Konglish (ģ½©źøė¦¬ģ¬) encompasses loanwords borrowed from English, but are written and pronounced in Korean. These words are usually abbreviations of English words and phrases, but donāt necessarily carry the same meaning as their English counterparts.
Weāve compiled 41 commonly used Konglish words that will level up your Korean skills and save you from embarrassing yourself in front of your Korean friends.Ā
Image credit: tvN ėė¼ė§(Drama)
Hwa-it-ting and pa-it-ting are popular Konglish words often used in everyday situations. The Konglish term means āall the bestā or āgood luckā, and is used to cheer someone on. Because it is derived from the English word āfightingā, it can be easily misunderstood as trying to pick a fight when used outside of Korea.Ā
SNS, pronounced as eh-seu-en-eh-seu, is an acronym of the term āsocial networking serviceā. The Konglish term refers to social media in general.
Ah-ee-syo-ping is an amalgamation of āeyeā and āshoppingā. In other words, āeye shoppingā refers to āwindow shoppingā ā shopping with your eyes.
Image credit: JTBC Drama
When you drink in a group in Korea, thereās bound to be one person yelling āwon-syatā in an attempt to get someone to down their cup of alcohol in, well, one shot. Besides soju, won-syat can also be used when drinking other types of alcoholic beverages, such as beer or makgeolli.
The first thing that comes to mind when we hear no-teu-buk ā derived from ānotebookā ā is a small book with blank or ruled pages. However, the Konglish term actually refers to laptops. Actual notebooks, on the other hand, are called ź³µģ± (gong-chaek) in Korean.
Mo-ning-kol, or morning call, is a wake-up call you get in the morning. The Konglish term is commonly used in hotels where you can arrange for someone from the front desk to be your human alarm clock.
Image credit: JTBC Drama
Youāll rarely hear anyone saying āletās take a selfieā in Korea because selfies are better known as sel-ka in Konglish. It is an abbreviation of the words āselfā and ācameraā. This term is also a slang word commonly used among youths.
In English-speaking K-pop and K-drama communities, sel-ka is usually spelt as āselcaā.
Eon-taek-teu combines the English prefix āunā and the word ācontactā to form āuntactā. It means āzero contactā or ācontactlessā, and describes situations where there is no physical contact. The term emerged in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Ā
To curb the spread of the virus, people started to engage in more āuntactā activities, such as attending online workshops and doing online shopping. Even K-pop idols have shifted their interactions with fans to the digital realm by holding online fan meetings and participating in online concerts such as the 2020 SUPER ON:TACT concert.
Image credit: JTBC Drama
Seu-kin-ship is a Konglish term that combines the words āskinā and ārelationshipā. It refers to physical contact or being physically close to someone. When couples put up a public display of affection (PDA), they can be described as engaging in too much āskinshipā.Ā
The word āmeetingā refers to the āgathering of 2 or more peopleā in English, but the Konglish term means something more than that. Meeting refers to 3-on-3 group dates, usually set up by 2 people of differing genders.Ā
This is different from ģź°ķ (so-gae-ting;Ā blind date), which is where 2 strangers meet in a somewhat formal setting. A meeting is meant to help pair oneās friends up in a casual manner.Ā
Heon-ting is derived from the English word āhuntingā. But instead of hunting animals, the Konglish term refers to the act of hitting on someone or trying to pick them up.Ā
In Korea, there are hunting bars (ķķ ķ¬ģ°Ø) where singles can visit to meet someone new.Ā
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If youāre shopping in Korea and need a bag to carry your purchases, donāt bother asking for a āplastic bagā. In Korea, plastic bags are known as bi-nil-baek or āvinyl bagā in English. Some people also use ė¹ė ė“ķ¬ (bi-nil-bong-tu), which means the same thing.Ā
As most shops are striving to become more eco-friendly and charge a small amount for plastic bags, we recommend you to bring an eco-bag (ģģ½ė°±, eh-ko-baek) along when shopping in Korea.
The English word āsenseā refers to the ability to detect something. Similarly, in Konglish, sen-seuĀ refers to someone who can read situations well and act appropriately. Another word that carries a similar meaning is ėģ¹ (nun-chi).
