Key Facts
- Hangul: 고모; Revised Romanization: gomo
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean, hanja 姑母 (姑 father's sister + 母 mother)
- Register: Neutral; used for the father's sister.
Paternal Aunt in Korean: What Does 고모 Mean?
고모 names one relative only: the sister of your father. Add 부 (husband) and you get 고모부, and 큰고모 picks out the eldest of several father's sisters. To talk about her home, say 고모네 집. The word is neutral, so it fits a casual chat and a school essay about your family alike.
How Do You Pronounce 고모?
Two short syllables, go-mo, each ending in a vowel. Keep the o in go clean and brief rather than gliding as English "go" does, and give mo the same length. Nothing changes between the syllables.
Example Sentences with 고모
고모는 선생님이에요.
Gomoneun seonsaengnimieyo.
My aunt is a teacher.
A plain statement about a relative's job. The topic is marked with the topic particle, and 선생님 (teacher) carries the respectful 님 ending even though she is family.
고모가 우리 집에 왔어요.
Gomoga uri jibe wasseoyo.
My aunt came to our house.
우리 집 literally means "our house", but Koreans say it for "my home" as well. 왔어요 is the past of "come", so the sentence reports your aunt arriving at your place.
고모와 같이 영화를 봤어요.
Gomowa gachi yeonghwareul bwasseoyo.
I watched a movie with my aunt.
Here 와 means "with", and 같이 adds "together". 와 follows a noun that ends in a vowel, as 고모 does.
Common Phrases and Collocations
Three combinations cover the family-visit situations learners meet first.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 고모부 | husband of a paternal aunt |
| 큰고모 | father's eldest sister |
| 고모네 집 | aunt's house |
The Mistake to Avoid
The usual slip is a direction error between the two sides of the family.
Wrong: Using 고모 for your mother's sister.
Correct: Use 이모 for the mother's sister; 고모 is only the father's sister.
Korean tracks father's side and mother's side separately, so a swap names a different person.
고모 Compared with 이모 and 삼촌
Two neighbouring relatives are easy to mix with 고모 because all of them are your parents' siblings.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 이모 | maternal aunt | The mother's sister. Swap the side of the family and the word changes. |
| 삼촌 | uncle | The father's brother, so it shares the father's side with 고모 but is male. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
고모 is Sino-Korean, written 姑母 in hanja: 姑 (father's sister) plus 母 (mother). Several Korean words for women of your parents' generation end in the same 母.
A Family Visit: Greeting Your Aunt
A niece arrives at her paternal aunt’s home. The family title works both when speaking about the aunt and when calling to her directly.
Niece
고모, 안녕하세요?
Gomo, annyeonghaseyo?
Hello, Auntie.
Aunt
어서 와. 밥 먹었어?
Eoseo wa. Bap meogeosseo?
Come in. Have you eaten?
Niece
네, 먹었어요. 고모부는 어디 계세요?
Ne, meogeosseoyo. Gomobuneun eodi gyeseyo?
Yes, I have. Where is Uncle?
Aunt
지금 부엌에 계셔.
Jigeum bueoke gyesyeo.
He is in the kitchen now.
The niece uses polite endings with her aunt. The aunt uses familiar endings with the younger relative. 고모부 names the aunt’s husband, so “Uncle” in this translation means this particular relationship. 계세요 is a respectful way to ask where someone is; the niece shows respect for her uncle while speaking to her aunt.
How Do You Address a 고모?
고모 can stand alone as a call, just as “Auntie” can in English. You can also hear 고모님, with 님 added for respect. Family habits vary: some relatives use 고모 comfortably, while others prefer the more respectful title. The sentence ending still matters; adding 님 does not automatically make the rest of a sentence polite.
When someone says 우리 고모, the usual English translation is “my aunt”. 우리 literally means “our”, but it is common with close family relationships even when the listener does not share that relative. 제 고모 is another way to say “my paternal aunt” in polite conversation. Neither phrase changes which side of the family she belongs to.
What Do 큰고모 and 고모네 Mean?
큰고모 identifies the eldest paternal aunt when a family distinguishes several aunts. 큰 here organizes the family relationship; it does not describe the aunt’s height or body size. The title does not tell you her exact age or how many siblings she has.
고모네 refers to the aunt’s household or family. In 고모네 집, 집 makes the house explicit. The ending 네 links the person to their household, so the phrase is more than a word-for-word possessive translation. In plans for a holiday visit, it helps identify whose home the family is going to.
Where Will You Hear 고모?
Family introductions, holiday plans, and family dramas use 고모 because the relationship matters to the scene. A child may call someone 고모 even when adults use her personal name. That title is measured from the child’s place in the family: the same woman can be someone else’s sister or mother.
An aunt by marriage needs a different title. 고모 means your father’s sister, rather than the wife of his brother. English “aunt” can cover both, which is why translating a family tree requires more than matching gender and generation. Start with the connecting parent, then identify the actual relationship.
Follow the Family Connection
| Korean | Meaning | Connection to remember |
|---|---|---|
| 아버지 | father | His sister is your 고모. |
| 어머니 | mother | Her sister is your 이모. |
| 고모부 | paternal aunt’s husband | Related through your 고모. |
| 사촌 | cousin | Your 고모’s child is your 사촌. |
The family vocabulary lesson teaches the wider set. Draw the link through your father before choosing 고모; the relative’s age alone cannot decide the term.
Quick Self-Test
- Is your mother’s sister your 고모?
- In 큰고모, does 큰 describe physical size?
- Who is 고모부?
Show answers
- No. She is your 이모.
- No. It distinguishes the eldest paternal aunt.
- Your paternal aunt’s husband.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "paternal aunt" in Korean?
Say 고모 (gomo). It is used only for your father's sister, and it is neutral enough for any conversation about family.
Is there one Korean word for "aunt"?
No. The father's sister is 고모 and the mother's sister is 이모, so you must know which side of the family you mean before you choose.
What do you call an aunt's husband?
Add the husband ending to make 고모부, the husband of a paternal aunt. The eldest father's sister is 큰고모.
Is 고모 the same as 삼촌?
No. 삼촌 is the father's brother. Both belong to the father's side, but 고모 is female and 삼촌 is male.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Family terms such as this one sit together in the people family vocabulary list.
- Browse every entry in Korean words A to Z for more relatives and household terms.
- Put the father's sister into your vocabulary flashcard decks alongside the other family terms.
- Compare the mother's side on the page for the maternal aunt.
- The father's brother has its own page: uncle.
- The next family word in the list is son.