You might want to refrain from using oppa, hyung, nuna, and unnie when meeting people first. If there are decades worth of age differences between you two, these terms are less likely to be used.Įven if you’re not talking directly to the people you call oppa, hyung, nuna, and unnie, whenever you refer to them in a conversation with someone else, you should attach one of these terms after the person’s name you are talking about. In romanized English, you can spell the word as “ nuna.” However, you may also see 누나 in romanized English as “noona.” When To Use Oppa (오빠), Unnie (언니), Hyung (형), and N una (누나) Listen here: 누나 (nuna) = older sister (males speaking to older females) How to write nuna in Korean The Korean word for “older sister” can be pronounced as nuna (누나). If you’re a woman and an older sister of a male sibling, your younger brother will also call you nuna.
So, if you’re a man who has a female friend older than you are, you call her nuna. For example, 누나 (nuna) is used to address an older female for males, even if she is not your sister by blood. You’ve probably heard the word oppa (오빠) in Korean Dramas, K-Pop Idols, or among your Korean friends.īefore we get into the details, watch this video below:Ī younger brother or a younger man will use the Korean word 누나 (nuna) to address a female friend who is older.
Oppa (오빠) is a commonly used term in Korean. However, the meaning of these terms expands much further than just your blood-related siblings. The words oppa (오빠) and hyung (형) mean “older brother.” Meanwhile, the Korean words nuna (누나) and unnie (언니) mean “older sister.” The Meaning of Oppa (오빠), Hyung (형), Nuna (누나), and Unnie (언니) 2.1 What does oppa (오빠) mean in Korean?.1 The Meaning of Oppa (오빠), Hyung (형), Nuna (누나), and Unnie (언니).It has a simple chart that tells you which Korean titles to use when speaking to people so you don’t sound rude. We created a special cheat sheet that will help you practice what you learn in this lesson. We’ll explain what they mean and when to use them. However, the actual meanings are quite different than the translations in English. Meaning of hubae ( 후배)= Hubae means “junior”.Meaning of sunbae ( 선배) = Sunbae means “senior”.We’ll tell you more in a minute!Īlso, as a bonus, we’ll also be talking about two other words that you’ll hear quite a lot: Sunbae (선배) and Hubae (후배).Īs for the bonus words, the direct translations are:
You might be wondering why some of these words are romanized differently. In this article, we will explain the meaning of oppa (오빠), hyung (형), noona (누나), and unnie (언니).
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