In English, āmentalā refers to matters related to the mind. On the other hand, the Konglish term men-tal specifically refers to oneās mentality or attitude towards something.Ā
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If thereās a paradise for free stuff, itās got to be Korea. Shops and restaurants in Korea are generous when it comes to giving out freebies to boost customer loyalty. The Konglish term that describes this is seo-bi-seu, which comes from the word āserviceā.
Restaurant owners often say āģė¹ģ¤ ģ ėė¤ā (seo-bi-seu-im-ni-da) as they place a side dish you didnāt order on your table. Donāt panic ā itās free. Besides getting dishes on the house, you can also get service at retail shops in the form of free gifts and samples.
Another Konglish term youād frequently see and hear at Korean restaurants is sel-peu, which comes from the word āselfā. It is an abbreviation of āself-serviceā and is used in eateries where you have to help yourself to water, side dishes, and cutlery.Ā
While kon-sen-teu sounds like āconsentā, it does not mean anything like that. The Konglish term is actually derived from the short form of āconcentric electric outletā. It refers to a power socket or electrical outlet. Another Konglish term closely related to kon-sen-teu is ė©ķ°ķ (meol-ti-taeb, multi-tab), which means āextension cordā.Ā
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Gae-geu-maen literally means ā gagmanā. Here, the word āgagā is used to mean ājokeā, rather than āvomitingā or āsilencing someoneā. The gender-neutral Konglish term refers to comedians.
A/S is pronounced as ae-ee-eh-seu and stands for āafter serviceā. It refers to aftersales customer service. If your products go on the fritz while theyāre still under warranty, youād take it to an A/Sģ¼ķ° (ae-ee-eh-seu-sen-tor; after-service centre) to get them repaired.
This is derived from the term ābig sizeā in English, and itās used to refer to plus-size clothing. Most independently owned clothing stores in Korea only carry standard sizes ā S, M, and L ā or free size clothing. If youāre shopping for plus size clothing in Korea, look out for signs with ė¹ ģ¬ģ“ģ¦ (bik-sa-ee-jeu) on it.
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No-dab is a combination of the English word ānoā and the Korean word āėėµā (dae-dab;Ā reply).Ā It is used in scenarios where someone doesnāt respond to your text. The Konglish word ė ø (no) can also be used in front of other verbs to mean the negative result of something.Ā
For example, Sam Kimās song, NOėģ¹ (nun-chi) refers to someone who has poor situational awareness.Ā
Haen-deul is derived from the English word āhandleā. Contrary to its English definition, the Konglish term specifically means āsteering wheelā. A door handle, on the other hand, is called a ģģ”ģ“ (son-jab-ee), which translates to āsomething that you can hold ontoā.Ā
Won-pi-seu is exactly like what it sounds like ā āone pieceā. And no, it does not refer to the popular anime. The term refers to dresses. Online Korean shopping sites will have a category called ģķ¼ģ¤ (won-pi-seu), where youād find a wide range of dresses, from mini dresses to maxi dresses.
Image credit: tvN ėė¼ė§(Drama)
Because maen-tu-maen sounds like the English phrase āman to manā, it can be mistakenly interpreted as heart-to-heart conversations between men.Ā
The Konglish term actually refers to sweatshirts or crew neck shirts. The origin of this term is disputed, but one common explanation is that it came from sweatshirt-wearing athletes who would face each other ā man to man ā while warming up.
Ga-geul comes from the English word āgargleā, which is the action of rinsing oneās mouth. Itās also used to refer to the liquid you use for gargling.
In Korea, the Konglish term only refers to mouthwashes. When you go into a drugstore, youāll often find mouthwash labelled as ź°źø (ga-geul).
The term bon-deu is derived from ābondā in English, but means āglueā in Konglish. Because glue helps to bond things together, Koreans have adopted the word to refer to glue.
Image credit: KBS ėė¼ė§
An oh-peun-ka, or āopen carā, is a very literal way of describing a convertible ā a car with a roof that can open up.Ā
Ma-ma-bo-ee is derived from āmamaās boyā and carries the same meaning as the English term. It refers to a man who is subservient to his mother and would do anything to please her.
