Korean phrases / Korean Texting Slang and KakaoTalk Words

Korean Texting Slang and KakaoTalk Words

Korean texting leans heavily on consonant-only abbreviations. Because Hangul builds syllables from separate letters, you can type just the first consonant of each syllable and readers fill in the rest: ㄱㅅ is 감사 (thanks), ㅊㅋ is 축하 (congrats).

The audio for each abbreviation is the word people would say out loud, not the letters themselves. KakaoTalk (카톡) is the app almost everyone in Korea uses, so 카톡 해 means "message me".

Voice:

Laughing and crying

  • ㅋㅋ

    keukeu

    lol

    More ㅋ means more laughter: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. A single ㅋ can read as cold.

  • ㅎㅎ

    heuheu

    hehe; a soft smile

    Gentler than ㅋㅋ, common with people you are less close to.

  • ㅠㅠ

    heukheuk

    crying eyes; sad or deeply touched

    The shape is two eyes with tears. ㅜㅜ means the same.

Consonant abbreviations

  • ㅇㅇ

    eungeung

    yeah, yep (응응)

    Casual; only with friends.

  • ㄴㄴ

    nono

    no no (노노)

  • ㅇㅋ

    okei

    OK (오케이)

  • ㄱㅅ

    gamsa

    thanks (감사)

  • ㅊㅋ

    chuka

    congrats (축하)

  • ㅈㅅ

    joesong

    sorry (죄송)

    Quick and casual; for a real apology, write it out.

  • ㄱㄱ

    gogo

    let us go (고고)

Everyday chat words

  • 넵

    nep

    Yes! (bright, eager)

    Very common in work chats: friendlier than a flat 네.

  • 지금 뭐 해?

    jigeum mwo hae?

    What are you doing now?

  • 이따 봐

    itta bwa

    See you later (today)

  • 답장 늦어서 미안

    dapjang neujeoseo mian

    Sorry for the late reply

  • 읽씹

    ikssip

    Left on read

    From 읽고 씹다, "read and ignore". 왜 읽씹해? means "why are you ignoring me?"

  • 꿀잼

    kkuljaem

    Super fun

    Literally "honey fun". The opposite is 노잼, no fun.

  • 노잼

    nojaem

    Boring

  • 인싸

    inssa

    A popular, outgoing person

    From "insider". The opposite is 아싸, "outsider".

Example conversation: A KakaoTalk chat

Two friends make plans for fried chicken. The audio reads the messages the way they would be said aloud. Friend 1 is voiced by Naeun and friend 2 by Jinhee.

  1. Friend 1

    지금 뭐 해?

    jigeum mwo hae?

    What are you doing?

  2. Friend 2

    집이야. 왜?

    jibiya. wae?

    At home. Why?

  3. Friend 1

    치킨 먹을래? ㅋㅋ

    chikin meogeullae? keukeu

    Want some chicken? lol

  4. Friend 2

    ㅇㅋ 콜! 어디서 봐?

    okei kol! eodiseo bwa?

    OK, deal! Where do we meet?

  5. Friend 1

    이따 일곱 시에 역 앞에서 봐.

    itta ilgop sie yeok apeseo bwa.

    See you at seven in front of the station.

  6. Friend 2

    넵 ㅎㅎ

    nep heuheu

    Yes! hehe

More everyday Korean

The romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which spells words rather than showing every sound change. The recordings are synthesized voices speaking standard Seoul Korean. For how sounds change between syllables, see how to pronounce Korean names.