· Slangdunk Editors
What does 금사빠 (geumsappa) mean? The Korean slang for someone who falls in love fast
금사빠 (geumsappa) is short for “someone who falls in love right away.” It appeared in the early 2010s, turned up in drama coverage and newspaper columns, and gained relatives: 금사식, who falls out of love just as fast, and 늦사빠, who falls slowly.
At a glance
- Meaning
- Short for 금방 사랑에 빠지는 사람, “someone who falls in love right away.” Someone who falls for people easily, or that tendency.
- Origin
- Namuwiki dates it to the early 2010s. TenAsia (2015) and a Seoul Economic Daily column (2016) used it in the same sense. The first use is unconfirmed.
- Relatives
- Someone whose love cools fast is a 금사식 (Etoday); someone who falls slowly is a 늦사빠 (Namuwiki).
- In English
- No set translation. “Someone who falls in love easily” says it best.
A holiday dinner. An aunt notices her niece's phone wallpaper has changed again — a different person from last month. The aunt asks, and the niece confesses. The characters are invented, but every fact in their conversation has a source.
What does 금사빠 (geumsappa) mean? A niece explains
- Aunt (48)Your wallpaper changed again? Last month it was someone else.
- Daeun (23)Yeah, that's because I'm a 금사빠.
- Aunt (48)금사빠? You fall in love on Fridays (금요일)?
- Daeun (23)Not Friday — 금방, “right away.” It's short for someone who falls in love right away.
- Aunt (48)When did that word come along?
- Daeun (23)Namuwiki says the early 2010s. Nobody knows who said it first. But it was already in a TenAsia article in 2015, calling a character in the drama My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol who kept falling for men “the textbook 금사빠.”
- Aunt (48)A 금사빠 in a show called Geum Sa-wol. Destiny was in the name.
- Daeun (23)In 2016 it showed up in a Seoul Economic Daily editor's column, too. He first learned it when his daughter called a character in Reply 1988 a 금사빠.
- Aunt (48)I know how that editor felt. So if you fall fast, do you fall out fast?
- Daeun (23)That has its own word: 금사식, someone whose love cools right away. Etoday introduced it next to 금사빠 in 2017. Someone who falls slowly is a 늦사빠.
- Aunt (48)So are you a 금사빠 or a 금사식?
- Daeun (23)Just 금사빠. I don't cool off — the list of people I'm a fan of just gets longer.
- Aunt (48)I dated your uncle for three years before we got married.
- Daeun (23)That's a 늦사빠. Supposedly they're the ones who last.
금사빠
Short for “someone who falls in love right away.” A person who falls for others quickly and gives their heart easily, or that tendency. Also called 쉽사빠 (falls in love easily).
In Korean: '금방 사랑에 빠지는 사람'의 줄임말. 쉽게 반하는 사람이나 그런 성향.
- 눈 한 번 마주쳤는데 벌써 결혼식장 상상함. 나 금사빠 맞나 봐We made eye contact once and I'm already picturing the wedding. I must be a 금사빠.Text to a friend
- 걔 금사빠라서 소개팅 끝나기도 전에 애프터 신청할걸He's a 금사빠 — he'll ask for a second date before the first one's even over.The matchmaker's warning
- 금사빠인 줄 알았는데 알고 보니 금사식이었어I thought he was a 금사빠, but turns out he was a 금사식.Dating-advice forum
- 드라마 남주만 바뀌면 최애도 바뀌는 나는 화면 속 금사빠My favorite changes every time the male lead does. I'm an on-screen 금사빠.After a weekend binge-watch
Why has 금사빠 lasted so long?
As Namuwiki notes, unlike most fast-fading slang, 금사빠 is still alive in the 2020s. Probably because 금사빠 people haven't gone anywhere. It's three easy syllables, and it pairs neatly with 금사식 and 늦사빠 for sorting dating styles. It also doesn't sting much, whether someone else says it or you say it about yourself. If you've shouted 완내스 (totally my type) before even starting a 썸 (a flirtation), this word is about you.
금사빠 (geumsappa): frequently asked questions
Q. What does 금사빠 mean?
It's short for 금방 사랑에 빠지는 사람, “someone who falls in love right away” — a person who falls for others easily. It's also called 쉽사빠.
Q. What does 금사식 mean?
It's short for 금방 사랑이 식는 사람, “someone whose love cools right away.” Etoday introduced it alongside 금사빠 in 2017, and the two are often used as a pair.
Q. What's the opposite of 금사빠?
Namuwiki lists 늦사빠, someone who falls in love slowly — and tends to stay in love once they do.
Q. How do you say 금사빠 in English?
There's no set translation. Spell it out: “someone who falls in love easily” or “falls for people fast.”
Q. When did people start saying 금사빠?
Namuwiki dates it to the early 2010s. It was already used in the same sense by TenAsia in October 2015 and a Seoul Economic Daily column in January 2016. The first use is unconfirmed.
So: 금사빠 is a light-hearted label for people who fall fast, and a veteran of Korean dating slang with 금사식 and 늦사빠 in the family. Word is that Daeun's wallpaper changed again that night. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 금사빠 entry in the dictionary.
Sources
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