Korean texting slang words you should know
In a culture where efficiency and convenience is prized, it’s no surprise that Koreans are fond of abbreviations. In particular, they often use these abbreviations when texting each other. Certain Korean words and phrases are shortened to a few consonants or vowels – these Korean texting slang words enable faster typing in an informal setting.
Fans of K-Pop and Korean dramas will likely be familiar with Korean texting slang, such as “ㅠㅠ” (yu-yu) and “ㅋㅋㅋ” (ke-ke-ke). But there’s more to Korean texting slang than that – here are 15 simple Korean texting slang words that you can use to level up your Korean texting skills.
1. ㄱㅅ
Image adapted from: 방탄소년단
The abbreviated form of “감사합니다” (gam-sa-ham-ni-da), which means “thank you”, is simply “ㄱㅅ”. “감사합니다” is shortened to “감사”, and then further reduced to “ㄱㅅ”.
This is similar to how we shorten “thank you” to “ty” when texting.
2. ㅅㅇㅊㅋ
Image credit: @hyunah_aa
“ㅅㅇㅊㅋ” will be familiar to K-pop fans – many Korean celebrities use this to wish their friends a happy birthday. Fans often use this as a hashtag to wish their idols a happy birthday as well.
“ㅅㅇㅊㅋ” is the abbreviated form of “생일축하해” (saeng-il-chuk-ha-hae). “생일” means “birthday”, and “축하해” means “congratulations. “생일ㅊㅋ” works too.
“ㅊㅋ” can be also used by itself to congratulate others.
3. ㄷㄷ
Image credit: EXID_Official
Those who know EXID’s song 덜덜덜 might know what this phrase means. “덜덜” implies that a person is shivering or shaking, either in fear or excitement.
“ㄷㄷㄷ” is the abbreviation of “덜덜덜” (deol-deol-deol).
The next time someone shares exciting or shocking news, use “ㄷㄷ” or “ㄷㄷㄷ” instead of “OMG”.
4. ㅇㅋ
Image credit: 방탄소년단
“ㅇㅋ” is the shortened form of “오케이” (oh-ke-ee), which means “okay”.
Koreans shorten “오케이” to “ㅇㅋ” using the first 2 consonants of the Konglish word. “ㅇ” and “ㅋ” correspond to the letters “O” and “K” in the English alphabet – it’s just like how “OK” is the abbreviated form of “okay” in English.
5. ㅇㅇ
Image credit: @official.apink2011
“응응” is an onomatopoeia that expresses agreement. You can use it in place of “ㅇㅋ” or “오케이”.
“응응” is so popular that it was used as the title of an Apink song, %%. Though the title looks like 2 per cent signs at first glance, it’s a creative way of writing “응응”.
“ㅇㅇ” is the abbreviated form of “응응”. You can use “ㅇㅋ” and “ㅇㅇ” interchangeably when agreeing to something.
6. ㄱㄱ
Image adapted from: ZAMSTER
“ㄱㄱ” is the abbreviation for “고고” (go-go), which literally means “go go” in English.
It’s often used to urge someone to do something in exciting situations, such as kickstarting events and sales. You may have also heard Korean variety show hosts and YouTubers using “고고고!” to start activities.
When you wish to convince your friend to do something or to express excitement for an upcoming outing, use “ㄱㄱ” to egg them on.
7. ㅁㄹ
Image adapted from: Mobidic
“몰라” (mol-la) means “I don’t know”. Its abbreviated form is “ㅁㄹ”.
In English, we often use “IDK” as a shortened form of “I don’t know” – “ㅁㄹ” is the equivalent of “IDK” for Koreans.
Some variations of “ㅁㄹ” include “ㅁ…ㅁㄹ”, which expresses nervousness or doubt, and “ㅁㄹㅁㄹ”, which is a more emphatic version of “ㅁㄹ”.
8. ㅂㅂ
Image credit: KBS 드라마
“바이바이” (ba-ee-ba-ee) is Konglish for “bye-bye” – the abbreviated form is “ㅂㅂ”.
There are other variations of “바이바이” – “ㅂㅇㅂㅇ”, “ㅂ2ㅂ2”, and “ㅂ2” – “이” means “two” in Korean, which explains why “이” can be replaced with “2”. However, “ㅂㅂ” is the simplest and most commonly used term.
9. ㅇㅈ
Image adapted from: Official BBQChicken
“인정” (in-jeong) can be shortened to just “ㅇㅈ”.
“ㅇㅈ” has a similar meaning to “ㅇㅋ” and “ㅇㅇ” but is used in a different context – it is used to agree to a statement made by someone else. For example, when your friend says that “chicken from BBQChicken is the best”, you can reply with “ㅇㅈ” if you agree.
It can also be phrased as a question when seeking an opinion from someone – “ㅇㅈ?”
10. ㅅㄱ
Image credit: @dlwlrma
“수고해” (su-go-hae) is used to praise or acknowledge someone’s effort and can be shortened to “ㅅㄱ”.
You can use “ㅅㄱ” to cheer a friend up if they are working hard on something.
11. ㄱㅊ
Image credit: KBS 드라마
The abbreviation for “괜찬아” (gwaen-chan-ah) is “ㄱㅊ” – this translates to “I am fine”. “ㄱㅊ” can be used in reply to a suggestion or question.
It is also phrased as a question to ask if someone is fine. “ㄱㅊ?” translates to “are you okay?”
It can also be used to ask if someone is agreeable to a situation or decision. For example, you can ask if meeting at 10pm is okay by following up with “ㄱㅊ?”
12. ㅇㅋㄷㅋ
Image adapted from: tvN DRAMA
“오키도키” (oh-ki-do-ki) is a cute variation of “ㅇㅋ” and can be shortened to “ㅇㅋㄷㅋ”. The English equivalent is “okey-dokey”.
Fans of True Beauty will remember the iconic freestyle dance by Hwang In-yeop, performed to the song Okey Dokey by Song Minho and Zico.
13. 잼께 (jaem-ggae) / 노잼 (no-jaem)
Image credit: @somsomi0309
“재미있게” (jae-mi-it-geh) means “have fun” or “having fun”. It is shortened to “잼께” (jaem-gge).
“잼게” can also be used – both are pronounced almost the same way, but “잼께” is used more often because it has more emphasis compared to “잼게”.
Image credit: @eunwo.o_c
“잼” is used in many slang terms, including “노잼” (no-jaem), which means “no fun”.
14. 고마웡 (go-ma-woong)
Image credit: @loonatheworld
“고마웡” (go-ma-woong) is an adorable way to say “thank you”. It’s not an abbreviation – rather, it’s a cute way of saying of “고마워” (go-ma-wo) and is often used in texting.
Add “~” behind “고마웡” to emphasise the aegyo (acting cute) – it’s read as if you are dragging the last syllable.
15. 나두 (na-du)
Image adapted from: @twicetagram
“나두” (na-du) is a cute way to say “me too” – the proper term is “나도” (na-do).
This can also be said IRL and is a form of aegyo.
You can use this to convince someone to get you something as aegyo is supposed to be very effective when used well.
Korean texting slang terms
There are numerous Korean texting slang terms, but these 15 easy texting slangs will give you a good head start. Start using them when texting others – they will be impressed with your knowledge of Korean texting styles. And if you have Korean friends, they will be amazed that you are texting like how a Korean would.
Also check out:
- 41 Konglish words
- 43 Korean slang
- 15 Korean phrases for shopping
- 15 romantic Korean phrases
- 15 Korean phrases for travelling
Cover image adapted from: Playlist Global
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