Common Korean K-Pop Vocabulary

Frequently hearing a word but don’t know what it means?

Check out the list below.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Click here to submit your request.

Something missing? Click here to let us know.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

  • geez, show frustration.

  • I can't. Not a chance.

  • Anyeong (안녕) : Hi (informal)

    Anyeonghaseo (안녕하세요) : Hello (formal)

  • father

    can also be added to your friend's name to refer to their father (e.g. Jisoo-apa)

B

C

  • Let's do it! sure!

    typically used in response to a question (e.g. do you want to get fried chicken?)

  • friend (literally),

    However, in Korea this term is used between people who are the same age

  • Really

D

  • jackpot, wow, awesome

  • Someone younger than you (can be a literal sibling or non-related)

E

  • Mother

    Can be added to your friend's name to refer to their mother

F

G

H

  • Traditional Korean clothing

  • Wow, OMG, unbelievable

  • A junior or someone with less experience in work or school.

    Used by sunbae / seonbae to refer to their younger / less experienced colleague.

  • A phrase frequently used to cheer someone on.

    Similar to " you can do it" or "good luck."

    Can also be pronounced as “Paiting.”

  • A term for a male referring to another older male, non titled relative (e.g. cousin) or sibling.

    used along or added onto the older male's name (e.g. Jin-hyung)

I

J

  • honey / baby - a term of endearment

  • Fun

  • Really, very, the real thing

  • Awesome, the best

K

  • LOL, laughing

L

M

  • Are you crazy?

N

  • Not fun / no fun

  • A male referring to an older female, relative or sibling

O

  • Oh no! oh my gosh!

  • A female referring to an older male, relative or sibling

  • What to do? What do I / we do?

P

Q

R

S

  • I love you (informal)

  • A senior, typically in the same profession or school.

    This person can be a senior, even if they are younger than you

    (e.g. a 23 year old idol may call another 20 year old ""sunbae"" because the 20 year old debuted before the 23 year old)

    seonbaenum / sunbaenim is more formal term"Also written as sunbae / sunbaenim

T

  • Crying, typically used in texting

U

  • A female referring to another older female, relative or sibling.

V

W

  • Why? How come? For what?

    Wei (informal)

    Weiyo (formal)

X

Y

  • An exclamation - hey!

    If pronounced slow and drawn out - wow (impressed).

  • Honey / darling - typically used between married couples

Z

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

Fill out the form & we’ll do our best to dig it up for you.

Something missing?

Fill out the form & we’ll get it added as soon as we can.