Korean Slang For Internet and Text Messaging
Korean Slang For Internet and Text Messaging
Korean Slang For Internet and Text Messaging
SOUNDS
- Noise used for laughter, the more 's the more the person is laughing.
- Noise used for laughter, the more 's the more the person is laughing
EMOTICONS
/ - Tears
^^ - Happy eyes
- Interchangeable with ^^ (rarely used)
(= orz)
''b - Thumbs up
@.@ - Confusion
[any emoticon] + ;; - embarrassment (i.e., ^^;;). It can also just be used by itself to
indicate embarrassment. The more semi colons the more one is indicating they are
embarrassed.
_ - ?
. - ?
. - ?
. - ?
~~~~ used to make a statement more friendly, especially at the end of conversation.
imagine over-extended sound at the end.
~~~~
~~~~ !
SHORTENED WORDS
Shortened
form
Real word
Ok
Comment
(Sunday)
(Wednesday)
Thank you
It's ok
Congratulations
Hi
Bye
Tomorrow
(Ah) I see!
Just
How
style that is considered more cute. However these should not be used in formal conversation,
people who you have a formal relationship with and elders (cases vary).
Style/form
Comment
This is not to be confused with the real grammar pattern A/V + () which
turns a adjective or verb into a noun.
A/V + / (instead
of A/V + ())
call you)
meet)
Examples:
Simple spelling
substitutions
Adding as the to
words.
Examples:
! !
Examples:
Examples:
(to be added)
Examples:
Examples:
Using instead of
(as )
Some words are spelled the way they are commonly pronounced.
Examples:
? ?
? ?
Examples:
words
~ instead of ~
Examples:
Noise used for laughter, used when (especially when girls are)
Learning Korean can be very time consuming. But using social media can help you gather quick,
useful words and phrases.
If you dont have time to read our blog, please come visit us on Facebook andTwitter. We have a
Korean word of the day, which is incorporated into a useful sentence. By building your
vocabulary bank, you will start to create your own sentencesonce youve mastered grammar
rules, etc. Here is a good Korean grammar tip to start off with:
Remember, in Korean, the sentence structure is Subject + Object + Verb. In English, its
Subject + Verb + Object.
To help you learn Korean through social media, I started a few Twitter conversations and
hashtags: #Korean, #KoreanWordofTheDay, and #KoreanTipOfTheDay. But, for purposes of
simplicity, I will use the hashtag, #KoreanLanguage going forward. You too can start your own
Twitter hashtag to catalog your Korean vocabulary or conversations! If you need any help along
the way, please send me a tweet! I would love to follow your language learning journey on
Twitter.
Below are a summary of tweets for building your vocabulary. They are easy to digest; useful
Korean words and phrases that you wont necessarily find using an online translator like Google
Translate.
! = I miss you!
If someone asks you what you ate for lunch, you can say, [name of food] . It
means, I ate [name of food].
A compliment girls say to each other is pretty sister = (to older sister) &
(to younger sister).
. = Do not mention it. Use this phrase as an alternate way of saying Youre
welcome.
Korean phrase for the weekend: ! (Have a great weekend!) These are the
honorific/polite versions.
Korean slang word of the day: (transliteration: dong an); baby face.
Korean text messaging tips: is the equivalent of a hehe and is the equivalent to an
LOL or ROFL. means no.
Korean text messaging tip: means yes in text talk. Have questions about Korean text
abbreviations? Find me on KakaoTalk: lindasauce.
You are always welcome to send me a tweet or post on our Facebook account any questions
you may have. I will try to answer all of your questions in a timely manner. If you would like to
know the transliteration of any of these phrases, and hear how to pronounce each word and
phrase, we creating a podcast for you.
