Gaming slang

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

A term derived from the word 'Ganking' in the video game League of Legends, meaning a sudden attack.

Clicking a mouse button furiously fast, "like a madman" — originated from computer gaming.

Describes someone who can't play the League of Legends champion Yasuo well, or the situation of playing him badly. The opposite is "Ya-pilseung" (guaranteed win with Yasuo).

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.

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

To carry a game — single-handedly winning it for your team through outstanding play.

Dog + Gain. It means 'gained a significant profit'.

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.

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.

A Koreanized rendering of "aggravation/aggro" — deliberately provoking conflict or demanding attention. In RPGs, "aggro" is when an AI monster locks onto and chases a specific player. Online, it describes stirring up drama to get attention, phrased as "pulling aggro" ("eogeuro-reul kkeunda"); "wide-area" is sometimes added as a prefix for an especially intense version.

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.

A roundabout way of saying something or someone looks ugly, tacky, or just bad. Spread from a meme about a player's avatar in the game LinePlay.

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

Playing a game way too seriously and competitively.

"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.

"Their form is insane" — said in amazement when someone's performance, skill or look is on another level.

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.

"Prim and aloof." A character-personality trope in Japanese manga, anime and bishoujo games. Blends the Japanese for a standoffish, curt demeanor ("tsuntsun") with "bashful/lovestruck" ("dere").

A character-personality trope common in anime and bishoujo games — someone with an obsessive, unhealthy attachment to one person. Blends the Japanese words for "sick/ill" (yamu) and "bashful/lovestruck" (dere).

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

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

"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."

It mainly refers to when the enemy's HP is very low, close to zero, in PvP games.

A blend of the first syllables of Genji, Tracer, Widowmaker, and Hanzo — Overwatch heroes (by Blizzard) notoriously blamed for losses when picked poorly.

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.

"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.

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

"Playing League of Legends with your mouth," meaning someone who talks a big game but doesn't back it up with actual skill.

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

Used to mean "fabrication/rigging." Traces to pro gamer Ma Jae-yoon, notorious for a match-fixing scandal — when viewers kept typing "jojak" (rigged) in his stream chat, he banned the word, so viewers switched to the similar-sounding "jujak," which stuck.

A game monster/enemy — from English "mob." Also used as a suffix, e.g. "boss-mob."

"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).

"You see as much as you know" (shortened) — arose among online viewers who argue over and defend pro gamers' plays, based on how much game knowledge they actually have.

It is a word formed by the glottalization of 'gae'. Its meaning is the same as that of a dog.

"Character deletion," shortened — deleting a game character.

Short for "not my business" — a blunt way of saying you don't care about someone else's problem. It spread through game streams around 2022.

"God-tier control," shortened — flawless, superhuman skill in a game.

"The final boss" — the toughest enemy that appears at the very end of a game. Used to mean the best (or worst) of something.

The English word "newbie," spelled out in Korean. A user who's new to an online game or community.

"Individual match" (a game you play solo) — coined as slang. The opposite is "team match" (timjeon).

Blends "copy" with the suffix "-dori" (a person) — someone who uses pirated, illegally copied games or software instead of a legitimate copy.

"Aura farming" — deliberately doing things that look cool to build up an air of coolness, as if grinding for XP.

In online games, if you don't claim an item you earned within a set time, other players become eligible to grab it instead. When someone else takes it, that's called a "steal."

Blends the Chinese character for "obtain" with English "item" — getting hold of an item. Used in games and in everyday conversation alike for acquiring something.

Spending real money to buy in-game currency or items, shortened from "real-money conversion."

"Troll" — an insult for an unskilled or careless League of Legends player. Named partly after the champion Trundle, whose ice-pillar ability, if mastered and spammed, can trap a team and stop them from returning to base.

In a game, sacrificing your own health to nearly kill an opponent, only for someone else to swoop in and steal the kill — or, someone who dies by tunnel-visioning on a kill instead of watching their surroundings.

"PC bang" (internet cafe / gaming cafe), shortened.

"Sightseeing" — used to mean winning a match or contest by an overwhelming margin. Traces to DC Inside's StarCraft gallery: English-speaking gaming communities used a term for a lopsided loss with a violent connotation, and Korean users adapted a similar-sounding but unrelated word ("sightseeing") to sidestep that connotation while keeping the same meaning. The opposite (an unexpected comeback rout) is "reverse sightseeing."

In MMORPGs, players fighting and killing each other directly. Similar to "Player vs Player" (PvP).

In MMORPGs, a high-level player boosting a low-level player's experience gains by partying with them, splitting shared XP unevenly in the lower player's favor. The origin is debated — either from a word meaning "to handle/process," or from slang for someone who tags along behind a stronger player.

From the game World of Tanks — the Tiger tank had its engine mounted at the front, so hitting it there produced a distinct "bboo-riya!!" sound effect.

"Nerf" — weakening a character, item, or skill in a game balance patch.

A forced waiting period before you can use an ability or action again — from English "cool time" (cooldown).

From English "generate" — when a monster spawns in a game's field or dungeon (e.g. "mob-jen," "boss-jen").

Likely a blend of English "Go" with the sound "sshing," meant to evoke moving fast. An alternate theory ties it to a specific internet personality's nickname. The community where it first spread makes the personality-based origin the more credible one.

