Hangul

담 (dam) = 다음 (daeum) efficiencyMeans ‘next’ in English, you can use it when making plans, such as “next time, let’s go to the mall.” The 음 sound is often shortened in other words when the sound before it doesn’t end in a consonant. For example, 처음 (cheoeum) = ‘first’ or ‘start’ is also often shortened to 첨 (cheom). If you see a word that you don’t recognize and it ends in an ㅁ, then it may be the case that the word has been shortened. In Korean texting, it’s all about efficiency — Koreans love to shorten words when they get the chance! 일욜 (illyol) = 일요일 (iryoil) 일요일 (iryoil) means ‘Sunday’ in Korean. As you can see, the ‘요일 (yoil)’ part of the word has been shorkorean textingtened to ‘욜 (yol)’. You can do this with the other days of the week too! For example, 월욜 (woryol | Monday), 화욜 (hwayol | Tuesday), 수욜 (suyol | Wednesday), etc. 낼 (nael) = 내일 (naeil) Another word that’s useful when making plans is 내일 (naeil) which means ‘tomorrow’. This is often shortened to 낼 (nael) when texting. The ㄹ character is often shifted in Korean text messaging in order to shorten words, so keep an eye out for it! 걍 (gyang) = 그냥 (geunyang) 그냥 (geunyang)roughly translates to ‘just’ or ‘just because.’ If somebody asks you why you want something, what you did on the weekend, or why you did something, you could reply using 걍 (gyang). In lots of cases it may be better to try and have a conversation rather that saying ‘just because’ all the time to avoid being labeled anti-social! 😛 짱나 (jjangna) = 짜증나 (jjajeungna) If you are the kind of person who likes to text about people who annoy you, then this is the word for you. 짜증나 (jjajeungna) means ‘annoying’. If you want to tell your friends just how annoying your co-worker is, then you can use 짱나 (jjangna) when texting. suprise-texting Get “Shortened Korean Words” Free PDF Guide 알써 (alsseo) = 알았어 (arasseo) Means ‘I know’, but can also mean ‘I get it’ or ‘I understand’. You can use this word to let the other person know that you understand them and will do what they say. For example, if you get a message saying ‘meet at 8pm’ then you could reply with 알써 (alsseo) to confirm that you will meet the person at that time. 몰겠어 (molgesseo) = 모르겠어 (moreugesseo) Roughly translates as ‘I don’t know’. This word can be useful when replying to questions by text. 열공 (yeolgong) = 열심히 공부하세요 (yeolsimhi gongbuhaseyo) This abbreviation is also sometimes found outside of text messages too. It is a shortened way of saying ‘study hard’. If you are reading this article, you are probably thinking of studying, or are already studying Korean, so it is likely that people will say this word to you from time to time. 넘(neom) = 너무 (neomu) 너무 is one of the many ways of saying ‘very’ in Korean. It is a very common word and is often shortened when texting. 샘 (saem) = 선생님 (seonsaengnim) This word is also sometimes used when speaking, but it is more commonly used in text messaging. It means ‘teacher’, and as teachers are meant to be respected, shortening this word when speaking is only acceptable if you are close to your teacher. The shortened version is often used as a suffix to be attached to teachers’ first names. For example, 미나샘 (minasaem | Teacher Mina). english teacher in korea 왤케 (waelke) = 왜 이렇게 (wae ireoke) This expression roughly translates as ‘why is it like this?’ Just plug in another word at the end to change the meaning: ‘why are you so beautiful?’, ‘why are you so noisy’ – the possibilities are endless! 올만이네 (olmanine) = 오랜만이네요 (oraenmanineyo) Translates roughly as ‘long time no see’, but you can use this expression even if you are texting. Why don’t you practice this expression now by texting an old friend who you have lost contact with? Just do it! 글고 (geulgo) = 그리고 (geurigo) 그리고 (geurigo) is one of the several different ways to say ‘and’ in Korean. When texting, you can shorten it to 글고 (geulgo). 재밌다 (jaemitda) = 재미있다 (jaemiitda) The word for ‘fun’ or ‘interesting’ in Korean can be shortened to 재밌다 (jaemitda) when texting. It’s like you just jammed everything together and dropped a consonant, simple as that! 먄 (myan) = 미안해요 (mianhaeyo) If you have to sincerely apologize to somebody then I don’t recommend shortening this word. However, if you make a small mistake then you can shorten 미안하다 (mianhada | the less formal word for ‘sorry’) to 먄 (myan). Be sure to include some emoticons too when sending this message. In addition to shortening words, sometimes words are changed to sound more “cute.” For example 배고파 (baegopa | hungry) might be changed to 배고팡 (baegopang), and 맞아요 (majayo) can be changed to 맞아용 (majayong).