Kakaostory. (This one! I have this one! Hahaha!) Actually, this one is
for smartphones, tablets and other devices that can use internet aside
from computers, laptops, and pc notebooks.(I'm not good at technology,
anyway.) Most of my students don't have Facebook but almost all of
them have Kakaostory. One can post statuses, pictures and receives
Me2day. I've included this one since I have it. However, I usually don't
use it. (I can't even remember my log in id and password. hoho!) I
couldn't understand even a bit Korean when I joined this site... and what
the... all I could see on the homepage is Korean!!! Well, I can describe
this site like facebook, too. They system is different of course. There's no
instant chatbox but there's like message page, I can say. The good thing
about this site is that (like Twitter) you can identify who is the real
celebrity and who is not. A celebrity has something like 'verified' or ' /
' (check mark) below his/her profile name. Most Korean celebrities do
have it but they just post really sometimes. :)
Last one is Twitter. Who does not know about it?? I made a twitter just
to follow and mention my favorite Korean star! :) Most of Korean stars
have it and they post, yeah, quite much! ^^
Anyway, I only have one student who has it and most of my students tell
me "It's hard to use," when I try to ask them Hoho! Most of my Korean
friends don't have it, too.
Aside from these sites, Koreans join other social networks to meet new
people and explore new things. Though some of them can speak and chat
in English, I think it's also better for us to know some of the words they
use to express themselves online.
Kakaotalk
Koreans value formality but when they get closer, words are usually
shortened to sound cute especially when chatting. Let's try looking at
some:
just know the Korean alphabet and youll understand this. Anyway, it
means okay or simply ok.
sounds like giggling in Korean. You can put as much as you want
after you made a joke or told someone a funny statement (and I am
so used to it that I even make this sound after telling a joke or make
a funny statement in person!!! kkk).
from (haha) and it means like 'haha!' :) Like , you can put as
much as you want. The more 's, the more the person is laughing.
sounds like sobbing when someone cries (and this is what I often use)
(bang-ga bang-ga)
means hello!
Well...
Just remember that you can use most of them when you are using
'banmal' or talking to someone is younger than you or your very close
friends. (I guess, I need to create a hub about the formal speech level
Koreans have.. hoho!)
There's a lot more but those that I discussed here are the ones I usually
use. I just don't want to share something that I am not really sure of!
Hoho! But anyway, don't worry! I'll keep this updated. If I learn new ones,
I'll tell you! ^^
The last one for now is...
short for "" and it means "bye" or g2g. means 2 in SinoKorean numbers.
P.S... ^^
If you want you to add some more, feel free to do so!
The comment box is open... (Thank you!) ~~~~
If youre coming to Korea, you will probably have plenty of opportunity to text in Korean. But even if
you dont care to learn how to text in Korean, these little Korean texting slang tidbits will do wonders in
understanding your Korean friends via text. Learn these Korean texting slang, and you just might
make your Korean friends chuckle
(heol)
This Korean slang term doesnt necessarily have a meaning. Its mostly used to express a mild shock
or surprise and at times disappointment. This is mainly used as a non-positive response.
Korean texting example #1:
A: ? (Where are you?)
B: , ? (Home, why?)
A: (heol, we were supposed to meet)
Korean texting example #2:
A: ! (I shaved my head!)
B: (heol)
Korean texting example #3:
A: !! (I ate pigeon!!)
B: (heol)
Note: This texting slang is age sensitive. It is spoken (mostly by very young people), but (heol) can
be seen in Korean texts used by people up to their late 20s.
(weolyol) = (weolyoil)
This is the Korean texting equivalent of shortening Monday to Mon which is always useful for all
the worlds lazy Korean texters. This can be used for any day of the week, essentially the latter part of
(yoil) is shortened to (yol).
Korean texting example #1:
A: ? (Should we meet mon?)
B: (Lets meet thur)
Have any more Korean texting terms to add? Feel free to add in the comment section!
Koreans are creative with their texting and netspeak and its no wonder Korea has millions of smartphone and
cell phone users and internet is readily available in even the remotest corners of the country! Emoticons and
expressions are the fun part of text and netspeak; they convey a wide range of emotions and they even cover
situations you probably havent thought of yet!
There honestly hundreds and hundreds of emoticons and variations thereof, so generally speaking something
upturned or bubbly indicates positive or silly feelings; dashes, dots, semi-colons, and anything down-turned
indicate negative emotions; asterisks represent blushing or cuteness, and anything repeated shows emphasis or
frequency. Lets explore the emotions: happiness, excitement, laughter, love, sadness, anger, and a couple of
others just for fun!
