Gaming slang

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.

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

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

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

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).

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

"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.

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.

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 "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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

"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).

"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").

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."

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).

"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.

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

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."

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

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

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."

A League of Legends saying: picking the champion Yasuo guarantees you'll lose.

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.

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.

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

Attacking or killing a member of your own team.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

"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.

"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."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

"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.

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

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."

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.)

"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."

"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.

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.

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

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").

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.

It is a word derived from Fortress, but it is also derived from Daguri, meaning that several people attack one person.

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

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

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

In team combat games, it refers to a single individual leading their team to victory (carry) through outstanding performance. The meaning has expanded and is used in fields outside of gaming.

Weakening. It originated in *Ultima Online* when the stats of a certain sword were downgraded, prompting users to say, "Is this a Nerf sword?" Nerf is an actual toy brand. After this word was coined, the word "buff" was later derived and established itself with the meaning of "improving stats."

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

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.

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

It refers to clicking the mouse button rapidly as if crazy.

An emphasis prefix, a harder-sounding variant of "gae-" (very/damn).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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