Satoori meaning: satoori (사투리, saturi) is a Korean word for a regional dialect, meaning the speech of one area of Korea that differs from Standard Korean in words, endings or pitch. Busan, Gwangju and Jeju speech are all satoori. Learners meet the word most often in dramas, where a character's satoori shows where they grew up.
Satoori Meaning in Korean
사투리 is a noun that names any regional way of speaking Korean that is not the standard. The Standard Korean Language Dictionary (표준국어대사전) of the National Institute of Korean Language describes it, in short, as speech used only in one region and not standard language. You say 부산 사투리 for "Busan dialect" and 사투리를 써요 for "(someone) speaks in dialect".
The spelling question confuses many learners. Revised Romanization writes 사투리 as saturi, because ㅜ is written u. The spelling satoori comes from older English habits that wrote the "oo" sound with two o's. Both point to the same word, and both are said [사투리] with no sound change.
A dialect differs from the standard in three ways, and most satoori differs in all three:
- Words. Jeolla speakers may say 거시기 for "that thing, whatchamacallit".
- Endings. Chungcheong speech often ends polite sentences in -유 where the standard has -요: 그래유 for 그래요 ("That's right").
- Pitch. Gyeongsang speech keeps a word-level pitch accent that Seoul speech has lost, which is why it sounds musical or sharp to outsiders.
The wider map of regions is in Korean dialects. Satoori only makes sense against the standard it differs from, so the next section sets the two side by side.
Satoori vs 표준어 (Standard Korean)
The nearest confusable term is 표준어 (pyojuneo), Standard Korean. The 1988 Standard Language Rules define it, as a rule, as the modern Seoul speech widely used by educated people. Satoori is everything regional that falls outside that norm.
| Feature | 사투리 (satoori) | 표준어 (Standard Korean) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | a regional variety of Korean | the official norm for the whole country |
| Where you hear it | at home, in local markets, in drama characters | news, schools, textbooks, TOPIK, public signs |
| Example | 뭐 하노? (Gyeongsang, "What are you doing?") | 뭐 해? |
| In dictionaries | marked as regional, or not listed | listed as the headword |
| Learner role | recognise later | learn first |
Neither term is a judgement of correctness. A Busan speaker using 사투리 is speaking good Korean, just not the standard. Standard Korean explains who maintains the norm and why lessons use it. A second near-synonym, 방언 (bangeon), means "dialect" in linguistics and can also cover social varieties, so you will meet it in academic writing rather than in conversation.
What Are Examples of Satoori?
Three regional varieties show the range of satoori, from small ending changes to near-separate languages. Audio on this page plays the standard form only, because the clips follow Standard Korean pronunciation and cannot reproduce regional pitch faithfully.
1. Gyeongsang satoori (Busan, Daegu, Ulsan). Questions often end in -노 or -나 instead of -어, and the pitch moves sharply. 뭐 하노? means 뭐 해? ("What are you doing?"). The full pattern is in Gyeongsang dialect, and a city comparison is in Seoul vs Busan Korean.
2. Jeolla satoori (Gwangju, Jeonju, Mokpo). Speakers often add -잉 to soften a sentence and use 거시기 as an all-purpose filler word. Screen characters from Jeolla are often written as warm or witty.
3. Jeju speech (Jeju Island). Many words and endings differ so much that mainland Koreans need subtitles. 혼저옵서예 means 어서 오세요 ("Welcome"). In 2010 UNESCO listed the Jeju language as critically endangered. See the Jeju dialect lesson for more.
To hear satoori in context, watch scenes from the dramas listed under K-drama phrases and note when a character switches style. These examples lead straight to the mistakes learners make with them.
What Do Learners Get Wrong about Satoori?
Learners often assume satoori is "bad Korean". Actually, it is regional Korean with its own consistent rules, and many educated speakers use it every day. Treating it as an error can offend people from that region.
Learners also assume that copying a drama accent is harmless fun. Imitation by a foreigner can sound like mockery, especially with exaggerated Gyeongsang pitch. Use dialect only when a local friend invites it.
A third assumption is that Seoul speech has no dialect features. Actually, Seoul has its own casual habits that the standard does not list, such as saying 나도 ("me too") as 나두. Standard and Seoul speech overlap but are not identical.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does satoori mean? Satoori means a regional dialect of Korean. The Korean word is 사투리, written saturi in Revised Romanization and often spelled satoori in English. Koreans use it for the speech of a region, such as Busan or Gwangju, when it differs from Standard Korean in words, verb endings or pitch. It is an everyday word, not a technical one.
Is satoori rude? No. Speaking satoori is not rude; many Koreans speak their regional variety at home and at work. Some dialects can sound blunt to Seoul ears because of their pitch and short endings, but that is a stereotype, not rudeness. What can be rude is a learner copying a dialect as a joke in front of people from that region.
Which satoori is the most famous? Gyeongsang satoori, heard in Busan and Daegu, is probably the most recognisable, because films, dramas and comedians use it often. Jeolla satoori is the second common screen dialect. Jeju speech is the hardest for other Koreans to understand. Fame here means screen exposure, not the number of speakers, which this page does not estimate.
Should I learn satoori? Learn Standard Korean first. It is what textbooks, TOPIK, news and most audio use, and every Korean understands it. Add satoori later if you live in a region, have friends or family there, or want to follow dramas closely. Learn to recognise common dialect endings before you try to speak them, and ask a local speaker before using them.
Related Terms and Lessons
This term sits beside pitch accent and standard pronunciation in the Korean Pronunciation Glossary. This page covers the word and a few signature forms only; full grammar and sound patterns for each region live in the dialect lessons linked above. In short, the satoori meaning to remember is simple: 사투리 is regional Korean, and 표준어 is the shared standard you learn first.
