In chats, Koreans shorten words by typing only the first consonant of each syllable — ㄱㅅ is 감사 (thanks) and ㅊㅋ is 축하 (congratulations). ㅋㅋ (from 크크) and ㅎㅎ (from 하하) are laughter, and ㅠㅠ or ㅜㅜ are crying eyes. Paste a Korean message below to decode it, or browse the 66 shortcuts and slang words on this page — each meaning is checked against the National Institute of Korean Language, its dictionaries, Korean news or a learner guide, linked in every row.
Key facts — National Institute of Korean Language (새국어소식 2002; 우리말샘; 표준국어대사전); YTN
- In Korean chats people shorten words by typing only the first consonant of each syllable, such as ㄱㅅ for 감사 (thanks) and ㅊㅋ for 축하 (congratulations).
- ㅋㅋ (from 크크) and ㅎㅎ (from 하하) mean laughing in Korean texts, and ㅠㅠ or ㅜㅜ are crying faces.
- 헐 is an exclamation of shock or disbelief, and 대박 means a huge hit or success.
- 존맛탱 (JMT), "really tasty", is vulgar slang and is used only among close friends.
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What ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ and ㅠㅠ mean
These three are everywhere. ㅋㅋ and ㅎㅎ are laughing sounds with only the consonant typed — ㅋㅋ from 크크 or 키키, ㅎㅎ from 하하 or 히히 — and people type more of them, like ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. ㅠㅠ and ㅜㅜ are not sounds at all: they are faces, two eyes with tears running down.
| Written | Short for | Meaning | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㅋㅋ | ▶ 크크 | laughing, like "haha" or "lol" | National Institute of Korean Language, 새국어소식 | |
| ㅎㅎ | ▶ 하하 | laughing or smiling, like "hehe" | National Institute of Korean Language, 새국어소식 | |
| ㅠㅠ / ㅜㅜ | — | crying face — the letters look like eyes with tears; sad, touched or sorry | National Institute of Korean Language, 새국어소식 |
First-consonant shortcuts (초성)
Write the first consonant of each syllable and you have the shortcut: 오케이 → ㅇㅋ, 감사 → ㄱㅅ, 축하 → ㅊㅋ. The National Institute of Korean Language described this habit back in 2002 and noted that it looks strange to older people — so keep these for friends.
| Written | Short for | Meaning | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㅇㅇ | ▶ 응응 | yes, yeah | casual — friends only | 90 Day Korean |
| ㅇㅋ | ▶ 오케이 | OK | 90 Day Korean | |
| ㄱㄱ | ▶ 고고 | let’s go | 90 Day Korean | |
| ㄴㄴ | ▶ 노노 | no, no | 90 Day Korean | |
| ㄱㅅ / ㄳ | ▶ 감사 | thanks | National Institute of Korean Language, 새국어소식 | |
| ㅈㅅ | ▶ 죄송 | sorry | casual — friends only | 90 Day Korean |
| ㅊㅋ | ▶ 축하 | congratulations | National Institute of Korean Language, 새국어소식 | |
| ㄱㅊ | ▶ 괜찮아 | it’s OK, no problem | 90 Day Korean | |
| ㅎㅇ | ▶ 하이 | hi | casual — friends only | 90 Day Korean |
| ㅂㅂ / ㅃㅃ | ▶ 바이바이 | bye-bye | National Institute of Korean Language, 새국어소식 | |
| ㄷㄷ | ▶ 덜덜 | trembling — "scary" or "wow" | 90 Day Korean | |
| ㅇㅈ | ▶ 인정 | agreed, "true" | YTN | |
| ㄹㅇ | ▶ 레알 | for real | YTN | |
| ㅇㄱㄹㅇ | ▶ 이거 레알 | "this is for real" | YTN | |
| ㅅㄱ | ▶ 수고 | thanks for your work, good job | 90 Day Korean | |
| ㅇㄷ | ▶ 어디 | where? | 90 Day Korean | |
| ㅈㄱㄴ | ▶ 제곧내 | "the title says it all" (제목이 곧 내용) — used on message boards | 우리말샘 |
Slang words you will see in chats
Many slang words are shortened phrases, too: 갑분싸 is 갑자기 분위기 싸해진다, “the mood suddenly turned cold”. 별다줄 even makes fun of the habit: “you shorten everything!”
