Slang
Korean expressions and words about Slang, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Slang
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사이버 렉카 (saibeo rekka) — The Name for Whoever Reaches the Crash Site First
When something blows up on the Korean internet, the first thing to arrive at the scene isn't a reporter or the police. It's a video. Within hours of a story bre
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돈쭐내다 (donjjullaeda) — the Korean slang for punishing someone with money instead of a scolding
**돈쭐내다 (donjjullaeda)** is what happens when word gets out that a shop has done something kind and customers deliberately flock there to buy things and push up
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억까 (eok-kka) — “Isn't That Just Nitpicking to Tear Someone Down?”
**억까 (eok-kka)** means tearing someone down by forcing a flaw onto them when the evidence doesn't really support it — or that kind of unfair criticism itself. W
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갬성 (gaemseong): The Word You Get When a Single ㅣ Sneaks Into 감성
갬성 is a playfully twisted version of 감성, and it means the state of being completely soaked in a mood — or the photos, music, and places that are clearly going f
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일코 (ilko) — The Art of Tucking Your Fandom Out of Sight for a While
**일코 (ilko)** is short for **일반인 코스프레 (ilbanin koseupeure)**, or 'ordinary-person cosplay.' It means being someone who is completely obsessed with something whi
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인급동 (ingeupdong) — Three Syllables Born on a YouTube Screen, and How Koreans Actually Use Them
**인급동 (ingeupdong)** is a shortened form of **인기 급상승 동영상 (ingi geupsangseung dongyeongsang)**, “rapidly rising popular videos” — YouTube’s trending list. It ref
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이생망 (isaengmang) — Four Syllables That Toss Out “This Life Is Ruined” Like a Joke
**이생망 (isaengmang)** is a four-syllable shortening of **이번 생은 망했다 (ibeon saeng-eun manghaetda)**, “this life of mine is ruined” — meaning this go at life is alr
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Jjamba — The Skill Time Leaves in Your Fingertips
**짬바 (jjamba)** is a Korean neologism for the seasoned know-how that soaks into the body of someone who has done the same work for years — in other words, the s
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졌잘싸 (jyeotjalssa) — The Three Syllables for When You Lose and People Still Clap
**졌잘싸 (jyeotjalssa)** is a three-syllable contraction of **졌지만 잘 싸웠다 (jyeotjiman jal ssawotda)**, "we lost, but we fought well." The result was a defeat, but th
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칼답 (kaldap) — The Person Whose Replies Come Back Knife-Fast
**칼답 (kaldap)** means a reply that comes flying back the instant you send a message — an answer as fast and clean as a knife. You send a KakaoTalk message, and
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케바케 (kebake) — 'It Depends,' Squeezed into Three Syllables
**케바케 (kebake)** means "it varies from case to case" — the idea that you can't give one clear-cut answer, because the outcome changes with the situation. Once y
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맵찔이 (maepjjiri) — The Name Tag People Who Can't Handle Spice Put On Themselves
**맵찔이 (maepjjiri)** means someone who isn't good at eating spicy food. It isn't standard Korean and you won't find it in the dictionary — it's slang that took r
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Manbanjalbu — The Four Syllables You Drop Into a New Group Chat
**만반잘부 (manbanjalbu)** is a first greeting built from the first syllable of each word in **만나서 반가워, 잘 부탁해 (mannaseo bangawo, jal butakhae)** — "Nice to meet you
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만찢남 (manjjinnam) — The Word You Reach For When a Face Looks Like It Tore Its Way Out of a Comic
**만찢남 (manjjinnam)** means a man so unrealistically good-looking that he seems to have torn his way out of a comic book. Korean has plenty of ways to compliment
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마성의 매력 (maseong-ui maeryeok) — The Phrase for When Even You Can't Explain the Attraction
**마성의 매력 (maseong-ui maeryeok)** describes a bewitching, spellbound kind of appeal — the pull you feel toward someone even though, when you check off the reason
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멘탈 잡다 (mental japda) — Taking Hold of a Mind That's Come Undone
**멘탈 잡다 (mental japda)** means to take hold of a mind badly shaken by a shock or a mistake and pull it back into place. The moment you bomb the first period of
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무지성 (mujiseong) — Switching Off Your Brain and Just Going for It
