50 Korean Text Slang Terms for the Modern Learner

Understanding Korean slang is an essential part of learning the language (or any language, for that matter).

You typically won't find these terms in standard textbooks, but learning them is crucial—as they will not only improve your fluency but also give you deeper insight into Korean language and culture.

Today we'll explore a specific category of Korean slang: Korean text slang. Let's review the most common terms and the reasons for learning them.

1. ㅋㅋ (LOL)

This originates from 크크. It's the Korean text slang version of the English “LOL.”

Including more ㅋ characters indicates more laughter, so don't be surprised to see long strings of ㅋ. It means whatever you said really amused the person you're chatting with.

2. ㅎㅎㅎ (Hahaha)

This comes from 하하하. While ㅋㅋ is used more often, ㅎㅎㅎ conveys a similar feeling, but suggests a gentler laugh. The same rule applies: more ㅎ characters mean more laughter.

3. ㅍㅎㅎ (Puhaha)

This is shorthand for 푸하하, and it's a bit stronger than ㅋㅋ and ㅎㅎㅎ. Imagine the first syllable as someone trying to hold back their laughter, only for it to burst out more forcefully than expected.

4. ㅇㅋ (OK)

This is an example of a Korean term borrowed from English. In standard Korean, “OK” is 오케이, which is sometimes shortened to 오키.

Essentially, ㅇㅋ uses the first consonants from 오 and 키. The meaning is the same as in English—a simple acknowledgment.

5. ㅇㅇ (Yes)

Derived from 응, this is an informal way to say “yes.” You likely already know the standard way to say yes is 네, but remember that Korean text slang is used in relaxed, casual situations.

6. ㄴㄴ (No No)

A shortened form of 노노, this is a transliteration of the English “no no.” It conveys a negative response.

7. ㅎㅇ (Hi)

Shorthand for 하이, this is another transliteration of an English word with a similar sound and meaning. Since it's only two characters, it's perfect for a quick greeting to friends and family.

8. ㅂㅂ / ㅃㅃ (Bye-bye)

These come from 바이바이 and the cuter version 빠이빠이, respectively. Both are friendly ways to end a conversation. You can also use ㅂㅇ.

9. ㄱㄱ (Go Go / Let’s Go)

This comes from 고고. It's used to encourage someone to get going or to do something, like hanging out.

10. ㅈㅈ (GG / Good Game)

Be careful not to mix up ㄱㄱ with ㅈㅈ. The latter stands for “GG” or “good game,” commonly said when a game ends.

11. ㅊㅋ (Congrats)

Based on 축하해요, this is a common way to offer congratulations. 축하 is a shorter, less formal version.

12. ㄱㅅ (Thanks)

Shorthand for 감사, this is a casual thank you. 감사 is itself a shorter form of the more formal 감사합니다.

13. ㅅㄱ (Good Work)

This one comes from 수고하세요, a phrase used to acknowledge someone's hard work. Be careful not to reverse the characters to ㄱㅅ, or you might confuse the other person!

14. 헉 ! (OMG)

Besides 헉 (which sounds like a choked, surprised noise), you can also use 헐, which has the same meaning. Use this for expressions like “No way!” or “Whoa!”

15. ㄷㄷ (Expressing Fear, Shock or Amazement)

This comes from 덜덜, meaning “shivering” or “quivering.” It's used in reaction to something that gives you goosebumps. Similar to laughter slang, using more ㄷ characters implies a stronger reaction.

16. 어케 (How?)

어케 is derived from the standard word for “how,” 어떻게. When spoken quickly, it can sound somewhat like 어떠케, as the ㅎ consonant at the end of 떻 is not strongly pronounced.

17. 잼게 / 잼께 (Have Fun)

This comes from 재미있게, which means “having fun.” This slang uses a different abbreviation method, combining 재 with the ㅁ from the next syllable and then the final syllable of the word.

Note that 재미있게 is pronounced like 재미이께, which is why 게 can be changed to 께.

18. 노잼 (No Fun)

The Korean character 노 sounds like the English word “no,” and as you saw earlier, 잼 means “fun.”

It means exactly what it sounds like: calling someone 노잼 means you think they're a bore.

19. ㅁㄹ (IDK)

This is short for 몰라, meaning “I don’t know.” IDK is common in English text slang, and the Korean version is just one character shorter.

20. OTL /ㅇㅈㄴ (Emoticon for Defeat or Disappointment)

Unlike the other text slang discussed, this is more of an emoticon than an abbreviation.

