Korean Slang: The Good, The Bad, & The Strange

If you want to talk like a native, then you are going to need to learn some Korean slang. Of course, there is so much slang in any language that it is almost impossible to keep pace with it, and it certainly isn’t possible to write an article containing every piece of slang ever, especially when some slang is only used on a particular television show or by a small group of people.

Instead, this article aims to teach you the most common and useful Korean slang, the stuff that you need to know. It will teach you the good, the bad, and the weird, which incidentally the name of a Korean movie that will teach you the first slang word of the article. ‘The Good, The Bad, The Strange’ is a Korean ‘western’ (no prizes for guessing which western film the title is based on) starring Lee Byeong Hun (이병헌) of G.I. Joe fame.

In Korean the movie is called 좋은놈, 나쁜놈, 이상한놈. The ‘nom’ (놈) in this title means ‘man’ or ‘person’. It is used as a suffix such as 미친놈 (crazy person) or like the three examples in the movie title. It usually has negative connotations, and you should only use it with really close friends who have a good sense of humor. In fact, in general you should remember that the Korean language is very hierarchical and you can only really use Korean slang with close friends. Whatever you do, don’t use it to introduce yourself to your partner’s parents for the first time, unless you like getting dumped. When watching dramas or TV shows, you will hear lots of these slang expressions though.

The Good

내가 쏠께

From the verb 쏘다, which means ‘to shoot (a gun / arrow etc.)’, the expression 내가 쏠께 means ‘I’ll pay’. You can say this at the end of a date if you want to impress your companion. You could also use it at a bar with your friends. If you are a 구두쇠 (miser: literally ‘iron shoes’) then you might not want to learn this expression.

 

Korean for pay the bill

일차. 이차, 삼차

A typical Korean night out, especially a company dinner (회식), can be separated into stages called 차. The first stage, 일차, involves a meal with some drinks to go with it. The second stage, 이차, often means going to a bar to continue drinking. The third stage, 삼차, might involve going to a noraebang. Although what each particular stage of the night consists of will depend on the particular people who are out that night. There may even be a 4차 or 5차 involving more food or beer and noodles outside a convenience store. When it is time to move to the next stage you might hear people say something like 2차 갑시다 or 2차 가자 (let’s go to stage 2). If you are on a company dinner then these gaps between stages offer a good opportunity to make your excuses and go home / to a different bar away from your boss.

부침개

pajun

Pajun
Source: Matt_Weibo

This is a slang word for 파전 (Korean Pancake). It comes from the word 부치다 which means ‘to fry’ (it can also mean ‘to send’). This probably should be in ‘The Strange’ section of this article on Korean slang, but it tastes so delicious that it deserves to be in ‘the good’ section.

!

This sound effect means ‘great’ or ‘amazing’. You can just say it on its own, without putting it into a sentence. It is also sometimes used in order to make other slang words. A common one of these is 얼짱, which means great or amazing face (the 얼 comes from the word 얼굴). You can also say 몸짱 to describe somebody with an amazing body.

남친 / 여친

 

Korean boyfriend and girlfriend

Like lots of Korean slang (and indeed Korean words in general), these words come from taking the first parts of two other words. Can you guess which words they are made up of? 남친 comes from 남자 친구 and 여친 comes from 여자 친구. That should save you some typing time on KakaoTalk when you ask somebody if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend.

간지 난다

This comes from the Japanese for 느낌 (feelings) and so literally means ‘feeling is coming out’. The phrase 간지 난다 means great, stylish awesome, or 멋있다. This phrase can be used to describe fashion, food, appearance, architecture, or even a skillful football move. It is quite a new slang word, and can be used in most situations as a replacement for the rather cheesy word 대박. The opposite of this is 간지 안나 which can be used jokingly to say something is awful. If you want to say somebody (such as a celebrity) is stylish, you can say 간지남 (for guys) or 간지녀 (for ladies).

The Bad

폭탄

The word 폭탄 literally means ‘bomb’. It is used to describe something that is terrible, such as a piece of work that you have really messed up. It can also be used to describe a really really ugly person. 폭탄 can also be used in the word 폭탄주 which is basically a cocktail of whatever random alcohol your friend managed to find and mix together. It is often a mix of beer, soju, whisky, maybe some vodka, and some other things. It is called 폭탄주 because it is dangerous like a bomb.

왕따

You don’t want to be the 왕따. This is a person who has no friends and is bullied by everybody in the class / school. They have to sit on their own because nobody wants to sit near them or be associated with them in any way at all. The bullying is often justified by saying ‘We did it because he/she is 왕따’, as if being 왕따 means that you are denied human rights. Almost every high-school drama in Korea will involve a 왕따 at some point in the storyline so listen out for the word. Unfortunately, despite teachers efforts to stop bullying, the phenomenon of 왕따 exists in the real world too.

뻥치지마!

This slang expression means ‘don’t tell a lie’. The suffix ‘지마’ is the informal version of ‘-지 마세요’ which means ‘don’t’. You should only use this expression with close friends, especially if the lie they are telling isn’t particularly serious, such as your friend claiming that they can drink ten bottles of soju when you know that they can’t handle their alcohol. In other situations you should use 거짓말하지 마(세요) instead.

