Korean Text Slang: Mastering Acronyms in Texting (ㄱㄱ, ㅉㅉ, ㅅㄱ, ㅂㅂ, ㅇㄷ, ㄴㄱ, ㅈㅅ,ㄱㄷ, ㅁㅊ, ㄷㄷ, etc.)
Jul 10, 2024
- Author: Good Job Korean team
- Editor: Good Job Korean team
👍 Contents (Click to navigate instantly)
✅ㅋㅋ (lol)
✅ㅎㅎㅎ (hahaha)
✅ㅇㅋ (okay)
✅ㅇㅋㄷㅋ (okay: 오키도키)
✅ㅇㅇ (yes yes)
✅ㄴㄴ (no-no)
✅ㄱㄱ (go go, let's go)
✅ㅉㅉ (sound of disapproval)
✅ㅈㅈ (GG, surrendering in a game)
✅ㅅㄱ (good work)
✅ㄱㅅ (thank you)
✅ㅈㅅ (sorry)
✅ㅎㅇ (hi)
✅ㅂㅂ / ㅃㅃ (bye bye)
✅ㅊㅋ (congrats!)
✅ㅅㅇㅊㅋ (happy birthday)
✅ㄱㅊ (I'm fine)
✅ㅇㄷ? (where are you?)
✅ㄴㄱ? (who is it?)
✅ㅇ? (why)
✅어케? (how, what should we do?)
✅ㅁㄹ (I don't know)
✅ㄹㄷ (ready)
✅ㅇㄱㄹㅇ (this is a real truth)
✅ㅇㅈ (right?)
✅ㄱㄷ (wait)
✅ㅁㅊ (crazy)
✅ㄱㅇㄷ (lucky!)
✅ㅎㄹ (OMG)
✅ㅇㅎ (Ah-ha)
✅ㄷㄷ (shivering)
✅ㅎㅈㅇㅇ(summarize it please)
✅8282 (quickly)
✅10C미 (diligently)
✅700 (cute)
✅1004 (angel)
✅Emoticons
✅Bonus: Swear Words
✅How to Sound Cute on Texts
In this modern world, texting has become an everyday mode of communication. Similar to English, Koreans have a way of shortening their texts. If you have mastered the Korean alphabet, Hangul, you will now learn how to use these letters in texting. These Korean text slang terms are handy when texting with friends, making the texts sound friendlier and less formal. Text slang terms are very casual language forms, so you should only use them in casual settings. Do note that text slang may make you sound immature, so be careful not to overuse them. Besides that, the trend of slangs changes rapidly over the years, so each generation and age group may feel some of these slang terms to be too new or too outdated.
Let us delve into the abbreviations and emoticons Koreans often use in texting and the Internet.
ㅋㅋ (lol)
This term comes from the sound of laughter 크크. This onomatopoeia is similar to the English LOL. When your friend texts you something funny, you can reply ㅋㅋ to show it is hilarious. Generally, the number of ㅋ indicates how funny the situation or the joke is.
ㅎㅎㅎ (hahaha)
ㅎㅎㅎ comes from 하하하 or hahaha. The usage is similar to ㅋㅋ, but ㅎㅎㅎ gives a slightly softer tone. Like the above, the more ㅎ you add, the more laughs you have.
ㅇㅋ (okay)
ㅇㅋ comes from the Konglish word 오케이 or 오키 to mean okay. This acronym, taken from the first two letters of the transliterated word, expresses acknowledgment.
ㅇㅋㄷㅋ (okay: 오키도키)
The spelling for this acronym is 오키도키 or okie dokie. This Konglish is similar to its English equivalent, a cuter version of saying okay.
ㅇㅇ (yes yes)
This slang comes from 응응, the informal way to say yes. Koreans prefer to use ㅇㅇ more than 네 as it sounds a lot friendlier in texts.
ㄴㄴ (no-no)
This acronym comes from 노노 or no-no in English. This slang means no or negates a statement.
ㄱㄱ (go-go, let's go)
Please do not confuse this with ㄴㄴ. ㄱㄱ is a slang coming from 고고 or go-go. ㄱㄱ is a way to nudge someone to hang out or to go out and do something.
ㅉㅉ (sound of disapproval)
Koreans express disapproval or annoyance by using ㅉㅉ. It is an abbreviation from 쯧쯧, a similar sound as tsk tsk in English.
ㅈㅈ (GG, surrendering in game)
ㅈㅈ stands for good game or GG, frequently used by gamers when they finish playing a game. Also, it's commonly used as a sign of surrendering when losing the game.
