Abbreviation slang

An abbreviation of 'push and pull,' it usually refers to the psychological game of pushing and pulling in a romantic relationship.

"Mom's friend's son" — used for someone impossibly accomplished compared to you. The female form is "eomchindal" (mom's friend's daughter); there's also "bu-chinnam" (wife's friend's husband).

It is an abbreviation of "suddenly pops out."

"The mood suddenly went cold," shortened.

"Forum user," shortened (from "게시판" + a suffix) — not related to the English word it happens to resemble.

Short for "eojjeoradago" ("so what am I supposed to do about it") plus "TV" — a dismissive way of telling someone to go watch TV instead of bothering you.

"Good thing you're a weirdo too" (shortened) — said fondly to a friend who shares your quirks.

Literally "seolleongtang (ox-bone soup) eaten through the nose" — a reference to the historical use of water torture against government critics. Now used to mean "you'll get in trouble" for posting something critical of the government.

A suffix meaning "there's a strong chance of / it looks like it's about to happen," e.g. "injeong-gak" ("looks like it's confirmed").

"Everyone dig together" (shortened), from the game Fortress — several players ganging up to attack one person.

"Forced expulsion" — kicking someone out of a chatroom, forum, or online community.

"Cafe-study tribe" — people who use cafes as a study or work space, often camping in a corner for hours.

"Mukbang" — an eating broadcast, short for "eating while broadcasting." Took off after a scene of an actor eating gimbap in the film Sea Fog struck audiences. Meant to make viewers hungry watching someone else eat.

It is to slander or curse while excessively excited.

"When I do it, it's romance; when you do it, it's cheating" (shortened) — a double standard, judging the same behavior differently depending on who's doing it.

"Hmm, if this is true, that's a little scary" (shortened) — said on hearing something hard to believe or shocking.

An abbreviation of ‘a worthless person whom one has never heard of or seen,’ used to refer to someone who is not well known to the public in a derogatory way.

It is an abbreviation for "cold city man." For women, it is called "Chado-nyeo" to indicate that they are cold.

"Sorry I couldn't protect you" (shortened) — used for an unfortunate or tragic situation.

A game's tech/upgrade tree — the order in which you research or unlock abilities and items.

It means “to be honest.”

"Sorry" (joesonghamnida), shortened.

Short for "case by case." Used to say something varies depending on the situation.

Background music — spelled out the way the English acronym "BGM" sounds when read phonetically in Korean.

Shorthand for "Ilbe" (Ilgan Best Jeojangso, a far-right forum).

Originally from a polite gamer sign-off ("enjoy the game"), it got shortened over time and repurposed to mean "forget it" or "get lost" — often used to shut down an absurd item-trade offer or dismiss someone outright.

Usually used while listening or responding to someone ("ㅇㅅㅇ... I see"). The related ㅇㅂㅇ is typically used as a question ("ㅇㅂㅇ? and then?"), while ㅇㅁㅇ signals understanding ("ㅇㅁㅇ! Ah-ha!"). Exact usage shifts depending on context.

A suffix shortened from "-grade student" — used as "yu-ding" (kindergartner), "cho-ding" (elementary schooler), "jung-ding" (middle schooler), "go-ding" (high schooler), "dae-ding" (college student), "jik-ding" (office worker). As youth crime has risen, harsher, more contemptuous versions aimed at middle/high schoolers have become more common than the plain forms.

"Honey" (kkul) plus a shortened "fun" (jaem) — means "a great time, really fun."

"One of my followers" — used to mention someone without naming them.

From "twieo-twieo" (run, run!) — means "get out of here now."

It is a person who likes something so much that they might appear strange, but tries to appear like an ordinary person to those around them.

I am saying this because I am having trouble solving the problem.

An insult for someone who is genuinely terrible at playing a game. Originated on DC Inside's StarCraft gallery, where a user said someone playing badly in a team match must be controlling with their feet — combining "foot" (bal) with "control." Someone especially bad is a "gae-balkeon." Not used insultingly in sports or games like DDR where feet are actually the point.

It is an abbreviation of 'Join in when you should, and back out when you should'.

"Keyboard battle," shortened — an online argument, sometimes escalating to whataboutism, personal attacks, threats, or doxxing.

"Humiliation play" (shortened) — used for a deeply embarrassing or humiliating situation.

Originally short for "you won't get a girlfriend" (an-saenggyeoyo). On the far-right forum Ilbe, it took on a mocking tone, sometimes paired with a faux-dialect phrase implying "things weren't like this in the old days."

1) "Damn good at something" (shortened, with a crude intensifier) — someone you look up to, sometimes called a "named" figure in their field. 2) "Damn good-looking" (shortened).