바람둥이

A 바람둥이 is a playboy who isn’t looking for a serious relationship, and may even be seeing multiple people at the same time. He will be gone as quickly as the wind (바람). Girls will often tell their boyfriends not to be a 바람둥이 (the word can be used to describe playgirls too). A similar use of the word 바람 is the phrase 바람 맞았어요 which means ‘to be stood up’. A 바람둥이 isn’t fully in a relationship yet. If somebody is in a relationship but they are cheating on their partner then you can use the word 양다리 (meaning both-legs) which is the Korean slang for ‘two-timing’.

차다 / 차이다

Although 차다 literally means ‘to kick’ and 차이다 means ‘to be kicked’, when they are used in terms of relationships, they can mean ‘to dump somebody’ and ‘to be dumped by somebody’. So if your friend is upset and they say they have been ‘차였어’ it means that they got dumped and that you need to cheer them up. If you are planning on breaking up with your partner, make sure you don’t use these words. Although breaking up with somebody is never easy, at least be tactful and use 헤어지다 instead, it’s the least you can do.

싸가지 없다

In the popular 2011 drama 최고의 사람 (The Greatest Love), 공효진’s character seems to use this phrase to describe 차승원’s character almost every five minutes. It literally means somebody with no luck, but its slang meaning is ‘somebody with no manners’. It is quite a rude thing to say to somebody, and is usually spoken as 싸가지 없어. You can use the phrase 싸가지 없는 사람 if you want to refer to the ill-mannered person when talking to others, but this is quite a rude phrase so be careful with your use of it.

기생충 / 빈대 같은놈 / 백수

The words 기생충 and 빈대 both mean parasite. They can be used to refer to somebody who is lazy and just sponges off others (like their parents) rather than getting a job. The words 같은놈 (person who is like a…) can be added to the end of 빈대 to make the expression 빈대같은놈, but the word 빈대 can also be used by itself. Another slang word with a similar meaning is 백수 which means ‘white hands’, this slang describes somebody who doesn’t want to get their hands dirty by working.

더럽게

Literally means ‘dirtily’ (from 더럽다), but is often used to mean ‘badly’, for example 더럽게 못생기다 would mean ‘really ugly’ and ‘더럽게 누리다’ would mean ‘really slow’ (referring to a slow computer perhaps).

/꽝이다

This word comes from the sound 꽝 which is like a banging or bashing kind of sound. It basically means ‘wrong’ or ‘you lose’. Game shows in Korea often have some kind of ladder game (사다리 게임) to determine what prize the contestants win (it is sometimes also played by friends or coworkers to determine who pays for lunch). If you get 꽝 it means you don’t win any prize. The 꽝 sound is often accompanied by the tune from the drama ‘secret garden’ to further mock the losing contestant.

The Strange

공주병

This literally means ‘princess disease’ (the male equivalent is ‘prince disease’ or 왕자병). This is when somebody is acting like a spoiled little princess and constantly seeking attention and wanting their partner to buy them things. As this words come from hanja (Korean based on Chinese Characters), it has a similar sounding equivalent in Cantonese. This amusing video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geuqYUVerQ0) explaining the Cantonese equivalent explains the concept of 공주병 quite well.

시원하다

This adjective literally means ‘to be cool (temperature, not style)’ although some people use it to describe a hot 찌개 as well. However, it can also be used as a verb to describe the refreshing feeling that you might have after visiting the bathroom.

붕어빵

This can be used to suggest that two people look or act the same. It comes from the name of the bean paste filled pastries that resemble fish that you can buy from roadside stalls in winter. The pastries are made using a press so they always look the same and are also the same on both sides, which is where this expression comes from.

품절남/ (되다)

품절 is another expression for sold out (매진), coming from the hanja for product (품) and gone (절). The words 품절남 and 품절녀 literally mean ‘sold-out man’ and ‘sold-out woman’, they refer to somebody (a celebrity or popular friend) who has just got married and is therefore off the market for dating. It can be used with the verb 되다 which means ‘to become’, for example 품절녀가 됐어요 means ‘she got married’. To say ‘she got married’ you can also use the word 시집갔어요 which is a real word (not slang) literally meaning ‘she went to the in-laws house’ (for guys you can use 장가갔어요 instead).

방콕

This slang expression means ‘to stay in your room’, and is used when somebody is so tired or worn out that they plan to stay in their room all weekend or all vacation. If somebody uses this word to describe their vacation, don’t get confused and think that they are going to Thailand.

Hopefully you enjoyed this article on Korean slang. Of course there are many other slang words and expressions out there. If you want to stay up-to-date with new expressions then you can try using Naver’s open dictionary (search for ‘오픈사전’) to learn some new words such as 셀카봉 (selfie-stick) or 랜선여친 (online girlfriend – from the word for LAN cable). What are the best slang words that you have come across whilst learning Korean?

 

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