Feelin Good
The most ubiquitous Korean emoticon is the smiley or happy face: ^^ . This little icon is designed to look like two
eyes that are squinted shut from smiling so hard. You can also use punctuation or Korean letters to create the
mouth and nose: ^_^ , ^.^ , ^o^ , ^^, , '' , ^u^ , h_h . An open mouth implies that you are laughing or
shouting joyfully. You can also some parentheses to make a head for your smiley face, like so (^o^).
Add a friendly feel to your note couple of these ~ . These wavy tilde lines sweeten your words and make the final
sound long and drawn out. For example, Hi~~~ sounds super-friendly: Hiiii. Compare Hello and Hello~.
Doesnt that wavy line make you feel nice? I feel better already! These marks can also place emphasis, for
instance, Happy~~~ emphasizes your happiness.
Excitement!
If youre feeling excited about something, youve just gotta throw your hands up in the air and sing: \(^0^)/. Or you
can reply to your friends good news with a well-placed, ! (oo-wa!; meaning, Wow!), ! (a-ssa!; meaning,
Oh yeah! or Awesome!) or ! (jjang!; meaning Boss!, Super!, or Great!). Send a little encouragement their way
with a ! or !, which sounds like Fighting! and means, You can do it! Lets go! or Fighting spirit!
Or you could show them the stars in your eyes, ..
Laughter
If youre feeling extra giddy, imitate the sound of laughter with Korean characters: or (keke or keukeu,
often written kk) and (hh) mean chuckles or laughing. Write giggles with (kede kede), short
for
or
(puhaha) means bwahaha or lol.
Flirting
A few giggles just wont cut it when youre feeling lovey-dovey. Try a wink, ^.~ , a kiss with puckered lips, ^3^ , or
a loving stare, . . Show off your flirty face or indicate that youre blushing from their compliment with one of
these, *^.^* or pay a compliment to the man in your life by calling him Superman and pointing out his bulging
muscles, ~m^0^m~ . You can even send a hug with two embracing emoticons! (>^_^)> <(^_^<).
Sadness
Unfortunately our love lives arent always what we want them to be or sometimes we feel a little down. and
show closed eyes with tears streaming down the face, also written as T-T or Y.Y and ;_; . If you are bawling
your eyes out, it might sound like (nyu nyu) or look like this: ~~~~>_<~~~~ You may even crouch down on
the ground in sobbing pain: OTL
Can you see it? The O = head, T = torso and arm, and L = the bent leg!
Disappointment can expressed _ or . or you can retort a snarky comment by saying, Hey, I have lots of
friends! (-(-(-.-)-)-) Finally, this face puts the emo back into emoticon it literally means that youre sad and
youre hiding behind your long hair, -_
Embarrassment, Shyness, Annoyance, and Anger
Of course, you may simply be embarrassed. Sweating is represented by semi-colons and the more you write, the
more you are sweating. If you are upset write it like so, _; . If you feel silly for being embarrassed, this will
convey it better, ^^;;; or you can show a giant, silly, comic-style sweat drop, ^_^U or ^.^U. Awkward shyness can
be conveyed with ** . Depending on the context, show embarrassment, awkwardness, frustration or
speechlessness with ;;; which is similar to whatever, errrrrrr or wtf? Use >_< and >.< to convey anger or a
Homer Simpson-esque Doh! . Use -_- or -.- show that youre annoyed or trying to hide annoyance.
If youre really mad though, toss that jerk a middle finger, or even two like this, or this, ! You can even
punch them with a tiny fist moving through the air toward them, ! Just dont tell them that I taught you,
okay? ^.~ Finally, or and or can also indicate trembling, which could be from anger,
fear, or just the cold.
Agreement
Perhaps after that argument, youll come to a peaceful conclusion. Say okay with or or
. Express agreement, confirmation, or understanding with (eung). You could also use the
shortened , but be careful because depending on context it could sound more like a snippy Yeah, yeah or
Yeah, shut up.
Drinking
Alas, maybe that argument didnt work out so well. Its time to have some fun (or drown your sorrows!) with
some soju. Feeling too tipsy? Tell your friend that youre drunk and dizzy, <<@_@>> Feeling hung-over or a little
ill? 00 and illustrate vomiting Ew. Are you hugging the toilet and puking in a kneeling position?
