Texting Language¶

Quick Reference¶

Symbol	Meaning	Example
ㅋㅋ	Laughter (haha)	ㅋㅋㅋ 웃겨
ㅎㅎ	Softer laugh (hehe)	ㅎㅎ 그렇구나
ㅇㅇ	Yes, yeah	ㅇㅇ 알았어
ㄴㄴ	No, nope	ㄴㄴ 아니야
ㅜㅜ	Crying	ㅜㅜ 슬퍼

Laughter Expressions¶

ㅋㅋㅋ (Kekeke)¶

The standard laugh:

ㅋ - small chuckle
ㅋㅋ - haha
ㅋㅋㅋ - hahaha
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ - HAHAHA

Usage:

A: 오늘 넘어졌어 ㅠㅠ
B: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ괜찮아?

A: I fell today ㅠㅠ
B: Hahaha are you okay?

Length indicates intensity: - More ㅋ = funnier/more laughter - Too many ㅋ (20+) = overly enthusiastic or sarcastic

ㅎㅎ (Hehe)¶

Softer, gentler laugh:

ㅎㅎ 그렇구나
Hehe I see

ㅎㅎ 고마워
Hehe thanks

Compared to ㅋㅋ: - ㅋㅋ = haha (louder) - ㅎㅎ = hehe (softer, politer) - ㅎㅎ feels more mature/gentle

Other Laugh Variations¶

ㅋㄷㅋㄷ [크득크득] - Giggling sound ㅍㅎㅎ [pfft] - Snickering ㅋㅋ루ㅋㅋ - Silly/cute laugh variation ㄱㄱㄷ - 기 크들 shortened (obscure, not common)

Yes/No Shortcuts¶

Agreeing/Confirming¶

ㅇㅇ [응응] - Yes, yeah

A: 내일 올 거지?
B: ㅇㅇ

A: You're coming tomorrow, right?
B: Yeah

ㅇㅋ [오케이] - OK

ㅇㅋ 알았어
OK got it

ㄱㄱ [고고] - Go go, let's go

A: 갈까?
B: ㄱㄱ

A: Shall we go?
B: Let's go

ㅇㅈ [인정] - Agreed, I acknowledge

A: 이거 진짜 맛있다
B: ㅇㅈ

A: This is really delicious
B: Agreed

Disagreeing/Denying¶

ㄴㄴ [노노] - No, nope

A: 너 갈 거야?
B: ㄴㄴ 안 가

A: Are you going?
B: Nope, not going

ㄴㄴㄴ - NO NO NO (emphasis)

Emotional Expressions¶

Crying/Sadness¶

ㅠㅠ or ㅜㅜ - Crying face

ㅠㅠ 슬퍼
ㅠㅠ sad

시험 망했어 ㅜㅜ
I failed the exam ㅜㅜ

Can be combined:

ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ - very sad
ㅠ_ㅠ - crying face with nose
ㅜ.ㅜ - crying face variation

Shock/Surprise¶

ㅎㄷㄷ [후덜덜] - Shivering from shock/fear

ㅎㄷㄷ 무서워
ㅎㄷㄷ scary

가격 ㅎㄷㄷ
The price ㅎㄷㄷ (shocking!)

ㄷㄷㄷ [덜덜덜] - Trembling

Similar to ㅎㄷㄷ but just trembling

Common Abbreviations¶

Single-Character Initials¶

ㅈㅅ [죄송] - Sorry

ㅈㅅ 늦었어
Sorry I'm late

ㄱㅅ [감사] - Thanks

ㄱㅅ!
Thanks!

Also: ㄱㅅㄱㅅ (thank you thank you)

ㅊㅋ [축하] - Congrats

ㅊㅋㅊㅋ!
Congrats!

ㅅㄱ [수고] - Good work

ㅅㄱ했어!
Good work!

ㅂㅂ [바이바이] - Bye bye

ㅂㅂ 내일 봐
Bye see you tomorrow

ㅎㅇ [하이] - Hi

ㅎㅇ!
Hi!

Two-Character Combinations¶

ㄱㅊ [괜찮] - It's okay, fine

A: 미안해
B: ㄱㅊ아

A: Sorry
B: It's okay

ㅇㅋ [오케이] - OK ㄴㄴ [노노] - No no ㅇㅈ [인정] - Agreed ㄱㄱ [고고] - Go go

Full Word Abbreviations¶

Consonant Extraction¶

Taking first consonants from each syllable:

ㅁㅊ [미친] - Crazy

ㅁㅊ 대박!
Crazy awesome!

ㄱㅇㅇ [귀여워] - Cute

ㄱㅇㅇ
So cute

ㅅㅂ [시발] - F*** (vulgar!)

Warning: Don't use unless you understand it's very vulgar

ㅈㄱㄴ [전국노래자랑] - National singing contest

Longer phrases also abbreviated in context

ㅁㄹ [모르] - Don't know

ㅁㄹ (I don't know)

Common Phrase Abbreviations¶

ㅇㄱㄹㅇ [이거레알] - This is real (for real)

ㅇㄱㄹㅇ?
Is this for real?

ㄹㅇ [레알/리얼] - Real

ㄹㅇ?
Really?

ㄹㅇㅋㅋ
For real haha

ㅈㄴ [존나] - Very (vulgar!)