ㅅㄱ (good work)
ㅅㄱ is an acronym that comes from 수고하세요, which means good work in English. Koreans frequently say this to their friends or colleagues at the end of a workday or project.
ㄱㅅ (thank you)
You may have learned the formal way of saying thank you 감사합니다. This acronym comes from the word 감사, the informal way to say thank you in Korean. Besides ㄱㅅ, you may also use 감4 to mean thank you in Korean text slang. Number 4 in Korean is 사, so 감4 stands for 감사.
ㅈㅅ (sorry)
To say sorry, you would say 죄송합니다 (formal) or 죄송해요 (polite). Therefore, ㅈㅅ is the acronym for 죄송, short for sorry in Korean. This slang is a very informal way to apologize among peers.
ㅎㅇ (hi)
This acronym comes from the English word Hi or 하이. ㅎㅇ is a friendly way to greet your friends on texts.
ㅂㅂ / ㅃㅃ (bye bye)
To say bye to your friends on texts, you can use this acronym that comes from 바이바이 or the cuter version 빠이빠이. This Konglish is like what it means in English bye bye.
There are also other variations you may use: ㅂㅇ, ㅂㅇㅂㅇ, ㅂ2ㅂ2, and ㅂ2. Why the number 2? The number 2 in Korean is 이, so the number is used to replace the syllable.
ㅊㅋ (congrats!)
ㅊㅋ is an acronym that comes from 축하해요, which means congratulations. The first '축하' part is pronounced as [추카] so it becomes 'ㅊㅋ'. To make it more casual and informal, Koreans would say 축하 to congratulate their peers. On texts, 축하해요 shortens to ㅊㅋ. To make the text sound more exciting, Koreans would say ㅊㅋㅊㅋ with an exclamation mark to mean 축하축하!
ㅅㅇㅊㅋ (happy birthday!)
Can you guess what this means? ㅅㅇㅊㅋ is the shortened version of 생일축하해 or Happy Birthday in Korean. You can use this to wish your friends happy birthday in texts.
ㄱㅊ (I'm fine)
This abbreviation comes from 괜찮아, meaning It is okay in Korean. It is equivalent to replying to a text with k.
ㅇㄷ? (where are you?)
When you ask your friend for their location, you can text them ㅇㄷ? ㅇㄷ is an acronym for 어디, which means Where are you? in English.
ㄴㄱ? (who is it?)
ㄴㄱ is another question acronym that Koreans use a lot in texts. ㄴㄱ stands for 누구, which means Who? in English.
ㅇ? (why?)
This acronym is short for 왜, meaning Why? in English.
어케? (how, what should we do?)
To ask your friend 'How?' or 'What should we do?' on texts, you can type 어케. This slang is a short form of 어떻게?(how) or 어떡해?(what should we do).
ㅁㄹ (I don't know)
When your friends ask you something, and you want to reply, I don't know, you can use the acronym ㅁㄹ. ㅁㄹ comes from 몰라, which means I do not know in Korean. You can equate this with IDK in English.
ㄹㄷ (ready)
ㄹㄷ may be foreign to you, but ㄹㄷ is commonly used by Koreans when they ask the other person if they are ready to make a move or to do something. This acronym comes from the Konglish word 레디 or ready in English.
ㅇㄱㄹㅇ (this is the real truth)
ㅇㄱㄹㅇ is an acronym for 이거레알, which means this is real in English. This slang agrees with something your friend has just said.
ㅇㅈ (right?)
This is an acronym for 인정, which literally means "I admit" or "I acknowledge." This phrase is useful when you are trying to check with the other person if he/she agrees with you, or if you want them to agree with you.
ㄱㄷ (wait)
ㄱㄷ stands for 기달(기다리다), which means wait in Korean. You can use this when you need a moment to reply to your friend.
ㅁㅊ (crazy)
This acronym comes from the word 미친, which means crazy in English. You can use this slang when your friend tells you something that does not make sense or sounds crazy. You can combine it with 'ㅋㅋ(lol)' like "ㅁㅊ ㅋㅋ" when someone's joke is insanely hilarious.
ㄱㅇㄷ (lucky!)
ㄱㅇㄷ comes from 개이득, literally means "dog gain" in Korean. While the translation of the longer version may seem funny or weird, it actually is a phrase that Koreans use when something great happens entirely by chance.
ㅎㄹ (OMG!)
