squeezes "안 물어봤고, 안 궁금하다 (an mureobwatgo, an gunggeumhada)" — "I didn't ask, and I'm not curious" — into four s
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빌런 (billeon) — Not a Supervillain, Just *That* Person
**빌런 (billeon)** started out as the English word *villain* — the bad guy in a movie. But in Korean today it means **someone whose over-the-top behavior in a giv
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복세편살 (bokse-pyeonsal) — "Live Easy in a Complicated World": Four Syllables That Hold a Korean Survival Strategy
**복세편살 (bokse-pyeonsal)** is a four-syllable compression of 복잡한 세상 편하게 살자 (bokjaphan sesang pyeonhage salja), "let's live easy in a complicated world." It means
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취향저격 (chwihyangjeogyeok) — The Moment Something Hits Your Taste Dead Center
**취향저격 (chwihyangjeogyeok)** describes the feeling when an object, a song, a shop, or a piece of work fits your taste so exactly that it's as if someone took ai