"Jamsiman" (just a moment) shortened step by step to "jamman," then to just the initials.

Used to mean "amazing/novel." Originated with World of Warcraft players, drawing on the nickname for the Paladin class ("sinseong-gisa," shortened wordplay to "sinbak," which also puns on "cockroach"). It spread so widely that many Koreans now think of it as standard vocabulary.

"Beat her once every three days" (shortened) — a misogynistic phrase, mainly used on the far-right forum Ilbe.

"Owoya," also shortened further to "pya."

"Chatting with your eyes" (shortened) — coined in old PC-communication chatrooms for reading along without ever posting. Also used for browsing a forum without leaving any trace — no likes, no replies.

Clipped from Japanese "arigatō gozaimasu" — a casual "thanks" used among friends and online.

Shortened way of saying "the girl I have a crush on."

"Just stay home and study" (a pun on the country name South Africa, which shares its Korean abbreviation with this phrase) — a dismissive suggestion.

"Leftist commie" (shortened, using a Cold War-era slur for communists) — typically used by right-leaning users to insult left-leaning ones.

It is pronounced as ‘hehe’, ‘kick-kick’, ‘kyakya’, etc., to express laughter.

"Left-wing zombie," shortened — typically used by right-leaning users to insult left-leaning ones.

"Absolutely precious," shortened — attached to a noun as a superlative, e.g. "wanso-chin" (a precious friend), "wanso-nam/nyeo" (a precious guy/girl).

A greeting coined by popular Korean YouTuber Bo Gyeom, blending his name with "hi-ru" (hello). Often abbreviated online to its consonants, "ㅂㅇㄹ."

"The X-family bastard" (shortened) — attaches a surname to insult a notorious or infamous person who shares it, commonly used on gaming/politics-adjacent forums to refer to specific public figures by surname alone.

Shorthand that can mean "annoying" (gwichana), "it's fine" (gwaenchanseumnida), or "together" (gachi), depending on context.

Short for "did that scratch you?" — needling someone who seems rattled. Comes across as rude.

Greatest Of All Time.

"Extremely disgusting/hateful," shortened.

Short for "neomuna" (so very/really) — a phrasing that started on Twitter's character limit and spread across beauty content and the wider internet.

An abbreviation of 'photo to prevent cropping.' It refers to simple, bizarre photos created to attract attention and prevent humor posts from being buried on back pages when uploaded to a bulletin board. The term originated on DC Inside.

It means idiot.

: It is the sequence of the basic positions of the left hand on a 2-set keyboard, meaning there is no thought.

Short for "attention seeker," used dismissively of someone who works too hard to be noticed.

Short for "shassyat," from the game Fortress 2 — used when achieving a specific in-game goal. The number of "ㅅ"s used can be stretched out for emphasis.

In internet slang, it is a modified spelling that causes communication difficulties. It is similar to Yaminjeongeum, but while Yaminjeongeum mostly uses Hangul, Alien language mixes various Hiragana, Katakana, and special characters.

It is an abbreviation of "clacking dentures," a derogatory term used to belittle older people who use their age as an excuse to lecture young people or violate etiquette in public places. A similar term is "kkon-dae."

Read as "eodi" (where) — shorthand for "where is it/you?"

Short for "funny but not funny" — a joke with something bleak underneath.

Short for "what matters is a heart that never breaks." From a 2022 League of Legends Worlds interview, now a general rallying cry.

"Clean domestic-baseball gallery," shortened — DC Inside's baseball board, styled as the "clean" version.

"Eyes welling up with moisture," shortened — used for something so funny you could cry, or a genuinely unfortunate situation. Unusually for internet slang, this one is credited to a specific celebrity (Ji Sang-ryul) rather than originating online.

Short for mutuals — people you follow who follow you back.

"Reality check time" — the sudden, deflating moment when you realise what you're actually doing with your life.

"Don't feed the idiots" (shortened) — telling people to ignore someone who's derailing a forum's mood or causing a scene.

"Leveling up hard/diligently," shortened — grinding a character's level in an online game.

"Anti-page-2 image," shortened — a quirky or eye-catching picture posted with a forum thread specifically to grab attention and keep the post from getting buried unnoticed. Coined on DC Inside.

"Right-wing zombie," shortened — typically used by left-leaning users to insult right-leaning ones.

"Rotten smile," shortened — a mocking, sneering smile.

"Eat and run" — taking something (money, an item, credit) and vanishing without honoring the deal; commonly used for scams or stealing another player's in-game item.

Shortened from "League of Legends," the Riot Games title. Someone addicted to it is sometimes called "lol-dok" or "lol-chung." English speakers use "League" instead of "LOL" for the game, to avoid confusion with "laugh out loud."