A ma-ma-bo-ee usually fails to act independently and depends on his mother to make decisions for him.Ā
If you go into an accessories shop in Korea asking for a hairband, you might not get what youāre looking for. Hye-eo-baen-deu means āhair tieā, rather than a rigid horseshoe-shaped band of plastic or metal that holds your hair back. The Korean term for āhair tieā is ėØøė¦¬ė (meo-ri-kkeun), while āhairbandā ā or āheadbandā ā is known as ėØøė¦¬ė (meo-ri-ddi).
That said, the term āhairbandā in English can also be used to refer to elastic hair ties.
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In an image-conscious society like Korea, youāre bound to hear people talking about ba-di-ra-in ā ābody lineā. The Konglish term is used to point out someoneās figure ā or more specifically, the lines that their body creates.Ā
When you say that someone has a nice ābody lineā, it means that that person has an ideal body with nice curves and angles. Another variation of this term is ėŖøģ (mom-seon).
Deo-chi-peh-ee is a transliteration of āDutch payā in English and describes the act of splitting the bill so that individuals can pay for their own share.Ā
In English, we would usually say, āLetās go Dutchā. In Korean culture, however, people donāt usually go Dutch and would take turns to pay during separate occasions.
This Konglish term sounds like the English word āovereatā, but it actually refers to the act of puking. The meaning of oh-ba-ee-teu comes from puking due to overeating. However, people use the Konglish term as a general description of someone vomiting, regardless of the cause.Ā
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Koreans use na-ee-teu, or ānightā, when asking others to go on a night out.
O-ba-ha-da is derived from the English word āoverā, and is used when someone is being extra. A similar Korean slang word is MSG (em-eh-seu-ji), which is the acronym of āmonosodium glutamateā. Both terms are used to describe a situation where someone exaggerates or embellishes a story ā just like adding MSG to a dish ā for extra flavour.
āPantyā, in English, refers to underpants for women and children. However, this Konglish word is actually a gender-neutral term for underpants in Korea. The type of paen-ti is divided into 2 subcategories ā ėØģ±ķ¬ķ° (nam-seong-paen-ti) for male underwear and ģ¬ģ±ķ¬ķ° (yeo-seong-paen-ti) for female underwear.
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We exercise and train at the gym to be healthy, and thatās exactly why a gym is known as hel-seu-jang in Korea. It is formed by combining āķ¬ģ¤ā (hel-seu;Ā health) and āģ„ģā (jang-so), the latter of which means āplaceā.Ā
The Konglish term directly translates to āhealth placeā. Some people also refer to the gym as ķ¬ģ¤ ķ“ė½ (hel-seu-keul-reob), which is āhealth clubā in English.Ā
Reo-ning-meo-shin is what it sounds like ā a running machine. Weāre more familiar with the English term ātreadmillā, but the Koreans like to keep it simple by calling the machine what itās used for.Ā
Image credit: MBC
CC is an abbreviation of the term ācampus coupleā and itās used for couples who got together on the same campus. Initially, CC was only used for university couples, but the term now encompasses high school and middle school couples too.
In Korea, youāll find sunscreen labelled as ģ ķ¬ė¦¼ (seon-keu-rim) or ģ¬ķ¬ė¦¼ (sseon-keu-rim). Seon-keu-rim meansĀ āsun creamā in English and refers to sunscreen. Some countries, such as the UK, use the term āsun creamā as well.Ā Ā
In Korea, pool and billiards are known as po-ket-bol ā āpocket ballā in English.
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A-pa-teu is an abbreviation of āapartmentā. An apartment in Korea is a single unit in a condominium. Apartments can vary in room size, starting from as small as a one-room studio.
Because some Konglish words donāt mean the same thing as their English equivalent, itās always good to double-check to avoid embarrassing situations. Armed with the knowledge of popular Korean slang terms and these Konglish words, you can confidently tell others that youāve levelled up your Korean.Ā
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Cover image adapted from (left to right): JTBC Drama, MBC and JTBC Drama
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