Korean Texting Slang Vocabulary: 25 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Texting Slang Vocabulary at a Glance

The list has 25 entries in five groups of five. About half are letter strings, such as ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ and ㅠㅠ, that have no standard spelling and are used as pictures or sounds. The rest are ordinary words: interjections like 헐 and 대박 and chat nouns like 메시지. It belongs to Texting Shortcuts.

Letter strings have no official spelling, so the romanization given for them is a conventional learning aid. For the plain-word entries, see lol in Korean and haha in Korean.

Which Texting Emoticons Should You Learn First?

Learn ㅋㅋ (laugh), ㅎㅎ (soft laugh), ㅠㅠ (crying face), 헐 (wow) and ^^ (smile) first. They cover most messages from friends. If you remember one rule, make it this: ㅋㅋ and ㅎㅎ are casual, so keep them for friends of your own age and for family.

• Entries to use. ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ, ㅠㅠ, 헐, ^^.
• Entries to recognise. ㄷㄷ, ㅡㅡ, 대박, 깜짝. Your friends will send them, and you may not want to.
• Entries for formal chat. 하하 and ^^, with polite sentence endings.

The scene below shows a phone chat with ten bubbles numbered to match the list.

Word · 10

1. 1

   ㅋㅋ

   Play

   keukeu

   haha; lol

2. 2

   ㅎㅎ

   Play

   heuheu

   hehe; soft laugh

3. 3

   ㅠㅠ

   Play

   yuyu

   crying face

4. 4

   ㅜㅜ

   Play

   uu

   sad face

5. 5

   ㄷㄷ

   Play

   deoldeol

   trembling; shiver

6. 6

   헐

   Play

   heol

   wow; oh no

7. 7

   대박

   Play

   daebak

   amazing; jackpot

8. 8

   ^^

   Play

   useum

   smile

9. 9

   ㅡㅡ

   Play

   jjajeung

   annoyed face

10. 10

    카톡

    Play

    katok

    KakaoTalk (chat)

Laughter (ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ, ㅋㅋㅋㅋ)

Korean chat writes laughter with single letters, not with syllables. The consonant ㅋ (kieuk) stands for the k sound of a laugh like 크크, and ㅎ (hieut) stands for the breathy h of 흐흐. Because each letter is a sound by itself, the length of the row is the volume of the laugh. Two letters are a chuckle and a long row is helpless laughter. The same sounds are also written as ordinary words, such as 하하 and 킥킥.

Letter strings have no fixed spelling, so ㅋㅋ, ㅋㅋㅋ and ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ are all fine. What matters is the hierarchy: ㅎㅎ is soft and friendly, ㅋㅋ is the neutral laugh, and a long row of ㅋ is loud. The names of the two letters are 키읔 and 히읗, listed on consonant names. The verbs here are regular: 웃기다 (be funny) gives 웃겨요, and 웃다 (laugh) gives 웃어요.

How Do You Say Crying (ㅠㅠ, ㅜㅜ) in Korean?

Crying is drawn, not spelled. The vowels ㅠ and ㅜ look like a pair of eyes with tears running down, so a chat message ending in ㅠㅠ reads as a crying face. The two vowels differ in the number of tear lines: ㅠ has two strokes below, like heavier tears, while ㅜ has one. Crying sounds, such as 흑흑 and 엉엉, are written as ordinary syllables.

The letters are used because their shape matches the face, not for their sound. Most readers say nothing for them; when people do read them aloud, half jokingly, they say 유유 or 우우, which is what the clips play. In speech people say 슬퍼요 (I am sad) for the feeling instead. 눈물이 나요 uses the verb 나다 (come out), which makes 나요, and the same verb appears in 땀이 나요 (I sweat).

Surprise (ㄷㄷ, 헐)

Surprise has two kinds of word. One is a letter string, ㄷㄷ, that shows a shiver. The others are spoken interjections, such as 헐 and 대박, that people say aloud as well as type. The interjections carry more weight than the letter strings, so they are the better ones to learn first.

The letter ㄷ stands for the first sound of 덜덜, so ㄷㄷ is an initial-letter shortening of a word. The same trick is behind many chat spellings, such as ㅇㅇ for 응, yes. Because 헐 and 대박 can be positive or negative, the rest of the sentence tells the reader which. The adjectives 무섭다 and 예쁘다 make 무서워요 and 예뻐요, both with a change in the stem.

How Do You Say Emoticons (^^, ㅡㅡ) in Korean?