**무지성 (mujiseong)** describes the attitude of doing something without weighing it at all — brain off, just go. It's an internet coinage built from the Sino-Kore
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낚이다 (nakkida) — The Word for Laughing at Yourself for Taking the Bait
**낚이다 (nakkida)** means to be taken in by someone's words or a trick. Literally it describes a fish getting caught on a hook or in a net, but these days, when a
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너 T야? (neo ti-ya?) — When You Wanted Comfort and Got a Solution Instead
“나 무릎 다 까졌어, 너무 아파.” *(na mureup da kkajyeosseo, neomu apa. — “My knee is all scraped up, it hurts so much.”)*
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뇌섹남 — The Word for Falling in Love with a Mind, Not a Face
**뇌섹남 (noesengnam)** means “a man whose brain is sexy” — a guy you fall for because of the way he talks, his quick wit, and how he unpacks what he knows, rather
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오지다 (ojida) — the exclamation one notch stronger than '대박'
**오지다 (ojida)** means that something is so great, so far past what you expected, that it knocks you sideways. The moment a roller coaster tips over into its fir
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레게노 (regeno) — How One Misread Word Became an Exclamation
**레게노 (regeno)** is a deliberate misreading of **레전드 (rejeondeu)** — the Korean rendering of “legend.” It’s the exclamation you let out when what’s in front of
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4차원 (sachawon) — The Tone Behind Saying "쟤 좀 4차원이야"
**4차원 (sachawon)** describes someone whose thoughts or actions are so different from everyone else's that you can never guess which way they'll bounce next. Sin
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시성비 (siseongbi) — the modern word for measuring how well you spent your time
**시성비 (siseongbi)** means weighing how much you get out of something against the time you put into it — in other words, “time-to-value efficiency.” Sneak a glan
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Tangjinjaem — Feeling Rich on Ten Thousand Won, and the Joy of Blowing It All Today
**탕진잼 (tangjinjaem)** means the fun of spending a small, affordable amount of money all at once — blowing it in one satisfying go. It's the week after payday, y
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떡실신 (tteoksilsin) — The Word for Being Completely Wiped Out, and When Koreans Say It
The night you finally haul the last moving box inside. The dawn after a twelve-hour overtime shift. The moment right after you've watched your favorite singer p
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완내스 (wannaeseu) — The Three Syllables That Pop Out When Something Is Exactly Your Taste
**완내스 (wannaeseu)** is a shortened form of **완전 내 스타일 (wanjeon nae seutail)**, "totally my style," and it's the little exclamation that jumps out when an object
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알빠노 (albbano) — When '내가 알 바냐' Shrank to Three Syllables
**알빠노 (albbano)** is internet slang meaning "what's that got to do with me? — that's not my business." Whatever other people do or say, I'm not interested and I
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반박불가 (banbakbulga) — Four Syllables for Throwing Up Your Hands When You've Got Nothing Left to Say
Scroll through an internet comment section or your friends' group chat and you'll keep hitting lines that contain nothing but four syllables. **반박불가 (banbakbulg
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부캐 (bukae) — On Weekends, I Become Someone Else
**부캐 (bukae)** is a shortened form of 부(副)캐릭터 — literally "sub-character" — meaning "another me" that you take out and use depending on the situation, separate
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병아리 (byeongari) — How a Little Yellow Chick Became the Nickname for "the New Kid"
**병아리 (byeongari)** means a chick — a baby chicken that hasn't finished growing — and, figuratively, a person who started something so recently that they're sti
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추구미 (chugumi) — The Vibe of the Me I Want to Become
**추구미 (chugumi)** means the version of yourself you want to become — the image and atmosphere you are reaching for on your own. Anyone who has flipped through t
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도른자 (doreunja) — When "You're Insane" Becomes the Highest Compliment
**도른자 (doreunja)** is Korean internet slang for a person who throws themselves into something so far past the line of common sense — or pulls off something so a
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어쩌라고 (eojjeorago) — The Four Syllables That Shut a Conversation Down
