Korean Abbreviations Vocabulary: 35 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Abbreviations Vocabulary at a Glance

Korean abbreviations vocabulary matters because Koreans shorten almost everything they say often. A long name such as 아이스 아메리카노 (iced americano) becomes 아아, and 생일 파티 (birthday party) becomes 생파. The usual trick is to keep one or two syllables from each word and drop the rest. The result is a 줄임말, a shortened word, and it is made to be typed fast and said fast. This page teaches 35 of the most useful ones.

The shortenings fall into four groups, so you can learn them by place. You meet the first group everywhere, the second at a cafe or a restaurant, the third at school or work, and the fourth in chat apps.

Slang that is not mainly about shortening, such as 갑분싸 and 얼죽아, is on the Korean Gen Z slang page, and the typed laughter and crying signs are in the texting abbreviations list. This page sits inside Internet Slang and Abbreviations.

Which Korean Abbreviations Should You Learn First?

Learn 알바, 수능, 비번, 학식 and 아아 first. They are the shortenings you meet in news, on signs and in cafés, and a Korean friend will use them without thinking. After them, add the food words and the chat letters, because those are what you hear most in daily talk.

1. Day one (8 words). The everyday shortenings: 줄임말, 알바, 생파, 비번, 인강, 가성비, 셀카 and 인스타.
2. Day two (8 words). The food and drink words: 아아, 뜨아, 스벅, 맥날, 치맥, 소맥, 아점 and 편맥.
3. Day three (12 words). The school and work words: 학식, 공강, 출첵, 수능, 국영수, 과잠, 엠티, 열공, 대딩, 취준생, 칼퇴 and 워라밸.
4. Day four (7 words). The online letters ㅇㅇ, ㄱㅅ, ㅂㅂ, ㅇㅈ, ㅇㅋ and ㄱㄱ, plus 단톡방.

At one group a day (8 + 8 + 12 + 7 = 35 words), the list takes four days plus a day of review. The scene below puts eight of the words on one picture.

Word · 8

1. 1

   줄임말

   Play

   jurimmal

   shortened word; abbreviation

2. 2

   알바

   Play

   alba

   part-time job

3. 3

   생파

   Play

   saengpa

   birthday party

4. 4

   아아

   Play

   aa

   iced americano

5. 5

   뜨아

   Play

   tteua

   hot americano

6. 6

   학식

   Play

   haksik

   school cafeteria meal

7. 7

   수능

   Play

   suneung

   college entrance exam (CSAT)

8. 8

   단톡방

   Play

   dantokbang

   group chat room

Most of the words are built from Sino-Korean, native or loanword parts that you may already know, so a shortening is often easier to learn once you see the full form. The Built from column in each table gives the long form: 학식 comes from 학생식당, and 편맥 comes from 편의점 and 맥주. Many of the long forms come from English or another foreign language, such as 셀프 카메라 and 워크 라이프 밸런스. The Konglish and loanwords page explains how those foreign words are written in Hangul.

Everyday Shortenings (알바, 생파)

Everyday shortenings are the ones that left chat and entered normal speech. A 알바 is a part-time job, short for the loanword 아르바이트, and a 생파 is a birthday party, short for 생일 파티. Your 비번 is your password, an 인강 is an online lecture, and a restaurant with a good 가성비 gives you plenty for the price.

The word 줄임말 itself is made of 줄이다 (to shorten) and 말 (word). The ending of 줄이다 changes to 줄임, the noun form, and then 말 joins it. You can also say 약어 for a formal abbreviation, as in a list of codes, but 줄임말 is the word people use when they talk.

알바 and 아르바이트 mean the same thing. The long form is slightly more careful, so a job advertisement or a contract may use it, while friends say 알바. The word 가성비 is also a good example of how a shortening keeps the meaning of a whole phrase: it holds 가격 (price), 성능 (performance) and 비 (ratio) in three syllables.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short sentence in everyday style. The first three groups use the polite 해요 style, as in 알바를 해요, and the jamo shortcuts use the casual style that friends use in chat, as in 지금 가. Most sentences follow the pattern noun + 을/를 + verb, as in 셀카를 찍었어요, or noun + 이/가 + adjective, as in 가성비가 좋아요. Say each one aloud, then swap the noun: replace 셀카 with 사진 and you get 사진을 찍었어요, which is also natural.

How Do You Say Food and Order Abbreviations in Korean?

Cafe and restaurant shortenings are the fastest group to learn, because you can use them at once. An 아아 is an iced americano and a 뜨아 is a hot one. Friends meet at 스벅 (Starbucks) or 맥날 (McDonald's), eat 치맥 (chicken and beer) on a Friday night and have an 아점 when they wake up late.

When you order, say the full name. Write 아아 on a note to a friend, but at the counter say 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요, which means one iced americano, please. A staff member who hears only 아아 may understand, but the full order is clearer and politer.

Three of the words, 치맥, 소맥 and 편맥, end in 맥, which comes from 맥주 (beer). The first part tells you what goes with the beer: chicken (치킨), soju (소주) or the convenience store (편의점). The same pattern makes 아점 from 아침 and 점심. Drinking words are for adults, and Korea sets its own legal drinking age.

School and Work Shortenings

Campus and office life is full of shortenings, because students and colleagues say the same words many times a day. A 학식 is the meal at the school cafeteria, a 공강 is an empty period between classes, and 출첵 is the attendance check. The 수능 is the national college entrance exam, and 국영수 names the three big subjects: Korean, English and maths.

Some of these keep syllables from the middle and the end, not only the start. 수능 keeps 수 and 능 from 대학수학능력시험, and 취준생 keeps 취, 준 and the last syllable 생 from 취업 준비생. So do not expect a shortening to follow one fixed rule; learn each one as a unit.