Show it like this: TL I hope you never have to use this one!;;;;
Shock, Surprise, and Amazement
Show shock or surprise, o_O or o.O or BIG surprise, O.O . Indicate confusion or amazement with big or starry
eyes like this, @.@, +_+ or *.* and scratch your head to indicate thinking, (^_^)a . Express surprise or disbelief
with ~ (heol) which basically means, Huh.
Having Fun
Indicate dancing with repeated versions of these, <(^_^)>,(>^_^)> or these to show listening to music with
headphones on: d(^_^)b, o|^_^|o , o(^_^)o . Sleepiness is shown with (-.-)Zzz , ~_~ zZz , or =_= and you can
wake someone up with or Good morning! Get it? Make the go-to pose for taking pictures by making a
V for Victory like this, v(^-^)v or like this, ^-^V . Give two thumbs up like this, b(^_^)d . Make
a mischievous cat face, =^.^= or a cute animal face, , '', "" . Tell someone Call me with Konglish,
, and shorten thanks to thx with this, .
Saying Goodbye
And there you have it, your crash course in Korean text and netspeak! Have I missed anything? Which one is
your favourite? Let me know in the comments! Until next time, Ill say goodbye. or or22.
Bye bye~~~!
So youre in Korea or youre a hardcore K-pop fan and find yourself spending a lot of time on the Korean fan
forums or youre planning to expand your business in Korea or just happen to be interested in Korea and the
Korean language for other cultural aspects whatever your reasons, sooner or later youll be exposed to the
Korean style of texting or netspeak.
Like any other language that has adapted to the evolution of technology, Korean also found itself abundant with
new expressions to fit the mobile phone and internet age. With the appearance of smart phones, the language is
again going through different changes, but the basics havent changed much at least not yet. Concise and to
the point still remains the main goal.
1. The technical
The keypads on Korean phones differ from company to company. In March of this year, the Korea
Communication Commission decided to standardize the Korean keypads of mobile phones to the Cheonjiin
() system and will implement this regulation starting from June. Smartphones are an exception and will
have multiple systems available, and owners will be able to choose the method with which they are most
comfortable.
The Cheonjiin system is the simplest way of composing Korean letters. A vertical line, a horizontal line, and a dot
are all that is needed to create all the vowels in the Korean alphabet. For example:
|+=
+=
|++=
|++|=
This system makes texting extremely fast, as you dont have to search for different letters on the keypad. For
double consonants such as , you press three times.
Another system, Naratgeul (, EZ ) has the base shaped vowel and consonants with the option of
adding an additional line (bottom left, ). In this system, double consonants are made by pressing the
bottom center button (). Examples:
+ additional line =
+ additional line =
Unlike the Cheonjiin, this system can be a bit cumbersome to get the double and complex consonants, but some
people prefer this method.
Then there is the regular keyboard system: most non-Korean brands usually use this design, as most of the
smart phones. Nothing to decipher here, every character possible is already there.
The Korean keyboard is easy to remember: all the vowels are on the right and all the consonants are on the left.
The hard sounding consonants are on the bottom, with consonants that can be doubled on the top.
2. Some expressions
Everyone has their own style of speaking, and that would inevitably show up in their text. A lot of slang shows up
in text, due to its need for brevity. (I wish I could make a comprehensive list of Korean slang I was quite
surprised at the lack of information but that would be a whole different project and too long to list here.) Here
are some of the texts and expressions youd see quite often:
= = = okay
= = thank you
= = bye bye
= = trembling
Laughing shows up a lot. The number of letters varies depending on the hilarity of the situation for all these:
3. Emoticons
I always thought it interesting how Western emoticons lie sideways, while Asian emoticons are upright. Although
there are hundreds of premade emoticons available these days, the standards are always used the most.
Top row : Happy faces, the last being a flushed with happiness face
nd
row : Crying faces from crying, weeping, sobbing, and hands and knees on ground with despair
rd
Of course, if you truly want to text or tweet in Korean, it goes without saying that the best thing to do is to actually
start learning the language. Hope youll be freely texting in Korean soon. ~! ^_^
1 Laughing
2 Emoticons
3 Grammar Style
4 Intentional misspelling
5 Video Examples
6 See also
Laughing
- Noise used for laughter, the more 's the more the person is laughing.