| Written | Short for | Meaning | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 대박 | — | a huge hit; also said as "awesome!" or "no way!" | 표준국어대사전 | |
| 헐 | — | "OMG", "what?!" — when you are shocked or speechless | 우리말샘 | |
| 짱 | — | the best; super | slangy | 우리말샘 |
| 꿀잼 | — | super fun (꿀 "honey" + 재미 "fun") | 우리말샘 | |
| 노잼 | — | boring, no fun | 우리말샘 | |
| 존맛탱 / JMT | — | really, really tasty | vulgar — close friends only | YTN |
| 레알 | — | really, for real (from "real") | 우리말샘 | |
| 멘붕 | ▶ 멘털 붕괴 | a mental breakdown — "I’m losing it" | 우리말샘 | |
| 읽씹 | — | read and ignored ("left on read") | 우리말샘 | |
| 안읽씹 | — | ignored without even reading | 우리말샘 | |
| TMI | ▶ 티엠아이 | too much information | 우리말샘 | |
| 킹받다 | — | to be really annoyed (from 열받다) | 우리말샘 | |
| 갑분싸 | ▶ 갑자기 분위기 싸해진다 | the mood suddenly turned awkward | 우리말샘 | |
| 별다줄 | ▶ 별것을 다 줄인다 | "you shorten everything!" (a joke about these words) | 우리말샘 | |
| 할많하않 | ▶ 할 말은 많지만 하지 않겠다 | "I have a lot to say, but I won’t" | 우리말샘 | |
| 만반잘부 | ▶ 만나서 반가워 잘 부탁해 | "nice to meet you, please be good to me" | 우리말샘 | |
| 너무해 | — | "that’s too much", "so mean" | 표준국어대사전 |
Everyday life words
| Written | Short for | Meaning | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 인싸 | ▶ 인사이더 | a social, popular person (insider) | 우리말샘 | |
| 핵인싸 | — | a super social person | 우리말샘 | |
| 아싸 | ▶ 아웃사이더 | a loner (outsider) | 우리말샘 | |
| 남친 | ▶ 남자 친구 | boyfriend | 우리말샘 | |
| 여친 | ▶ 여자 친구 | girlfriend | 우리말샘 | |
| 썸 | — | "a thing" — flirting before you are officially dating | 우리말샘 | |
| 썸타다 | — | to be in a "thing" with someone | 우리말샘 | |
| 생파 | ▶ 생일 파티 | birthday party | 우리말샘 | |
| 셀카 | ▶ 셀프 카메라 | selfie | 우리말샘 | |
| 파이팅 / 화이팅 | — | "You can do it!" — a cheer | 표준국어대사전 | |
| 애교 | — | acting cute and charming | 표준국어대사전 | |
| 갓생 | — | a productive, model life | 우리말샘 | |
| 소확행 | ▶ 작지만 확실한 행복 | a small but certain happiness | 우리말샘 | |
| 꾸안꾸 | ▶ 꾸민 듯 안 꾸민 듯 | effortlessly stylish | 우리말샘 |
Food and café words
Handy in Korea: order an 아아 at a café, and 치맥 is the classic night out. See where to try it on our trending Korean food ranking.