"Photo I personally took" — usually of a celebrity, shortened from "directly-shot."

"Stomach-tempting photo," shortened — a photo of delicious-looking food.

Crude shorthand for "hold on no matter what" — refusing to give up or sell, most often used about riding out a crashing stock or crypto position.

"Mom/Dad caution," shortened — a warning attached to posts with racy photos or videos, telling readers to make sure a parent isn't watching over their shoulder.

"Adult story," in photo or written form, shortened.

Short for "read and ignore" — leaving a message on read without replying. Not even opening it is "안읽씹."

"In my opinion."

"Away from keyboard" — not currently at your device.

Short for "the touch is still alive" — praise for someone whose skill or instincts are clearly intact. Opposite: gamdajuk.

"Shock and horror, you sorry beggars" (shortened) — from a line in a Korean-dubbed episode of The Simpsons.

"Add one idiot to the list, right here" (shortened) — a self-deprecating or mocking comment aimed at someone (including oneself).

"Out of one's field of view" (mixing English "out of" with the Korean for "sight/field of view"), shortened — expresses total disinterest. Traces to a line ("OUT of anjung") spoken by a character in the anime Initial D 2nd Stage.

It is an abbreviation for "male friend." It refers to a friend who is simply male, without any romantic feelings. Sometimes, this is interpreted the other way around and used to tease someone by calling them a "friend who loves men."

Direct message — a private message on social media.

Short for "small but certain happiness" — modest everyday pleasures you can count on.

From the domestic-baseball gallery — derived from "average hit rate" in baseball. Means "about average, nothing special." Related terms exist for above-average (ㅅㅌㅊ) and below-average (ㅎㅌㅊ).

Short for "Good Game" or "Give up Game" — from the StarCraft command typed in chat to concede. Also used generally after any failure or setback. Players often exchange "GG" both before a match as a greeting and after it as a sign of resignation.

"Thoroughly ruined" (shortened, with a crude intensifier) — used after an irreversible disaster, failure, or major setback.

"The mood suddenly went 'ddiyong'" (a comic sound effect), shortened — a term coined by a well-known Korean streamer (BJ Bogyeom).

Shorthand for "take care/thanks for the effort" (sugohada) — used as a farewell, or to tell someone "I'm done, handle it yourself."

It is the initial consonant of 'Real lol', similar to 'ㅇㅈ' but carries more of the meaning of laughter.

One True Pairing — your favourite couple to ship.

"Racial trait," shortened — from World of Warcraft, describing an ability unique to a particular in-game race. Now also used more broadly (and often controversially) to describe a trait supposedly common to a specific real-world ethnicity or group.

"Didn't ask," shortened — a dismissive response to unsolicited info.

"Culture gift card" (a prepaid voucher for books, movies, games, etc.), shortened.

Shorthand for a disapproving tsk-tsk sound, usually tacked on when putting someone down.

"Working hard" (shortened) — praise for a celebrity's looks or a brand's product performing impressively, e.g. "her beauty is working overtime" or "this Etude product is really working hard for me."

It is an abbreviation for ‘empty account’ and is used when there is no money or insufficient funds in the account.

"Blocking the path," shortened. Rose to popularity through the racing game KartRider in the mid-2000s — deliberately obstructing another racer during a match.

"Profile photo," shortened.

"Pretty from far away, ugly up close" (shortened) — a slightly sad term that started among teenagers, said to come down mostly to skin condition.

"Makeup is completed by the face" (shortened) — used when the same hairstyle and makeup as a celebrity just doesn't look the same on you. The missing ingredient was always their face.

"Audience critical hit" — behaviour at a show or cinema that ruins it for people around you.

Short for "today's workout done" — posted with the proof photo.

"Subtly arousing photo," shortened — not overtly explicit, but suggestive.

"Dawn commute to school," shortened — common among students cramming for college entrance exams or those living far from school.

"Lightning meetup" (shortened) — from PC-communication chat culture, an impromptu real-life meetup arranged after getting friendly in a chatroom. Sometimes shortened further to "beongae" or "beonggae."

Short for "please give it lots of attention" — tacked onto promo posts for a new album, show, or project, like "stay tuned!"

"Picking up a jjal" — saving a meme image you like off the internet.

"Permanent ban," shortened — an account permanently suspended from an online game or website for breaking the rules. Unrelated to the identical-sounding word for a memorial portrait. Also seen as "yeongban," "yeongbeul," "yeongchu" (all meaning permanent ban/block/expulsion).

"Mental breakdown," shortened — a complete mental collapse from shock or stress.