- full form of
- Noise used for laughter, the more 's the more the person is laughing.
- puahaha
- puahaha
- keke
Emoticons
Emoticon(s)
*_____*
Meaning
A stale face; used to express disappointment, boredom, or to indicate something was lame or
unfunny.
Happy eyes.
If you want to add a mouth, usually . or _ is used, although there are many other substitutes. but if
you use this emoticon in debate, it is meant sarcastic smile.
Other variations:
^^
^_~
^_^, ^.^
^0^, ^^
*^^* - blushing
-_-
Speechless or not amused Used when someone says something stupid, offensive, or annoying.
Sometimes it's like saying "are you serious?"
_
//_//
Tears
A shying face.
is supposed to be like an animal nose (think dog or cat).
Variations:
''
><
Shape of a person fallen on the floor in representation of a failure or mistake. Another variation is
orz
i.e., "I forgot my homework OTL" (O - head, T - torso and arms, L - legs) Other variations:
OTL
orz
Used for when someone died (represents black ribbon used in funeral).
--a
''b
Thumbs up
''
@.@
Used to make a statement more friendly, especially at the end of conversation. imagine overextended sound at the end. For example
~~ would be like saying anyoungggg. The more ~'s there are the longer that sound extends.
Grammar Style
Since many young people are so used to typing text messages in a different way, typing proper Korean can sometimes
make the person sound serious or angry. Many young people use a style that is considered more cute. However these
should not be used in formal conversation, people who you have a formal relationship with and elders (cases vary).
Females tend to use this style more than males. Males rarely try to sound cute to another male. Also some of the styles
together are often mixed together.
Style/form
Example
Adding as the final consonant () - when there is no final
consonant (), some people add a to make it sound more
cute. This is usually for the final word in a sentence or clause.
? ?
(originally )
Conjugation rule:
(see table above) and also not to be confused with the real
grammar pattern A/V + () which turns an adjective or verb
into a noun.
Conjugation rule:
( )
Alternatives for :
( + )
( + )
( + )
()
( + )
( )
Verb +
This is used as a substitute for the grammar patterns and
~. This pattern was popular around 2010, but now isn't as
(to be added)
Intentional misspelling
Many words are intentionally misspelled either to sound cute or out of convenience (less letters to type). Often times
the styles below will be used in combination with another.
Style
Description
5):
Examples
? ?
(Spelled based
on the actual pronunciation)
(Note: in is
ignored because it makes no
sound)
(Note: in
is ignored because it makes no
sound)
vowel).
(Note: +
makes an sound)
( gets simplified
into )
( gets
simplified into )
( becomes
simplified as )
( becomes
simplified as , then the rest gets
spelled as it's pronounced cutting
down on the keystrokes)
(,,,)
? ?
? ? (Note is
originally )
(Note is
originally )
Changing to
Shortened Words
Style
Usage (out of
Description
Examples
5):
Moving to previous
badchim
(Note: +
makes a sound)
Miscellaneous
Shortened form
Real word
Comment
OK
OK
Thank you
It's ok
Keep up the good work or good job (for example after a video game
match).
Congratulations
/ 2 / /
2
No no
Bullshit
Style/form
Comment
substitutions
~ instead of
Korean emoticons
oegukeen / December 24, 2012
Hangul
Translation
Oppaaa
I miss you
Kiss meee
Greeting emoticons
Im your
slave
Youre my
slave
My prince
My princess
Emoticon
Hangul
Translation
Good daaay
Good morning
Knock knock
Sleep tiiiight
Cute emoticons
Emoticon
Hangul
Translation
Totally pretty
Shy
Mineee
Give me a chocolate
dazzling
Buy me that
Prudent. Cautious.
Spank
Hangul
Translation
Sorry, sorry.
I forgive
your sin
Thank you(English)
Hangul
Translation
Affirmative emoticons
Hehehe
LOL
Boohoo
Yes.(Short for )
Okay
Good luck
(fighting)
There there
(comforting)
Yay
Jackpot!
