Are Noona and Unnie the same?
오빠 [oppa] addresses a 'older brother' of a female speaker. 언니 [unnie] addresses a 'older sister' of a female speaker. 형 [hyung] addresses a 'older brother' of a male speaker. 누나 [noona] addresses a 'older sister' of a male speaker.
Unnie sounds nice, friendly and non-flirty unlike oppa. Female customers call female staff in a clothing store “unnie” whether she's older or younger. Sometimes customers and staff both call each other unnie.
sunbae (plural sunbaes) An upperclassman or senior, in the context of South Korea. quotations ▼ (South Korean idol fandom) An older or more experienced idol, viewed as a veteran, mentor, or predecessor.
Minjung January 24, 2023. Noona can be a hot older woman or a cool female friend you hang out with. This post covers the different meanings of noona from a Korean perspective.
Jagiya (자기야) – “Honey” or “Baby”
Perhaps the most popular of the Korean terms of love between couples, it means “honey”, “darling” or “baby” which you'll often hear among couples in K-dramas. You can also just shorten it to 자기 (jagi). Use this term along with Korean love phrases. It's used for both men and women.
Borrowed from Korean 오빠 (oppa, “elder brother or close elder male friend (of a female)”).
Public displays of affection (PDA) is a sin most Korean couples commit. While you should keep the steamy make-out sessions private, PDA tends to happen on the norm in Korean dating culture. Holding hands, giving a peck, or even a kiss is a usual sight.
A more common way (maybe a bit of slang here) would be to say 뽀뽀해줘 (bbo-bbo hae jweo) which literally means “Give me a kiss.”
Namjachingu – “Boyfriend”
To call someone your boyfriend, you can use namjachingu. Similar to the previous example, this term of endearment comprises two Korean words: namja (“man”) and chingu (“friend”).
Aigoo / 아이구: Geez, oh no, oops. Can be used in many different contexts, but usually it's used to show frustration.
What is Ahjussi in Korea?
The word "ahjussi" refers to a middle-aged man or uncle in South Korea.
Noun. hoobae (plural hoobaes) An underclassman or junior, in the context of South Korea. quotations ▼ (South Korean idol fandom) A newer or less experienced idol.

누나 (noona) to address a female friend who is older. Nuna is the opposite of oppa. While oppa is used exclusively by females when addressing older males, nuna is used exclusively by males when addressing older females. You may also see 누나 spelled as “Nuna.” Nuna is used in place of a person's name.
You can write “unnie” in Korean as 언니. The most common way to write 언니 in romanized English is “unnie.” If you follow the romanization rules, it is spelled “eonni.” Less commonly, you may also see the word written as “oni” or “uni.”
The Korean word hyung has the same meaning as oppa above. It is also used to address an older brother or male friend. The key difference is that oppa is only used by girls, while hyung is only used by boys.
애교 (aegyo) – “Cute”
애교 (aegyo) is more a way of dressing and speaking than a slang term itself. But it means “lovely” or “cute.” Cuteness in Korean has its own culture, where you speak in aegyo with long drawn out syllables and exaggeratedly cute mannerisms. This is popular among Korean idols especially.
Noona (누나): This is a term for older sisters of boys, but can also be used for an older female friend and even a girlfriend, who is older than the boy.
Is Oppa a flirty word? Oppa is the Korean word for 'older brother. ' It is used by a younger girl to refer to an older guy. It is also used as a flirtatious way.
아빠 {noun} daddy (also: dad, pa)
동생 • (dongsaeng) (hanja 同生) younger sibling.
What is the 3 date rule Korea?
The “three-day rule”
If you're dating in a country other than Korea, you're probably familiar with the “three-day rule.” This rule says that you shouldn't reach out to someone you're newly interested in via text or phone call for at least three days after getting their phone number.
Present. Rates vary widely, from over 90% in Israel and many Muslim-majority countries, 86.3% in South Korea, to 80% in the United States, to 58% in Australia, to 45% in South Africa, to 20.7% in the United Kingdom, to under 1% in Japan and Honduras.
Physical Contact: Koreans are generally not very physically affectionate with one another. However, girls and young women may walk hand-in-hand and male friends may touch one another more frequently than what is the norm amongst western men. Personal Space: Personal space is not guarded very closely in Korea.
Flirting in Korean culture is pretty much like what you see in Korean dramas. They use romantic, sweet, and cute phrases to touch the heart of the person they like. Aside from romantic phrases, they also flirt by acting cute, called aegyo (애교).
Although the culture around hugging is changing, hugging in Korea is generally reserved for couples or for close friends or family that are saying goodbye for a long while. Instead, if you want some skin, you can opt for the universally acceptable high-five ;).
It is not possible to enter North Korea from South Korea or to enter South Korea from North Korea. Even if you meet all entry requirements, you may be arbitrarily arrested and/or detained at your point of entry.
Instead, you'd simply call them “husband” (남편| nampyeon), “wife” (아내 | anae / 와이프 | waipeu), “boyfriend” (남친 | namchin) and “girlfriend” (여친 | yeochin).