If you look carefully, you can see a person kneeling—with their head (O or ㅇ) down, their torso and arms on the ground (T or ㅈ) and their legs (L or ㄴ) bent. This expresses defeat, disappointment, or frustration.

21. ㅠㅠ/ㅜㅜ (Emoticon for Crying Eyes)

Another emoticon using the vowels ㅠ or ㅜ, this looks like closed eyes with tears falling.

22. ㅇㅁㅇ (Emoticon for Shocked Face)

Picture the two circles as eyes and the square as a mouth open in surprise. With just these three characters, you can show you're extremely surprised.

23. 0ㅠ0 (Emoticon for Vomiting)

Now, replace the ㅁ in the last entry with the ㅠ vowel, and you can “draw” a face with vomit coming from its mouth. Use this when you're disgusted by something you read—or if you actually feel sick.

24.ㅇㅈ? (Right?)

This is shorthand for 인정? (literally “I admit” / “I acknowledge”). You use this to check if the other person agrees with you—or to persuade them to agree.

25. ㄱㅊㄱㅊ (It’s Okay, It’s Okay)

Sometimes written as just ㄱㅊ (It’s okay) and based on 괜찮아, this phrase reassures someone else (or yourself) that everything will be fine.

26. ㄱㅇㄷ (Lucky!)

This comes from 개이득 (literally “dog gain”). While the full version might seem odd, it's used when something great happens to you by chance.

27. ㅈㅅ (Sorry)

Apologizing isn't always easy. If you don't want to type out the full 죄송하다는 (I’m sorry), this abbreviation will work.

28. ㅇㅅㅇ (Emoticon for Sweet Face)

Also written as “ㅇㅂㅇ,” this is the Korean equivalent of the English (UwU), which can be positive or negative depending on the context and the recipient's feelings about this emoticon.

29.ㅇㄷ (Where Are You?)

Shorthand for 어디, this is a quick message to send when you're on your way to meet someone but aren't sure if they've arrived. Younger Koreans sometimes use ㅇㄷㄱ as well.

30. ㄷㅊ (Shut Up)

Derived from 닥쳐, this is a blunt way to tell someone annoying to be quiet. To avoid causing offense, only use this with people you're very close to.

31. ㅎㅈㅇㅇ (TL;DR)

A quick version of 한줄요약 (literally “one-line summary”), this is the Korean equivalent of “TL;DR” (Too Long; Didn’t Read). If someone sends you a long message, you can reply with “ㅎㅈㅇㅇ”.

32. ㄹㅇ (Real / Really)

ㄹㅇ can mean “real” as the adjective (레알) or “really” as the adverb (리얼리). You use it to emphasize that something is true or exists.

33. ㅎㅅㄴ (Wink Emoticon)

Imagine the ㅎ as an eye with a flat eyebrow, the ㅅ as a smiling mouth, and the ㄴ as a half-closed eye. This emoticon suggests sharing a secret.

34. ㄴㄱ? (Who?)

This is a shorter way to say 누구? It's straightforward: use it to ask who someone is talking about, or to casually inquire about a stranger you find interesting.

35. ㄱㄷ (Wait)

Shorthand for 기달, ㄱㄷ has a clear meaning. If someone sends you a stream of confusing texts, reply with this.

36.ㅇㄱㄹㅇ(Too True)

When you abbreviate 이거레알 (this is real), you get ㅇㄱㄹㅇ. Use this to show strong agreement.

37. ㅇㅎ (A-ha!)

Another transliteration of an English expression, this one is based on 아하. Like in English, you use it when you realize something—or catch someone in the act.

38. ㅉㅉ (Tsk-tsk)

After catching someone doing something they shouldn't, you can type this shorthand for 쯧쯧.

39. ㅇㄴ (Just Woke Up)

This expression is short for 인남, which itself is an abbreviation of 일어나다. If you get an early morning text, replying with this should let the other person know you're awake.

40. ㄹㄷ (Are You Ready?)

ㄹㄷ is short for 레디, the Korean version of the English word “ready.” After you've texted ㅇㄴ, expect the other person to reply with this soon after.

41. ㅅㅇㅊㅋ (Happy Birthday)

This one is self-explanatory. If you're too busy to say 생일축하해 to someone on their birthday, you can text ㅅㅇㅊㅋ instead.

42. ㅎㄹ (What The…?)