Congratulations
Yes
Hangul
Translation
Hungry
Im tired
Sleepy
Drowsy. Sluggish.
So tired
Psh
Im annoyed
Thats enough.
Stop.
~ !
Why, you
little !
What are you saying? (I know what you are saying but I dont care.)
Hangul
Translation
Call me
Answer me!
Lets eat!
No, I
dont want to.
What the
heck is that?
OMG!
Korean text and call apps come with predefined emoticons so you just select the one you want and dont have to
worry about typing.
Korean text emoticons are usually standing upright, unlike their western counterparts which lie on their sides.
They are more complex, use special characters and, most importantly, express emotions using eyes rather than
mouth. To see this, compare
(^_^)
:-)
eyes
mouth
^
,
><
Explanation
Eyes (Hangul).
Smiling eyes.
Crying eyes (Hangul).
Example
_
(_)
^^
^_^
(^_^)
^^
Eyes.
>.<
,,,
^^
Blushing, embarrasement.
^^*
^^;
(^_^;;;)
^~
(^_~)
or
*^_^*
OK
Shaking with fear. Short for .
Wink.
Confused.
,,
@.@
(@_@)
( )
The combinations you can create are endless now that you know the basic elements that make up Korean
emoticons. As other Asian emoticons Korean ones are really cute, dont you think?
@( )@
Now you know how to talk to the person you love.. Now for words for someone you dont
like as much! Korean Swear Words
Remember there is a time and place for using theses Korean Swear Words. So only use these
Korean Swear words when its appropriate.
29
Let's get started...
.
Saranghaeyo.
(I) love you.
.
Nado saranghaeyo.
(I) love you too.
.
Dangshin-eul johahaeyo.
(I) like you.
.
Dangshin-eul manhi johahaeyo.
(I) like you a lot.
.
Dangshin-eul aju manhi johahaeyo.
(I) like you very much.
.
Dangshin-eul manhi saranghaeyo.
(I) love you a lot.
.
Dangshin-eul geu eotteon geot bodado deo saranghaeyo.
(I) love you more than anything.
?
Byeolil eobji?
Everything alright?
.
hago shipeoyo.
(I) would like to
.
Geureomyo.
Certainly.
?
hago ship-eo?
Would (you) like to? (casual)
?
hago ship-seubnikka?
Would (you) like to? (formal)
.
Geugeo joh-neyo.
That is very nice.
.
Chinjeol-hashineyo.
That is very kind.
.
Geugeo aju joh-neyo.
(I) like that very much.
.
Jeoneun geugeo byeollo johahaji anhayo.
I dont like that very much.
.
Jaemi-itneyo.
Thats fun.
.
Jaemi-itji anhayo.
Thats no fun.
.
Cheonmaneyo.
Youre welcome.
.
Jeoneun dangshin-gwa shigan-eul deo bonaego shipeoyo.
I would like to spend more time with you.
.
Jeoneun dangshin-gwa jeonyeokeul hamkkehago shipeoyo.
I would like to go out for dinner with you.
?
Jamkkan sanchak hashillaeyo?
Shall (we) go for a short walk together?
.
Nalsshiga joh-neyo.
The weather is nice.
.
Jeulgeo-un jeonyeok ieosseoyo.
That was a lovely evening.
!
Meotji-shineyo!
(You) look great!
.
Jeongmal chincheol-hashigunyo.
(You) are so sweet.
?
Uri gwangyereul jinjihage sangkakhaseyo?
Are (you) serious about us?
.
Jeoneun dangshingwa hamkkehago shipeoyo.
I want to be with you.
?
Gyeor-honhae jushillaeyo?
Do you want to marry (me)?
.
Dangshineun jega kkumkkudeon namja-eyo.
You are the man of my dreams.
.
Dangshineun jega kkumkkudeon yeoja-eyo.
You are the woman of my dreams.
.
Dangshineun daedanhaeyo.
You are incredible.
.
Jeoneun geujeo chinguro jinaego shipeoyo.
I just want to be friends.
.
Jeoneun gwanshim eobseoyo.
Im not interested.
.
Jeoreul naebeoryeo duseyo.
Leave me alone.
!
Jeori gaseyo!
Go away!
That's it for today's lesson.