Key Facts
- Hangul: 유튜브; Revised Romanization: yutyubeu
- Part of speech: proper noun
- Origin: loanword from English
- Register: brand name; neutral and very common in daily speech
- Spelling: 유튜브 with 튜, not 유투브
YouTube in Korean: What Does 유튜브 Mean?
유튜브 refers to the platform itself, as in "I watch YouTube". It behaves like any other noun in a sentence, so it takes the object marker 를 when you watch it and the place marker 에서 when you do something on it. There is no hanja or native Korean equivalent, so the borrowed brand name is the everyday word.
The related words split the vocabulary by what they name. 유튜버 is the YouTuber, the person who makes videos. 영상 is a video, and 동영상 is a video clip or moving image. The comparison table below keeps the four apart.
How Is 유튜브 Pronounced?
Three syllables: yu-tyu-beu. The middle syllable 튜 blends a t with the vowel "yu", so it sounds like "tyoo". The last syllable 브 ends in the vowel ㅡ, the same unrounded vowel that Korean adds after English consonants such as b. Say it as "yoo-tyoo-beu", not "you-tube".
Example Sentences with 유튜브
저는 유튜브를 자주 봐요.
Jeoneun yutyubeureul jaju bwayo
I watch YouTube often.
를 marks 유튜브 as the thing watched, and 자주 means "often". The verb 봐요 covers watching, as it does for television.
유튜브에서 한국어를 배워요.
Yutyubeueseo hangugeoreul baewoyo
I learn Korean on YouTube.
에서 marks the place where the learning happens, so 유튜브에서 is "on YouTube". 한국어 is the Korean language.
친구가 유튜브 채널을 만들었어요.
Chinguga yutyubeu chaeneoreul mandeureosseoyo
My friend made a YouTube channel.
유튜브 sits directly before 채널 to form "YouTube channel", with no particle between them. The ending 었어요 puts the action in the past.
Phrases with 유튜브
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 유튜브를 보다 | to watch YouTube |
| 유튜브 채널 | YouTube channel |
| 유튜브 영상 | YouTube video |
| 유튜브에 올리다 | to upload to YouTube |
The Mistake to Avoid
Wrong: 유투브.
Correct: 유튜브, with 튜 in the second syllable. Standard loanword spelling writes the English "tube" as 튜브, with a y glide.
유튜브 Compared with 유튜버, 영상 and 동영상
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 유튜브 | YouTube | The platform |
| 유튜버 | YouTuber | The person who posts videos |
| 영상 | video | Any video or footage |
| 동영상 | video clip | A moving image, as opposed to a still photo |
Where Does the Word Come From?
유튜브 is a loanword from the English brand name, so it has no hanja.
Sharing a Cooking Video
Two friends talk politely about a cooking video. One wants to know where to find it; the other offers to send the link.
Jisu
이 요리 영상은 어디에서 봐요?
I yori yeongsangeun eodieseo bwayo?
Where can I watch this cooking video?
Alex
유튜브에서 볼 수 있어요.
Yutyubeueseo bol su isseoyo.
You can watch it on YouTube.
Jisu
링크를 보내 주세요.
Ringkeureul bonae juseyo.
Please send me the link.
Alex
네. 지금 보내 줄게요.
Ne. Jigeum bonae julgeyo.
Sure. I’ll send it now.
유튜브에서 identifies the platform where the viewing happens. The conversation then switches to 링크, “link”, because the friends already know which site they mean. You do not need to repeat 유튜브 before every related noun once the setting is clear.
Which Particle Goes after 유튜브?
유튜브를 보다 treats YouTube as the thing you watch. 유튜브에서 보다 names the place where you watch something, so another noun such as 영상 can identify the video. Both are natural, but they organize the sentence differently: one focuses on the platform as entertainment, and the other identifies where particular content is available.
유튜브에 올리다 means to upload to YouTube. 에 marks the destination of the upload. 에서 instead marks the setting for an activity, as in the existing sentence about learning Korean there. English uses “on” in both “learn on YouTube” and “post on YouTube”, but the Korean particles follow the action.
유튜브를 하다 is common in conversation about running a channel or making content. It can be broader than a single upload, so follow the surrounding conversation. If you only mean watching videos, 유튜브를 보다 is clearer. 유튜버 names the creator, while 유튜브 채널 names the channel they run.
Words You Will Hear in Videos
구독 means “subscription”, and 구독하다 means to subscribe. 좋아요 can mean “a like” on a platform, even though the same form elsewhere means “it is good” or “I like it”. In a creator's closing request, 구독과 좋아요 means “subscriptions and likes”. The surrounding words turn a familiar everyday expression into a platform term.
댓글 means a comment, and 댓글을 달다 means to leave a comment. The verb 달다 here is a set pairing: learners need the whole expression rather than an English translation of “write” alone. 채널을 구독하다 means to subscribe to a channel; the channel takes the object marker 을.
영상 and 동영상 are broader than YouTube. A clip shared through another service is still a 동영상. A link, meanwhile, could lead to a whole channel or a single video, so 링크 alone does not tell you which kind of page will open.
Where Will You See the Korean Spelling?
유튜브 appears in messages, video descriptions and conversations about online viewing. A creator may write 유튜브 채널 beside a channel name. News writing can use 유튜버 to identify a person's occupation, while a friend's message may simply say they saw something on 유튜브.
The brand name has no special polite version. The requests around it set the tone: 보내 주세요 in the dialogue is a polite request to send something. A short caption or link label may just contain 유튜브 without a sentence ending because it is a label.
Useful Words around a Video
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 채널 | channel | The collection of a creator's uploads. |
| 구독 | subscription | Often paired with a request to subscribe. |
| 댓글 | comment | Use 댓글을 달다 for leaving one. |
| 자막 | subtitles / captions | Helps you ask whether text accompanies the speech. |
| 링크 | link | Lets someone share the channel or video directly. |
The social media vocabulary lesson teaches the wider group of online activity words.
Quick Self-Test
- Which word names a person: 유튜브 or 유튜버?
- Which particle marks the upload destination in 유튜브에 올리다?
- What does 댓글을 달다 mean?
Show answers
- 유튜버 means a YouTuber.
- 에.
- To leave a comment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "YouTube" in Korean?
Say 유튜브 (yutyubeu). It is the English brand name written in Hangul, with a middle syllable 튜 that sounds like "tyoo". Koreans use the word in everyday conversation, so you can say it with any listener.
Is it 유튜브 or 유투브?
The standard spelling is 유튜브, with 튜. Learners often write 유투브, which is a spelling mistake. Standard loanword spelling writes the English "tube" as 튜브, with a y glide, so the second syllable needs 튜.
What is the difference between 유튜브 and 유튜버?
유튜브 is the platform, while 유튜버 is the YouTuber, the person who posts videos there. The two differ by one letter, so check the last syllable, with 브 for the site and 버 for the person.
How do you say "YouTube channel" in Korean?
Say 유튜브 채널. Put 유튜브 directly before 채널 with no particle between them. To say you made one, use 유튜브 채널을 만들었어요, which means "I made a YouTube channel".
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: social media vocabulary groups 유튜브 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- Practice: add 유튜브 to the vocabulary flashcard decks.
YouTube in Korean is 유튜브, and the neighbouring words 유튜버, 영상 and 동영상 name the person and the videos.