You know more Korean words than you think you do

Everyone is aware that Korean is a pretty distant language to English. After all, the two languages developed for hundreds of years on practically opposite sides of Eurasia. So, it may surprise you to find out just how many words in Korean you already know.

Introducing “Konglish”—or Korean English. English is the world language. Even if people say they don’t know any English, everyone knows some of it. English is the language of the internet and Hollywood.

As a result, English has seeped in to the world’s languages. The new vocabulary isn’t just English anymore, it’s adapted, made easier to say in foreign mouths, changed to suit the local palate, a fusion cuisine, like a bibimbap burrito in California.

With this guide, it’s important to recognize that although many words are loaned into Korean, the pronunciation and meaning are often slightly different and more restricted in “Konglish” (English words used in Korean). The purpose of this guide is just to prime you to start noticing these patterns in Korean media. Remember, the goal is familiarization not memorization—there is no need to memorize this entire list.

Continue reading to learn how Koreans have adapted English into their language and made it their own!

English to Korean Sound Changes

The first set of English words in Korean that we’ll be introducing to you, are ones that are set apart by mere sound changes. Just like an American may heavily nativize his French words when trying to sound haute couture, a Korean will Koreanize the sounds in English that hard for them to make.

/f/ (English) ↔ /p^h/ <ㅍ> (Korean)

Korean famously doesn’t have an /f/ sound as in “father”. That doesn’t stop Koreans from borrowing English words that start with “f”, though. Instead, they have various tactics for Koreanizing the /f/ sound. The first is to turn it into a /p^h/ sound, or in plain English, the sound of “p” in “Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Here are some examples:

English	Korean	Romanized Korean
office	오피스	opiseu
self	셀프	selpeu
fighting	파이팅	paiting
ferry	페리	peli
festival	페스티벌	peseutibeol
buffet	뷔페	bwipe

/f/ (English) ↔ /h/ <ㅎ> (Korean)

Now, you’ll notice we did mention that Korean has various tactics for Koreanizing that pesky letter “f”. The letter “f” is sometimes borrowed into Korean as the /h/ sound, like in the names Harold and Howard.

English	Korean	Romanized Korean
foil	호일	hoil
fighting	화이팅	hwaiting
frying pan	후라이팬	hulaipaen

/z/ (English) ↔ /d͡ʑ/ <ㅈ>, <ㅊ> or <ㅉ> (Korean)

Korean doesn’t have a “z” sound like in the word “buzz”. Konglish uses something approaching the “j” sound like in the word “judge” to compensate for this.

English	Korean	Romanized Korean
cheese	치즈	chijeu
pizza	피자	pija
jazz	재즈	jaejeu
zero	제로	jelo
zipper	지퍼	jipeo

/v/ (English) ↔ /p/ < ㅂ >(Korean)

This sound change is a bit less obvious to English speakers. Since Korean doesn’t have the /v/ sound like in “very” they replace it with something similar to a “b” sound. The sound is really a /p/ sound like in the word “spike”, but a “b” sound is probably closer to what your ears will hear it as.

English	Korean	Romanized Korean
villa	빌라	billa
navigation	내비게이션	naebigeisyeon
drive	드라이브	deulaibeu
veranda	베란다	belanda

/ɜ(r)/, /ʌ/, and /ə/ (English) ↔ /ʌ/ <ㅓ> (Korean)

These are three separate sounds that get merged to a single “eo” or “uh” sound in Korean. The “er” sound like in “nurse”, the “uh” sound like in English “cut” or “strut”, and the schwa or “reduced sound”.

English	Korean	Romanized Korean
service	서비스 **	seobiseu
burger	버거	beogeo
terminal	터미널	teomineol
front	프런트	프런트
bus	버스	beoseu
sunglasses	선글라스	seongeullaseu
letter	레터	leteo
center	센터	senteo

Korean words shorted from English words

Words in Konglish that are taken from English words and shortened and often recombined to create new words, such as “sel-ka” from “self-camera” meaning “selfie”.

English	Korean	Romanized Korean	Definition
sel(f) + ca(mera)	셀카	selka	selfie
office + hotel	오피스텔	opiseutel
multi-purpose building in Korea with both residential and commercial units
digital + camera	디카	dika	digital camera
(announce)ment	멘트	menteu	announcement
mu(sic)+vi(deo)	뮤비	myubi	music video

Blends of Korean and English elements

Remember that bibimbap burrito we talked about earlier? This following batch of words is fusion words, made up of a Korean element and an English element. They come together to create hip new fusion words that are cooler than the sum of their parts.

English Word	Korean Word	New Word	Romanized Korean	Definition
no	재미 (fun)	노잼	nojaem	boring
chicken	맥주 (beer)	치맥	chimaeg	fried chicken and beer
team	장 (leader)	팀장	timjang	team leader
health	장 (venue)	헬스장	helseujang	health club, gym
belt	안전 (safety)	안전벨트	anjeonbelteu	seat belt
cutter	칼 (knife)	커터칼	keoteokal	box cutter
tip	꿀 (honey)	꿀팁	kkultib	hot tip (lit. honey tip)
gag	아저씨 (uncle)	아재 개그	ajae gaegeu	dad joke (lit. uncle gag)
live	방송 (broadcast)	라방		live stream

English words with new meanings

Congratulations on making it this far! This is the final batch of Konglish words you’ll be learning. These are words that come from English, but have totally new meanings in Korean. The fancy pants term for this is “psuedo-anglicism” (you can read more about it on Wikipedia). These words are deceptive, because at first glance you may think they mean something totally different than how Koreans actually use them.

English	Konglish	Romanized Konglish	New Meaning
self	셀프	selpeu	self service
pop song	팝송	pabsong	English language pop music
sense	센스	senseu	wit, tact
soul food	소울 푸드	soul pudeu	comfort food
service	서비스	seobiseu	free, on the house
over eat	오바이트	obaiteu	vomiting
villa	빌라	billa	a small condominium
ribbon	리본	libon	a bow
meeting	미팅	miting	a group blind date
handphone	핸드폰	haendeupon	a cellphone, a mobile phone
kickboard	킥보드	kigbodeu	a scooter
eye shopping	아이 쇼핑	ai syoping	window shopping
howling	하울링	haulling	an echo or feedback in a voice chat
man-to-man	맨투맨	maentumaen	a sweat shirt
knit	니트	niteu	a jumper, a sweater
multi-tap	멀티탭	meoltitaeb	an extension cord
consent	콘센트	konsenteu	an electrical outlet

You’re a Konglish pro!

See, I told you that you already know more Korean than you thought you did! This guide was just a primer to jump start your Korean learning, but there are many more Konglish words out there. You are now armed with the tools to start recognizing English words in Korean and start understanding your favorite K-pop songs.