| Written | Short for | Meaning | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 혼밥 | ▶ 혼자 밥 | eating alone | 우리말샘 | |
| 혼술 | ▶ 혼자 술 | drinking alone | 우리말샘 | |
| 치맥 | ▶ 치킨 맥주 | fried chicken and beer | 우리말샘 | |
| 아아 | ▶ 아이스 아메리카노 | an iced Americano | 우리말샘 | |
| 점메추 | ▶ 점심 메뉴 추천 | "recommend me a lunch menu" | 우리말샘 | |
| 저메추 | ▶ 저녁 메뉴 추천 | "recommend me a dinner menu" | 우리말샘 |
K-pop fan words
Fans use these in comments and on fan cafés. Follow your 최애 on our K-pop group rankings.
| Written | Short for | Meaning | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 최애 | — | your favorite (member, show, food…) | 표준국어대사전 | |
| 차애 | — | your second favorite | 우리말샘 | |
| 입덕 | — | becoming a fan | 우리말샘 | |
| 탈덕 | — | quitting being a fan | 우리말샘 | |
| 덕질 | — | fan activities — collecting, streaming, following | 우리말샘 | |
| 덕후 | ▶ 오덕후 | a geek or superfan | 우리말샘 | |
| 성덕 | ▶ 성공한 덕후 | a fan who "made it" — for example met their idol | Maeil Shinmun | |
| 본진 | — | your main fandom | 우리말샘 | |
| 사생팬 | — | a stalker fan who intrudes on an idol’s private life | negative word | 우리말샘 |
Which ones are rude or too casual?
- 존맛탱 / JMT — the 존 part is vulgar; Korean news calls it slang (속어). Use it only with close friends.
- 짱 — slangy, fine among friends.
- 사생팬 — an insult for fans who stalk idols.
- First-consonant shortcuts (ㅇㅇ, ㅈㅅ, ㅎㅇ…) — casual. With a teacher, an older person or at work, write the full words: ▶ 감사합니다 (thank you), ▶ 죄송합니다 (I’m sorry), ▶ 축하합니다 (congratulations), ▶ 괜찮아요 (it’s OK).
How to type them
On a Korean keyboard ㅋ is the Z key, ㅎ is G, ㅠ is B and ㅜ is N — so ㅋㅋ is Z Z and ㅠㅠ is B B. Try it on our Korean keyboard online, which also shows the name and sound of every letter.
This page is part of our free Korean course — Stage 1: Hangul · Stage 2: Beginner · Stage 3: Intermediate · Stage 4: Advanced.
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FAQ
What does ㅋㅋ mean in Korean?
ㅋㅋ is laughter, like "haha" or "lol". It is the consonant of 크크 or 키키 typed on its own, and people often type more of it: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
What does ㅎㅎ mean?
ㅎㅎ is also laughing or smiling, from 하하 or 히히 — like "hehe".
What does ㅠㅠ or ㅜㅜ mean?
They are crying faces: the letters look like two eyes with tears. They show sadness, being touched or feeling sorry.
What does ㅇㅋ mean?
ㅇㅋ is OK — the first consonants of 오케이. ㄱㅅ is thanks (감사) and ㅊㅋ is congratulations (축하).
What does 대박 mean?
대박 means a huge hit or success, and people also say it like "awesome!" or "no way!".
What does 헐 mean?
헐 is what you say when you are shocked or speechless — "OMG" or "what?!".
Is it rude to use ㅋㅋ or ㅇㅇ with older people?
These shortcuts are casual. Use them with friends; with teachers, older people or at work write full words such as 감사합니다 and 네.
Sources
- National Institute of Korean Language, 새국어소식 (2002)
- 90 Day Korean
- YTN (2016)
- 우리말샘 (NIKL open dictionary) — one entry per word, linked in each row
- 표준국어대사전 (Standard Korean Dictionary, NIKL)
- YTN (2024)
- Maeil Shinmun (2022)
The decoder runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent anywhere. It only knows the words on this page. Slang changes fast — we list a word only when a source above confirms its meaning. ▶ sounds use your browser’s Korean voice.
Last updated 2026-11-09. Editorial policy