Korean emoticons are read upright, unlike the Western ones, which are tilted sideways. The face ^^ is a pair of closed smiling eyes, and ㅡㅡ is a pair of flat eyes with no mouth. Neither has a name that you say aloud, so each entry here lists a nearby word. The noun 이모티콘 covers all of these faces, and also the animated stickers inside chat apps.

ㅡㅡ is the one to treat with care. It looks neutral, but it shows irritation or disbelief, so sending it to someone you do not know well can read as rude. The smiling ^^ is the safest of the faces and works with people you respect. The verbs here are regular: 보내다 (send) gives 보내요, and 늦다 (be late) gives the past 늦었어요.

Kakao Stickers and Chat Words

Most Korean chat happens in KakaoTalk, which people shorten to 카톡 and which gives its name to a common verb, 카톡하다 (to message on KakaoTalk). Its animated 스티커 stand in for faces and for whole sentences. These last five words are the plain chat vocabulary around the emoticons: the app, the message, the reply, the sticker and the tone of voice that decides which laughter you can use.

말투 is the word that explains this page. Laughter and faces are part of a person's tone, and a tone suited to friends is not suited to a teacher, a customer or a manager. In messages to people above you, use full sentences, polite endings and, if you laugh at all, a written-out 하하 or a single ^^. The adjective 귀엽다 (be cute) makes 귀여워요.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Letter strings have no syllables, so there is nothing to read. People do not say the names of the letters aloud, such as 키읔 for ㅋ. They say the sound the letters stand for, with a vowel added. The ordinary words follow the standard pronunciation rules of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원). The audio for a letter string reads its spoken form, which the table lists.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each entry has its own clip, and five more replay the least obvious ones slowly. For the letter strings, the clip says the spoken form: the entry ㅋㅋ plays 크크 and the entry ㅠㅠ plays 유유. Play, repeat and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Texting Emoticons?

Five mistakes cause most awkward messages.

1. Using ㅋㅋ with a senior or a customer. It reads as casual or even mocking. Use polite sentence endings and, if you must, a single ^^.
2. Reading ㅡㅡ as neutral. It looks calm but shows irritation. Do not send it to someone you do not know well.
3. Mixing up ㅠㅠ and ㅜㅜ. ㅠㅠ is heavier crying, ㅜㅜ is quieter sadness. Both are about feelings, so avoid them in apologies to a boss.
4. Typing the consonant name. To type a laugh you press ㅋ, not the syllable 키읔. 키읔 is the name of the letter and appears in class, not in chat.
5. Using jamo chat in writing. ㅋㅋ and ㅎㅎ belong to chat. In an essay, an exam, an email or a form, write full sentences instead.

The pattern is the same in all five: match the face to the person. For a person you respect, choose the plain word.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the deck in recognition mode until the 25 entries are familiar. Second, switch to listening mode and play the clip before you flip each card. Third, take the five-question quiz. Progress stays in your browser, and the vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

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, write five short chat lines for friends and rewrite each as a message to a teacher.

Where to Go Next

After this page, return to Texting Shortcuts for the other chat abbreviations. To learn the letter names behind the symbols, see consonant names.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Haha in Korean?

The most common chat laugh is ㅋㅋ (keukeu). A softer laugh is ㅎㅎ, and a written-out laugh is 하하. The spoken sound is 크크 or 하하. The single-word page on haha in Korean gives more detail.

How Do You Pronounce ㅎㅎ (hieut hieut)?

The letter ㅎ is named 히읗 (hieut), but people do not say that name for a laugh. They say the sound it stands for, 흐흐 or 히히, with a breathy h. Press the audio button to hear the spoken form.

How Many Texting Emoticons Should I Learn First?

Five: ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ, ㅠㅠ, 헐 and ^^. At five new entries a day the 25 take five days plus review. Learn the tone rule with them, so you know which are safe with whom.

What Is the Difference between ㅋㅋ and ㅎㅎ?

ㅋㅋ is the neutral, louder laugh, and ㅎㅎ is soft and friendly. ㅋㅋ can read as mocking in the wrong context, while ㅎㅎ rarely does. ㅎㅎ is common in friendly messages to classmates and coworkers, but with a teacher or manager most people leave both out.

Where Can I Practise Texting Emoticons with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. The deck for this page holds all 25 entries with Hangul, romanization and audio. Run it in recognition mode first, then switch to listening mode. Your progress stays in your browser.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Texting Emoticons?

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 on this page by hand or use the deck.

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