An abbreviation of 'main character,' referring to the character managed since the beginning of the game, or the most important character.

When an online argument escalates into meeting up and fighting in person — blends "reality" with "PK" (player kill).

From English "time" — attached to another word to mean "time for ~," e.g. "bap-tam" (meal time) or "boss-tam" (when a game boss spawns).

Short for "real life" — the part of life outside games, fandom or the internet. "Time to get back to hyeonsaeng."

"Max level" — a character at a game's highest possible level. "High level" is "go-lep," "low level" is "jeo-lep."

The act of removing the lid-shaped heat spreader surrounding a computer's CPU. This is primarily attempted for overclocking purposes.

To weaken something in a game update; to make less powerful.

Originally the name of an ugly game monster (an orc); now also used for an unattractive person, as in "orc-girl" or "orc-guy." The opposite is "elf."

Short for "cheat character" — an overpowered character in a game, or a real person who seems unfairly talented.

Literally means "a great victory," but on DC Inside's domestic-baseball gallery it's flipped to describe a game that goes so badly it draws criticism instead.

From the game Special Soldier — refers to players who rely exclusively on shotguns (like the UTS-15 or M870) to get kills.

"Overpowered/broken character" (shortened from "scam character") — originally a gaming term for an unfairly strong character, now also used offline for someone with outstanding talent or looks. (Unrelated to the Japanese rice wine "sake," despite the similar sound.)

In Super Mario Maker 2, a battle system is introduced, and one of the messages, 'Let's help each other!', is used when the player kills the player who wrote this message.

"Lucky headshot," shortened — mostly used in FPS games for a headshot that landed more by luck than skill.

"Good game" — said at the end of a match; also means "it's over."

To strengthen something in a game update.

"Level up" — a character gaining experience and increasing in level. Losing a level is "lep-dda."

Means "beginner" — from the English gaming slang "noob," used for someone frustratingly clueless.

Working hard and consistently toward a goal; repetitive effort.

Going straight at it: showing your feelings openly instead of playing games.

When a game server has issues and a character's progress has to be rolled back to an earlier state — officially termed a "rollback." Also spelled "ppaek-seop."

From the game World of Tanks — refers to the 105mm main gun used on tanks like the T82 and T40.

Short for "pleasure without responsibility" — enjoying something with none of the stakes, like watching a baseball game between teams you don't root for.

Refers to the neutral monsters in MOBA-style (AOS) games.

"The Bean Line" — describes someone (or a whole lineage of people) who's always the runner-up, never the champion. Named after StarCraft pro gamer Hong Jin-ho, nicknamed "Bean," who placed second in official tournaments an unusually large number of times; later players who kept finishing second were lumped into the same "line."

A compound word formed from the Chinese character for "obtain" (득) and the English word "item," meaning to obtain a good item. It is used not only in games but also in everyday conversations to describe easily acquiring a good item.

Attacking or killing a member of your own team.

Dopamine + "farming" — actively hunting for quick hits of stimulation, like binging short-form videos or extreme food challenges.

Short for "suspicious" — shady, questionable. Popularised by the game Among Us.

Short for "ranked game" — the competitive mode where your rating is on the line.

"Critical hit," shortened — landing a critical/bonus-damage attack in a game.

A small, fun detour from your main plans, like a game's optional mission.

Someone who seems to act on autopilot, without original thought — from non-player characters in games.

"Team match," coined as slang for games played in teams. The opposite is "individual match" (gaenjeon).

"Individual match" — a game played solo rather than in teams. The opposite is "team match" (timjeon).

From "support" — the game role that keeps teammates alive rather than dealing damage.

Short for "two proud geniuses" — used ironically for two equally mediocre people locked in a petty contest. It sounds like an old idiom but comes from a League of Legends video title.

A beginner, especially an unskilled one in games.

A "hexagon person" — someone who scores high in every area of life (looks, education, job, wealth, family, personality), like a maxed-out stat chart in a video game.

An exaggerated, sing-song way of shouting "GG" (good game). Used not just after losing a game but whenever something has gone wrong, as a joking "it's over."

A blend of "cope" and "opium" — the denial or self-delusion someone uses to avoid facing a loss or failure. "Blaming the lag again? That's pure copium."

A literal Korean rendering of "take the L" — used to taunt someone who lost, and now often tossed out as a random meme.

Initials of "라고 할 뻔" ("...is what I almost said") — tacked onto the end of a jab to tease someone while pretending you didn't really say it.

From the StarCraft transport unit — someone who's bossed around into running errands for others, often a bullied student. Combines into words like 빵셔틀 ("bread runner").

A suffix meaning to optimize something to the extreme, as in "sleepmaxxing" or "looksmaxxing" — often used jokingly.

Gaming trash talk for someone or something terrible — "You're dog water at this game."

Slang for a hot dog; originally slang for a Glock handgun. "Grabbing a glizzy at the game."

A joking insult meaning roughly "suspicious fool" — "You ate my fries, you sussy baka." It combines "sussy," from the Among Us slang "sus," with the Japanese word baka (idiot).

A blend of "immoral toward family" (패륜) and "drip" (드립, a riff or joke) — an insult or joke that targets someone's parents or family. Common in game chat and online fights, and considered a serious insult.