**어쩌라고 (eojjeorago)** is what you snap back at someone when you mean, “So what exactly am I supposed to do about it?” It’s less a question than a declaration: n
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얼굴천재 (eolgulcheonjae) — When “Handsome” Just Doesn’t Cover It
**얼굴천재 (eolgulcheonjae)** describes someone so unrealistically handsome or beautiful that you could call them “a genius on the strength of their face alone.” Th
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개이득 (gae-ideuk) — The One Word Koreans Blurt Out When They Score Big Without Even Trying
**개이득 (gae-ideuk)** is the exclamation that jumps out when what you got is absurdly out of proportion to what you put in. It means something like "this is a tot
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갓벽 (gatbyeok) — What Koreans Say When '완벽 (wanbyeok)' Just Isn't Enough
**갓벽 (gatbyeok)** is an internet coinage that takes **완벽 (wanbyeok)** — "perfect" — and pushes it one notch higher. **갓벽 means "so perfect it doesn't look like
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급발진 (geupbaljin) — The Moment Someone Goes From Perfectly Still to Suddenly Flooring It
**급발진 (geupbaljin)** describes what happens when a person who was sitting there perfectly calm suddenly — with zero warning — gets angry or worked up, and their
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Gunssak — When Your Mouth Reacts Before You Do
**군싹 (gunssak)** is internet slang, a shortened form of **군침이 싹 도네 (gunchimi ssak done)** — "my mouth is watering." It means something looks so good that just s
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핫플 (hatpeul) — The Very Spot Everyone's Rushing to Right Now
**핫플 (hatpeul)** means the place people are flocking to most these days — a spot sitting right in the middle of the trend. It was made by shortening the English
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존잘/존예 (jonjal/jonye) — The Words That Jump Out Before You Can Think
**존잘 (jonjal) and 존예 (jonye) are Korean internet slang meaning "insanely handsome" and "insanely pretty," respectively.** The hundreds of comments that pile up
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중꺾마 (jung-kkeok-ma) — The Words You Reach For When You're Losing
**중꺾마 (jung-kkeok-ma)** is a contraction of **중요한 것은 꺾이지 않는 마음 (jungyohan geoseun kkeokkiji anneun ma-eum)** — "what matters is a heart that doesn't break" — bu
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클라스가 다르다 (keullaseuga dareuda) — Not Just "Good," But On a Whole Different Tier
**클라스가 다르다 (keullaseuga dareuda)** means that someone's skill or level is so far ahead that you can't even line them up next to everyone else for comparison. De
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레전드 (lejeondeu): That Moment You'll Be Talking About for Years
**레전드 (lejeondeu)** means “a moment, a scene, or a person so amazing — or, in the opposite direction, so absurd — that it refuses to be forgotten and keeps gett
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미쳤다 (michyeotda) — How a Word That Used to Be an Insult Became the Highest Compliment
**미쳤다 (michyeotda)** means that the degree of something has crossed the line of common sense. Literally it says a person's mind isn't sound, but the 미쳤다 that Ko
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밈 (mim) — The Word You Can't Follow Today If You Missed It Yesterday
**밈 (mim)** means a short piece of trending content that spreads online as people copy it and tweak it a little along the way — or the phrase, scene, or image t
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노답 (nodap) — The Two-Syllable Word Koreans Use to Call a Situation Hopeless
**노답 (nodap)** is internet slang shortened from 답이 없다 (dabi eopda), "there's no answer." It means that no matter what you try, no solution is in sight. Think of
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뇌절 (noejeol) — How to Say 'Enough Already' in One Word
**뇌절 (noejeol)** means repeating the same words or actions so often that everyone watching gets sick of it — or pushing something well past the point where it s
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필수템 (pilsutem) — The One Thing Your Day Falls Apart Without
**필수템 (pilsutem)** means "a thing you can't be without — something you absolutely have to bring." It's a coined word: the Sino-Korean 필수 (必須, pilsu, "essential"
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빡치다 (ppakchida) — A Word for the Speed of Anger, Not Its Size
**빡치다 (ppakchida)** means to get so angry that heat surges up inside you all at once. It is not a word you can bring into polite company. It is strong slang use