Short for 헐, ㅎㄹ expresses surprise or shock.

43. ㅁㅊ (Crazy)

Now we're getting to text slang that isn't suitable for polite company. ㅁㅊ comes from 미친, used when you find something (or someone) unbelievable or insane.

44. ㅈㄴ (Vulgar Version of “Very”)

This is an abbreviation of 존나, a very informal (and often vulgar) way to emphasize a point. It's like saying “I’m f***ing happy” or “I’m f***ing cold” in English.

45. ㄷㅈㄹ (Want to Die?)

Again, never use this shorthand for 뒤질래 in polite company. Only use it with close friends who are teasing you, and never with real malice.

46. ㅅㅂ (Korean Swear Word)

If you text this or its full form 시발 to your boss or a relative, expect a strong reaction, as this is a very vulgar term.

47. ㄲㅈ (Go Away)

This is short for 꺼져. Sometimes you just want to be left alone (to sulk or because someone is annoying), and this would be a fitting response.

48. ㅗ (Emoticon for Middle Finger)

Wouldn't it be convenient to have an English text equivalent of this, instead of the more explicit emoji? Jokes aside, if you receive one (or several), you know the other person is very angry.

49. 8282 (Quickly, Quickly)

To understand this, you need to know Korean numbers. The Korean word for “quickly, quickly” is 빨리빨리, which sounds like 팔 (8) and 이 (2).

Use this with someone close when you want them to hurry up.

50. 091012 (Study Hard)

This is another text slang that requires knowledge of Korean numbers. “Study hard” in Korean is 공부 열심히, which resembles a combination of 공 (0), 구 (9), 열 (10) and 십이 (12).

How Korean Text Slang Shortens Words

As shown above, Korean text slang often uses shortened forms of full phrases.

“Shortened” here means using the initial characters of each syllable. Knowledge of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, is useful here because you often only need single vowels or consonants. Sometimes, Korean text slang looks like someone is just typing out the alphabet.

Additionally, many Korean text slang terms are based on English words. They're examples of Konglish, the use of English words in a Korean context. Often, these loanwords or transliterations don't keep their original meanings—and can mean something different.

Examples of Konglish include:

아이쇼핑 — literally “eye shopping” but means “window shopping”

개그맨 — literally “gag man” but means “male comedian”

화이팅 — literally “Fighting!” but essentially means “Good luck!”

While opinions on Konglish vary in Korea (with some criticizing the growing use of English), Konglish has become a permanent feature of the Korean language, especially in text slang.

Special Features of Korean Texting

Purposeful Typos

You know how, in English texts, people use “wut” instead of “what” or “chu” for “you?”

Korean texting has a similar feature. To save time and keystrokes, words are misspelled based on pronunciation—the correct character is replaced with a similar-sounding one.

For example, 뭐해, meaning “What are you doing,” can be misspelled as 머해, meaning “What’s up?” This saves the keystroke needed for the ㅜ character.

So if you see a typo in Korean, try saying the word aloud. You'll either understand the intended meaning—or realize it was a genuine mistake.

Ways to Sound Cute

If you watch Korean TV or listen to K-pop, you might know the term 애교, which roughly means acting cute in an affectionate, childlike way.

애교 appears in texts in a few ways.

• Adding the ㅇ character to the end of a word, even when it's not needed: For example, changing 배고파 (“I’m hungry”) to 배고팡.
• Adding ~ to the end of sentences to make them friendlier: For example, adding ~ to 안녕 (“Hello”) turns it into 안녕~~~, which when spoken would sound drawn out. More ~ means a longer sound.

Why You Should Learn Korean Text Slang

In South Korea, social media is a big part of life. Over 95 percent of the population is online, and many use platforms like KakaoTalk. You can imagine how much text slang is used in such a digitally connected country.

Learning text slang is also a great motivator for learning more Korean. As you've seen, understanding text slang requires knowing the original words and phrases they come from.

Also, since text slang is always evolving, you'll need to stay engaged with your Korean studies to keep up.

After reading about text slang, you might be interested in everyday spoken slang. Luckily, you can find many examples on Lingflix, which offers a wide range of authentic Korean videos made by and for native speakers. Lingflix takes real videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news, and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons. You can try Lingflix for free for 2 weeks. Visit the website or download the iOS app or Android app. P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

Now that you know some slang you'll likely use in Korean text conversations, you'll find it much easier to understand strings of seemingly random characters.

ㅂㅂ!