Do you want to impress your Korean friends or co-workers? How well do you understand the following Korean slang (속어) and colloquial expressions (구어 표현)?

 

Although they are not appropriate for formal situations, many Koreans use them commonly in everyday speech; they help people to express feelings and nuances of meanings quickly and more effectively than formal words. If you are interested in learning Korean slang and colloquial expressions, please check out the following examples.

* Examples of slang and colloquial expressions within sentences: slang and colloquial expressions are used in informal situations, therefore following examples are in informal speech patterns.

1. 어제 필름이 끊겼어: I blacked out yesterday (from drinking).

ex) 어제 소주를 너무 많이 마셔서 필름이 끊겼어. (I drank too much soju yesterday and blacked out.)

2. 땡땡이 치다: to play hooky or skip class/ work

ex) 오늘 날씨 너무 좋다. 우리 오늘 땡땡이 치자. (It is very beautiful outside. Let’s play hooky today.)

       오늘 수업 땡땡이 쳤어.   (I skipped class today.)    

3.  쌤:

         ex) 김 쌤이 제일 좋아.  (Teacher Kim is my favorite. )         

4. 품절남/품절녀 : 품절 literally means “sold out,” 남 means a man, and 녀 means a woman: in this case, men or women who are just married and out of single status.

         ex) 김하늘 씨가 품절녀에 합류했어. (Ha-Neul Kim became a married woman.)           

5. 대박나다 : to be very awesome or shockingly successful

ex) 정말 송혜교한테 사인 받았어? 대박이다! (Did you really get an autograph from Hye Kyo Song? You hit the jackpot!)

6. 핑프 : finger princess- person who asks for information even though she can Google for answers on-line.

ex) 아라는 핑프야.  (Ara is a finger princess.)

7. 낄끼빠빠 : to know when to join and when not to join – it is an abbreviation for 낄때 끼고 빠질때 빠지다.

ex) 태양이는 낄끼빠빠를 잘알아.  (Tae-Yang knows when to join and when not to join.)                           

8. 빵터지다: to laugh out loud, to burst into laughing- 빵 is a description of loud explosive noise, like “Bang” in English.

        ex) 줄리안 때문에 나 어제 빵터졌어. (I laughed really out loud because of Julian yesterday.)

9. 셀카: selfie- It is an abbreviation of self + camera

   * selfie stick is called as 셀카봉

        ex) 또 셀카 찍어? (Are you taking a selfie again?)

10. 페북: Facebook

         ex) 오늘 아침에 페북 확인했어?  (Did you check your Facebook this morning?) 

*^^* Are you ready to test your knowledge on Korean slang and colloquial expressions?

Match the followings:

1. 어제 필름이 끊겼어.                      A. to laugh out loud, to burst into laughing
2. 땡땡이 치다.                                 B. selfie
3. 쌤                                                C. to know when to join and when not to join
4. 품절남/품절녀                              D. to be very awesome or shockingly successful
5. 대박나다                                      E. married men or women-out of the single market
6. 핑프                                             F. Facebook
7. 낄끼빠빠                                      G. I blacked out yesterday (from drinking).
8. 빵터지다                                      H. teacher.
9. 셀카                                              I. finger princess
10. 페북                                             J. to play hooky or skip class/work

 

<Answers>

   1-G, 2-J, 3-H, 4-E, 5-D, 6-I, 7-C, 8-A, 9-B, 10-F

I hope the above examples will help your understanding in Korean slang and colloquial expressions and improve your fluency in informal Korean speech.

감사합니다! (Thank you!)