If you have read our previous post, you may have come across the word 헐! The text slang ㅎㄹ refers to 헐, which expresses disappointment or surprise. It is equivalent to the English slang what the... or OMG
ㅇㅎ (Ah-ha!)
This acronym stands for an English expression A-ha! or 아하!
ㄷㄷ (shivering)
Koreans use ㄷㄷ to express fear in text. ㄷㄷ is an acronym for 덜덜, which means shivering in Korean. You can use ㄷㄷ when your friend tells you something shocking that gives you the creeps.
ㅎㅈㅇㅇ (summarize it, please)
This acronym is a suitable reply when you have a spam texter as a friend. ㅎㅈㅇㅇ stands for 한줄요약, which means a one-line summary. This acronym is equivalent to English text slang TL;DR or too long, did not read.
8282 (quickly)
Can you guess what this means? Try reading the numbers in Korean. You are right! The number 8282 means 빨리빨리 or quickly, quickly in English. This slang came about because the number 8 (팔) has a similar sound to 빨, and when combined with the number 2 (이), it would sound like 빨리. So 8282 = 빨리빨리.
10C미 (diligently)
Other than 1012 (as explained above), Koreans would also use 10C미 to mean 열심히 or diligently:
10 (열), C pronounced as 씨, and followed by 미 —> 열심히
700 (cute)
The number 700 looks like ㄱㅇㅇ, which stands for 귀여워 or cute.
1004 (angel)
In Korean, 1000 is 천, and the number 4 is 사. Putting these numbers together makes 1004, which stands for 천사 or Angel in English.
Emoticons
These emoticons are a pictorial representation of a facial expression using letters, numbers, and symbols. Below are some of the frequently used emoticons in texts:
Crying 😭 - ㅠㅠ / ㅜㅜ / ㅠ_ㅠ / ㅜ_ㅜ / ㅜ.ㅜ / ;ㅅ;
Shocked 😳 - ㅇㅁㅇ / ㅇㅅㅇ / ㅁㅅㅁ
Disgusted 🤮 - 0ㅠ0 / 요TL
Defeated - ㅇㅈㄴ / OTL (this emoticon looks like a kneeling person where the ㅇ represents the head, ㅈ the hands, and ㄴ the bent legs)
Bonus: Swear Words
We can all agree that one of the first things we master the fastest while learning a new language is swear words. Let us take a look at the swear slang used in texting.
ㅅㅂ
Have you watched the K-drama called Squid Game? Then this may sound familiar to you. This acronym is from a popular Korean swear word 시발. Although there is no direct translation to this vulgar word, the closest English equivalent term is F^ck. Please do not use this unnecessarily!
ㄲㅈ
When your friend annoys you too much, or if you want to be left alone, you can text ㄲㅈ in reply. This acronym comes from 꺼져 which means go away.
ㄷㅊ
ㄷㅊ is another acronym that you should be careful with. ㄷㅊ comes from the Korean word 닥쳐, which means shut up. Do note that there is a difference in the meaning of shut up between Korean and English. In English, besides asking someone to keep quiet, shut up also expresses amazement or excitement. However, if you text ㄷㅊ or 닥쳐 to your friend, it feels like you are asking your friend to shut the F up.
ㄷㅈㄹ
This acronym stands for 뒤질래, which means wanna die? When Koreans text this, they do not actually mean that they are cursing the recipient to die. It is just a figure of speech to tell their friends to stop teasing.
ㅗ / ㅗㅗ
What does ㅗ or ㅗㅗ look like to you? These emoticons look like middle fingers, ㅗ or ㅗㅗ in texts is like showing your friends your middle finger. You cannot unsee them now, can you?
How to Sound Cute On Texts
Besides the abbreviations and acronyms above, Koreans have a unique way of sounding cute while texting. Have you seen an extra ㅇ or ~ at the end of the sentence? These are not typos but an intentional addition to make the text sound cuter.
Adding ㅇ at the end of a word when it does not exist makes the sentence sound more affectionate, like a child talking. For example, 고마워 means thank you in casual form but can sound cuter when typed as 고마웡.
Adding ~ to the end of a sentence would make the text sound friendlier. The ~ would make the ending word longer, as though the texter is cutely dragging the expression. The more ~ you add, the longer the sound is. For example, 고마워~~~ would sound like thank youuu.
What if you put two of them together? For example, 고마웡~~~. Can you imagine what it sounds like? Ps: use baby voice for the best impact :)
Did you have fun learning Korean slang? Now, you can impress your Korean friends using the slang above (not the swear words, please!).
- Author: Good Job Korean team
- Editor: Good Job Korean team