Two words need care. 대딩 is casual and can sound childish or teasing, so use 대학생 when you want to be neutral. 칼퇴 is a cheerful word between colleagues, but it also hints that overtime is common, so people say it with a smile. For the formal side of work, the office vocabulary page has the full words.

How Do You Say Online Letters and Jamo in Korean?

In chat, Koreans often type only the first consonants of a word. These strings are called jamo shortcuts, because jamo are the single letters of Hangul. The letters ㅇㅇ stand for 응응, a casual yes, and ㄱㅅ stand for 감사, thanks. Add 단톡방, the group chat room, and you have the words you need to follow a Korean group chat.

A jamo shortcut is read as the full word, not as letter names. When a Korean friend sees ㄱㅅ, they hear 감사 in their head. So if you want to say it aloud, say gamsa, not giyeok-siot. The audio for these words reads the full word for this reason, and the romanization follows the spoken word as well.

These shortcuts are for friends of your own age. With a teacher, a boss or an older relative, type the full polite sentence. The texting abbreviations page has more chat letters, and the typing Korean page shows how to type them.

How Are Korean Abbreviations Formed?

Korean shortenings follow a few patterns, and spotting the pattern helps you guess a word you have never seen. The table shows the five patterns that cover most of this page.

The first pattern is the easiest: take the first syllable of each word. The last pattern is the most informal, because it removes every vowel. A native reader still decodes it, because they can predict the vowel from the context.

Not every shortening can be guessed. The word 출첵 is short for 출석 체크 and follows the first pattern, but 엠티 is simply the letters M and T read in Korean, from the English phrase membership training. In practice it means an overnight trip for a club or class. Learn the full form together with the short one.

Accepted Versus Slang-Only Forms

Not all shortenings fit every situation. Some are everywhere, in news, school notices and adverts, and some belong to chat and friends. Dictionaries add new words slowly, so a word can be everywhere in speech and still be missing from a dictionary. For that reason, the table below sorts words by where people use them, not by dictionary status.

If you are not sure, ask yourself who is reading. A sign, a news story or an email to a stranger can use the left column. A chat with a close friend can use both columns. When in doubt, write the full form, because it is never wrong. The same words can also move from one column to the other over time, so listen to how people around you use them.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Most shortened words are read just as they are spelled, but a few change because of the sounds around them. The table lists the changes that learners most often miss.

The Revised Romanization shows the nasalising and the linking in 맥날 and 국영수 (maengnal, gugyeongsu), but it does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, so haksik and dantokbang look the same as the plain spelling. Learn the Hangul and use the audio to hear the real sound. The rules come from the Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word has a normal clip, and 5 key words also have a slow clip at 0.8 times the speed: 알바, 아아, 학식, 국영수 and 단톡방. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 국영수 first. You should hear three even beats, [구경수], with the ng sound at the start of the second beat.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Korean Abbreviations?

• Reading a jamo shortcut by its letter names. ㄱㅅ is read 감사, and nobody says giyeok-siot.
• Using chat shortcuts with a teacher or a boss. Write the full polite sentence, such as 감사합니다, instead of ㄱㅅ.
• Ordering with only 아아 at the counter. Say the full order, 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요 (one iced americano, please).
• Reading 학식 as hak-sik with a plain ㅅ. The spoken form is [학씩], with a tense ㅅ.
• Thinking every shortening is permanent. Slang words such as 편맥 and 열공 can fade, while 알바 and 수능 are part of normal Korean.

The first and fourth mistakes change the sound, and the others change the register. The next section turns the list into practice.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Drill these words with the vocabulary flashcard decks. The Internet Slang and Abbreviations flashcards and the texting shortcuts flashcards already cover many of the online words. A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. Progress in the decks is saved only in your browser.

Try this five-question check, then say the 35 words aloud once more.

For one word at a time, see abbreviation in Korean and selfie in Korean.

Where to Go Next

This list sits inside Internet Slang and Abbreviations. After Korean abbreviations vocabulary, many learners move on to Korean Social Slang Vocabulary for words about class, power and living alone, or to Korean Gen Z slang for the newest youth words.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Shortened Word in Korean?

A shortened word is 줄임말 (jurimmal), said [주림말]. The final ㄹ of 줄 moves to the next syllable, so you hear ju-rim-mal in three beats. For example, 알바 is a 줄임말 of 아르바이트: 알바는 아르바이트의 줄임말이에요. Press the audio button to hear the word.

How Do You Pronounce 알바 (alba)?

알바 is said al-ba, in two beats. The first syllable 알 ends in an l sound, made by touching the tongue tip to the ridge behind the upper teeth, and the second syllable 바 starts with a plain ㅂ, not aspirated. It is short for the loanword 아르바이트 (areubaiteu). Use the slow clip to match the rhythm.

How Many Korean Abbreviations Should I Learn First?

Learn five first: 알바, 수능, 비번, 학식 and 아아. That takes one day. Then add the other everyday words, the food and drink words, the school and work words and the chat letters. The whole list of 35 takes four days at one group a day (8, 8, 12 and 7 words), with review on the fifth day.

Where Can I Practise Korean Abbreviations with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks, which list every deck with audio. The Internet Slang and Abbreviations deck and the Texting Shortcuts deck already contain many of the online words from this page. Progress stays in your browser.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea officially adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid that does not mark every sound change, so learn the Hangul and use the audio to hear the real sound.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Korean Abbreviations?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, copy the tables above by hand: write the Hangul, cover the English column, and check your answers against the page.

Save This to Pinterest