Pumpkin, peanut, bubby, baby, babe, bae, honey, darling, sugar, sweetie, honeybunch…
- 1. “Your smile is beautiful.” Formal. 웃는 얼굴이 아름다워요. Unneun eolguri areumdawoyo. ...
- “You are beautiful.” Formal. 미인이세요. Miiniseyo. ...
- “You are handsome.” / “You are cool.” Formal. 멋있어요. Meosisseoyo. ...
- “You look like a celebrity.” Formal. 연예인 같으세요. ...
- “You look great in ___.” Formal. ~이/가 잘 어울려요.
“Omo” in Korean
The word “omo” is another common romanization for 어머. This word still means “oh my god” in Korean.
What is a Daebak mean?
대박 • (daebak) (hanja 大朴) (colloquial) terrific; awesome; great.
대박 – (Daebak) Meaning: That's awesome! Stars in Korean dramas and variety shows use this word frequently. It describes when something is awesome or it's a way of showing enthusiasm.
What does Anyo mean in Korean? In Korean, “anyo” (안요) is a casual way of saying “hello” or “hi.” It is a shortened form of the phrase “anyoung haseyo” (안녕하세요), which means “hello” or “greetings.” “Anyoung haseyo” is a formal and polite way of greeting someone in Korean.
The word is frequently used when asking someone to do something “ppalli haeyo” (빨리 해요) or to come over “ppalli wayo” (빨리 와요). “Ppalli” basically means 'quickly' or 'hurry up', and the term “ppalli ppalli” refers to a culture where a fast-paced lifestyle is embraced.
Ottoke?! This expression means “What should I do now?!” This is usually used when you're in a difficult situation. For example: I forgot where I put my Alien Registration Card. Ottoke?! (What should I do now?!)
They usually drop honorifics after becoming friends. If your donggi is jaesusaeng, you can use unnie, oppa, hyung or noona. Male sunbae like to hear “oppa” from female hoobae. Since oppa may sound flirty, female students might prefer calling them sunbae.
Basically "sunbae" is a senior, so you would use this for people who are in higher grades than you at school or people who have more experience than you at work. " Hoobae" is the opposite, meant for juniors.
Sunbae is informal. The formal version is sunbaenim.
So pretty girl would be “예쁜 여자” and pretty flower would be “예쁜 꽃”.
씨 (shi) When added to a name, this essentially means Mr./Mrs./Miss. It's the most common and general honorific, and your go-to for someone who you're unfamiliar with but is at a relatively equal social and conversational standing.
What is Unnie and Noona?
Recap: Words for “Older Sister”
“Unnie” ( ) is used between sisters. “Noona” ( ) is used between a brother and his older sister.
For younger siblings, the word is the same regardless of your gender: Younger brother: 남동생 (namdongsaeng) Younger sister: 여동생 (yeodongsaeng)
Sister in Korean
It depends on the gender of someone addressing one's sister. For males, an older sister is addressed as 누나 (nuna). For females, an older sister is called 언니 (eonni).
The Korean word 친구 (chingu) translates to “friend,” but usage is a little bit different in Korean than it is in English. This is because Koreans generally only use the word for people of the same age or to refer to their close friends. The word 친구 (chingu) is quite easy to remember.
You may be wondering, “What does 'sunbaenim' mean?”. It is a Korean term used to address someone who is older than you in the work force or in an education system. This does not mean a good 10 years older than you, but someone who is maybe 2–7 years older than you. They are older, but not quite out of your age range.
The two many ways to use aegyo in speech are to draw out the final vowel sound in a word or to add ㅁ (“m”) or ㅇ (“ng”) to the end of the word. Let's look at the first example. The most common aegyo word is probably 오빠 (oppa), which means “older brother” but is also used as a cute nickname for boyfriends and husbands.
Rules of using oppa
The male must be older than one year but not older than 10 years.
Meaning of Oppa (오빠) = older brother. Meaning of Hyung (형) = older brother. Meaning of Noona (누나) = older sister. Meaning of Unnie (언니) = older sister.
Use kinship terms, even to address someone who is not family: 언니 (eonni, "older sister"), used by females to address a slightly elder female. 누나 (nuna, "older sister"), used by males to address a slightly elder female.
– Oppa (오빠) = Older brother (used by females) – Noona (누나) = Older sister (used by males) – Hyung (형) = Older brother (used by males) – Unnie (언니) = Older sister (used by females)
Does Unnie mean girlfriend?
What does unnie (언니) mean? The Korean word 언니 (unnie) is used if you are a woman talking to another older woman, even though that person is not related to you. You can use this to refer to your actual sister, family member, or to an older female friend.
Base noun | Honorific | English Translation |
---|---|---|
오빠 (oppa) | 오라버니 (orabeoni) | a female's older brother |
언니 (eonni) | 형님 (hyeongnim) | a female's older sister |
아들 (adeul) | 아드님 (adeunim) | son |
딸 (ttal) | 따님 (ttanim) | daughter |
여동생 (yeodongsaeng) Literal meaning: “younger sister” Is used to call: A younger female sibling or any female who's younger than you (as a female/male)