21 Common Korean Text Slang 1.ㅋㅋ (a sound of laughter) This comes from 크크 (kuh-kuh). This is the Korean text slang equivalent to the English “LOL.” The more ㅋ you include, the more you’re laughing, so don’t be surprised to see whole strings of ㅋ. Whatever you said, it clearly hit your conversation partner’s funny bone. 2. ㅎㅎㅎ (hahaha) This comes from 하하하 (ha-ha-ha). While ㅋㅋ tends to be more frequently used, this too gets the same feeling across, perhaps implying a somewhat softer kind of laugh. The same rule for ㅋㅋ applies, where the more ㅎ you include, the more the person is laughing. 3. ㅍㅎㅎ (puhaha) Similar to 푸하하, this is a more comical, stronger version of expressing laughter. Imagine someone actually vocalizing this aloud; you’d have no doubt that they found something genuinely funny. 4. ㅇㅋ (OK) Here’s one of those instances of English loanwords. Properly written, “OK” in Korean would be 오케이 (oh-keh-ee), which is further shortened to 오키 (oh-kee), and so ㅇㅋ just takes the first consonants, 오 and 키. The meaning is the same as in English—a simple note of acknowledgment. 5. ㅇㅇ (yes) From 응, this is a simple, informal way of saying “yes.” You probably already know that the proper way of saying yes is 네, but remember that Korean text slang already implies that formality is taking a break from your conversation. 6. ㄴㄴ (no no) From 노노 (no-no), this is another transliteration of the English “no no.” It means what it sounds like—a negatory message. 7. ㅎㅇ (hi) From 하이 (ha-ee), this is a transliteration of the English “hi” and, pleasantly enough, it’s also only two characters long. 8. ㅂㅂ/ㅃㅃ (bye-bye) These come from 바이바이 (ba-ee ba-ee) or the more cutesy 빠이빠이 (ppai-ppai). Either is a friendly way to end a chat. You can write ㅂㅇ as well. You can probably see the strong inclusivity of English in Korean text slang at this point! 9. ㄱㄱ (go go/let’s go) This comes from 고고 (go-go). It’s a message for someone to get out or do something, such as hang out with the sender. 10. ㅊㅋ (congrats) From 축하해요 (chook-ha-heh-yo), this is a common Korean phrase expressing congratulations, with 축하 being a shorter and less formal way of doing so. The slang form is a good example of cutting down a phrase to its basics! 11. ㄱㅅ (thanks) From 감사 (gahm-sa), this is an informal way of saying thank you, which itself is a cut-down version of the more formal 감사합니다 (gahm-sa-hap-ni-da). 12. ㅅㄱ (good work) This one comes from 수고하세요 (soo-go-ha-seh-yo), a common phrase complimenting someone on a job well done. Make sure you don’t accidentally flip the characters to write ㄱㅅ! 13. 헉! (OMG) This is pronounced huk, which, when vocalized, does come off as a choked, surprised sound. It has a variant, 헐 (hul), with the same meaning. Use this when you essentially mean to say, “No way!” or, “Whoa!” 14. ㄷㄷ (expressing fear, shock, amazement) This comes from 덜덜 (duhl-duhl), which means “shivering” or “quivering.” This is used in response to something that induces goosebumps. 15. 어케 (How?) Remember when we talked about purposeful typos for the sake of fewer keystrokes? This is one example. 어케 is derived from the proper way to ask “how,” 어떻게 (uh-dduh-geh), but when spoken in normal speed and cadence, it can sound a bit like 어떠케 (uh-dduh-keh) since the enunciation of 떻 ends rather sharply with the ㅎ consonant lingering at the bottom. The slang 어케 takes note of that to enable its own abbreviation. 16. 잼게/잼께 (have fun) This comes from 재미있게 (je-mi-eet-geh), which means “having fun.” This slang is a little different in its method of abbreviation, as it combines 재 with the ㅁ of the succeeding syllable and then the entire concluding syllable of the phrase. It’s worth noting that 재미있게 is pronounced like 재미이께, which is why we can change 게 to 께. 17. ㅁㄹ (IDK) This comes from 몰라 (mol-la), which means “I don’t know.” IDK is always a favorite in English text slang, and its Korean version is even shorter to type! 18. OTL /ㅇㅈㄴ (defeat or disappointment) This is an emoticon that has also made its way into English text slang, likely because of its use of English letters. You can probably see the image of a man kneeling, with his head (O or ㅇ) hung down, his torso and arms to the ground (T or ㅈ) and his legs (L or ㄴ) also positioned flat. This is the symbol of sheer defeat, disappointment or exasperation. 19. ㅠㅠ/ㅜㅜ (crying eyes) Another emoticon using the vowel ㅠ or ㅜ, this combination resembles a pair of closed eyes with tears streaming down them. 20. ㅇㅁㅇ (shocked face) It’s nice that Korean characters are quite simple in shape because, with only three of them, you get an easy-to-read visual of a face with wide-open eyes and an open mouth. 21. 0ㅠ0 (vomiting) The ㅠ vowel serves its common purpose as a visual of something flowing out—in this case, puke! Use this when you’re sickened by what you just read… or if you actually feel like throwing up.