Warning: Vulgar intensifier, avoid

Number Substitutions¶

Using numbers for sounds¶

1 [일] - Can sound like "i" 2 [이] - Sounds like "i" 4 [사] - Sounds like "sa" 8 [팔] - Sounds like "pal" 10 [십] - Can mean "shit" in context

Examples:

8282 [빨리빨리] - Hurry hurry
Rarely used now, mostly outdated

1004 [천사] - Angel
ㅊㅅ also used

Emoticons (Korean Style)¶

Face Emoticons¶

^^ or ^_^ - Happy, smiling

고마워 ^^
Thanks ^^

ㅠㅠ or ㅜㅜ - Crying

슬퍼 ㅠㅠ
Sad ㅠㅠ

ㅡㅡ - Unamused, deadpan

진짜? ㅡㅡ
Really? ㅡㅡ (skeptical)

ㅎㅎ - Gentle smile ㅋㅋ - Laughing

Combined Emoticons¶

^^7 - Salute
^ㅁ^ - Big smile
ㅇㅅㅇ - Surprised face
ㅇ<-< - Fish (random fun)

Full Word Shortcuts¶

Common Words¶

ㅇㅋ - 오케이 (OK) ㄴㄴ - 노노 (no) ㄱㅊ - 괜찮 (fine, okay) ㅅㄱ - 수고 (good work) ㅈㅅ - 죄송/죄송합니다 (sorry) ㄱㅅ - 감사 (thanks) ㅊㅋ - 축하 (congrats)

Longer Phrases¶

ㄱㄴㄱㄴ - 기능 기능 (function/ability - gaming) ㄷㅂㄷㅂ - 댓글 부탁해 (please comment) ㄹㅇㅋㅋ - 리얼 크크크 (really haha)

Internet Slang Combinations¶

ㅋㅋㄹㅃㅃ [크크르 ㅂㅂ] - Haha okay bye bye

Combining laugh + bye
Informal, playful

ㅇㅈ? ㄹㅇㅋㅋ [인정? 리얼ㅋㅋ]

Agreed? For real haha
Stacking abbreviations

Gaming Shortcuts¶

ㄱㄱ [고고] - Go go (start) ㅅㄱ [수고] - Good game, good work ㄱㅈ [거짓말] - Lie, joking ㅅㅅ [ㅅㅂ soft version] - Sorry (in gaming)

Practice Exercises¶

Exercise 1: Decode These Messages¶

ㅋㅋㅋ진짜?
ㅇㅇ ㄱㅊ아
ㅎㄷㄷ무서워
ㅊㅋㅊㅋ!
ㅈㅅ늦었어 ㅠㅠ

Exercise 2: Write in Texting Style¶

하하하 정말 웃겨!
응 괜찮아
고마워!
미안해
바이바이 내일 봐

Exercise 3: Appropriate Usage¶

Which are appropriate for texting a close friend?

ㅋㅋㅋ
^^
ㅠㅠ
ㅅㅂ (very vulgar)
ㅎㅎ

Answer Key

Exercise 1: 1. Hahaha really? 2. Yeah it's okay 3. ㅎㄷㄷ scary / shocking 4. Congrats congrats! 5. Sorry I'm late ㅠㅠ

Exercise 2: 1. ㅋㅋㅋ 진짜 웃겨! 2. ㅇㅇ ㄱㅊ아 / ㅇㅇ ㄱㅊ 3. ㄱㅅ! / ㄱㅅㄱㅅ! 4. ㅈㅅ 5. ㅂㅂ 내일 봐

Exercise 3: 1. ✓ Very common 2. ✓ Common 3. ✓ Common 4. ✗ Too vulgar 5. ✓ Common

Common Mistakes¶

1. Using abbreviations in formal contexts:

❌ (to professor) ㄱㅅ합니다!
✓ (to professor) 감사합니다!

2. Overusing ㅋ:

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (30+ ㅋ)
Can seem insincere or sarcastic

3. Mixing Korean and English abbreviations oddly:

❌ LOLㅋㅋ (mixing cultures awkwardly)
✓ ㅋㅋㅋ (stick to Korean in Korean texts)
✓ LOL (in English contexts)

Platform Differences¶

KakaoTalk¶

Most common: ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ, ^^
Stickers very popular
Voice messages common

Instagram/Twitter¶

More ㅋㅋㅋ
Hashtags common
Mix of abbreviations

Online Games¶

ㄱㄱ, ㅅㄱ very common
Quick communication needed
More abbreviations

Cultural Note¶

Generational Differences¶

Older generation (40+): - Prefer full words - Use ^^ more - Less comfortable with heavy abbreviation

20s-30s: - Moderate abbreviation - ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ, ^^ - Mix of styles

Teens: - Heavy abbreviation - Newest trends - Constantly evolving

Formality in Digital Communication¶

Even in texting, hierarchy matters:

To friends:

ㅇㅇㄱㅊ ㅋㅋ
Yeah fine haha

To seniors/professors:

네 괜찮습니다 ^^
Yes, I'm fine ^^

Notice: full words + polite endings even in text

Reading Comprehension vs. Production¶

As a learner: 1. Understand most abbreviations (for reading) 2. Use only safe, common ones (ㅋㅋ, ㅎㅎ, ^^, ㅇㅇ) 3. Avoid vulgar or very casual ones until confident 4. Match the style of the person you're texting

The safest approach: slightly more formal than too casual.

Master texting language to understand Korean digital communication, but use conservatively until you're sure of appropriateness!