What is a Noona?

A younger brother or a younger man will use the Korean word. 누나 (noona) to address a female friend who is older. Nuna is the opposite of oppa. While oppa is used exclusively by females when addressing older males, nuna is used exclusively by males when addressing older females.

en.amazingtalker.com - Meaning of Oppa 오빠, Noona, Unnie, Hyung and more! - Amazing Talker

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Using Oppa can be a little confusing. It literally translates to “older brother” but now is used in different ways. Oppa is used all the time in Korean dramas and K-Pop and if you have ever wondered what it meant, keep reading to learn how to use it properly. Also, be sure to check out our articles on I love you in Korean and time in Korean.

A) Back to Basics: What are Honorifics?

An honorific is a way of speaking in Korean that communicates the relationship between the speaker and the subject or the listener. Korean has this built into the language with special words, titles, and grammar. Since honorifics have a strong cultural element, it is important to know what they mean and when to use them. Some of the honorifics you will hear all the time, and some of them are so rare you likely will never hear them. The root word of ‘honorific’ is ‘honor’ which conveys a sense of showing honor to another person. Also to learn how to say thank you in Korean check our article. The Korean language has a few different levels of speech, which could be new to native English speakers. These levels are integrated into the grammar and vocabulary and are used according to the differences in social rank and age between the people who are communicating. If a person holds superior status to you, whether by age, or function at a company or rank in the military, you should never use their name or say “you”. You need to use honorific titles, one of which is oppa.

B) What does Oppa Mean?

1. How is Oppa Used?

In Korean oppa (오빠) literally means “older brother of a female person”, but the meaning of oppa changed over time and now can refer to a female person’s

older brother,

very close friend who is older (but not much older!),

romantic interest, boyfriend, and sometimes even husband, if they are older.

Oppa is used in Korean culture by a female to a male, who is no more than 10 years older than her. If the person is more than ten years older than you or the person is over 30 years old, do not use oppa. You can say oppa ONLY to an older male. An older person is anyone who was born in the year prior to the year of your birth. So, even if he is a few months older, but born in the same year as you, he is not oppa ****– meaning, while you are free to address him as oppa, you will not be using that word properly.

2. When to Use Oppa

Oppa is a very intimate way of addressing somebody. It is casual and friendly and should not be used in formal settings. It is rather colloquial and today it could be considered slang. You definitely do not want to use oppa in a business meeting!

3. Other Meanings of Oppa

There are a number of different meanings of oppa. Sometimes, it is straightforward and easy to know what the intended meaning is. Other times, you need to depend on the context and personal relationship you have with the individual. Oppa can mean your actual, biological brother, male relatives and cousins, older male friend or acquaintance, male upper classmates, handsome guy (usually a celebrity), darling or honey, and haayyy. Haayyy is used by girls to get free things from men and manipulate them. All handsome men are oppa, regardless of age.

4. Variations of Oppa

There are different variations of oppa that are used by people. We will now look at some of these variations, what they mean, and the context in which they are used.

a) Oppa(n) Gangnam Style

The most popular variation of oppa is oppan. It was made famous by PSY in his hit single, Gangnam Style. Oppan is a shortening of oppa + neun. Neun **is what is called a “topic marker.” Topic markers are attached to the end of nouns in order to identify what the sentence is talking about. PSY is using oppan humorously by declaring to a love interest that he has got Gangnam style. Gangnam is a South Korean neologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam District of Seoul, where people are trendy, hip, wealthy, and indulge in lavish lifestyles.

b) What is Church Oppa Style?

Church oppa literally means “oppa that you meet at church”. Over time, “church oppa” has become an expression for a nice guy or Mr. Perfect. It is similar to Umchinah which is an abbreviation for my “mother’s friend’s son”. It refers to someone that is perceived to be perfect in every way and considered a perfect candidate for a relationship or marriage.

The requirements of church oppa are:

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Fair skin tone and neat appearance Sincere, diligent and polite lifestyle Decent and clean fashion style (horn-rimmed glasses are a plus) Positive expressions using only nice words Excellent guitar or singing skills with a clear voice

c) Idol Oppa Style

Oppa is often used by Korean fangirls to refer to K-pop idols or celebrities. When oppa is used to refer to an idol, the requirements pointed out above do not apply. All that matters is that the idol or celebrity has status and/or is considered handsome enough to be addressed as oppa!

5. How to Write Oppa

Korean is written in hangul. Hangul is one of the most interesting writing systems ever developed. An alphabetic syllabary, hangul was crafted by a single individual, King Sejong the Great in 1433 as a way to improve literacy rates throughout the kingdom. It is considered by some linguists to be one of the most phonologically accurate systems of writing in use today. Hangul is written in a four-by-four square and the square is completely filled up by its component, read clockwise, starting from the top left. There are 11 components that you can either double up or add little ticks to in order to change the sound a bit. Oppa is written 오빠. So, that first character is made up of two components. First, there’s ㅇ which is just a placeholder. Every character needs either both a consonant and a vowel or a vowel and the place holder. It also needs to fill up the whole four-by-four space. Hence, ㅇ ends up being a very useful bit of silence. The next part is derived from ㅡ, which is pronounced a bit like UH. Or, to be more accurate, think of the “oo” in “look.” Then, you stick a little notch on it like so ㅗ and the sound changes. It becomes OH, like the “o” in “poe.” The second character starts with ㅂ but doubles. So, it becomes ㅃ. The ㅂ is pronounced B, and the ㅃ is pronounced BB (a hard B). The second part starts with ㅣ, which you pronounce EE, like the “ee” in “free.” But, you notch it and you get AH, like the “a” in “bar.”

C) What does Hyung/Hyeong mean?

The Korean word hyung has the same meaning as oppa above. It is also used to address an older brother or male friend. The key difference is that oppa is only used by girls, while hyung is only used by boys. Korean guys in the company of older males refer to their older brothers as Hyung (형). The title Hyung (형) may also be written as “hyeong.” It is used in place of a person’s name instead of being attached to the end of it as a suffix. Hyung is an informal honorific that is used to address someone that you are very close to. It would be incorrect to use hyung when addressing an older male colleague because the workplace demands a formal address.

D) What About Unnie?

If you are a woman and another woman is older than you, the honorific with which to address them is 언니 (unnie). You may also see 언니 (unnie) written as “oni” or “uni.” It is the female equivalent of hyung above. Unnie is only used by girls and only when addressing older female siblings or females you are very close with. Additionally, it could be used to get the attention of the female staff members at a restaurant. Unnie is an informal, friendly way to address somebody therefore, it would not be appropriate to use unnie in the workplace when addressing an older colleague or your female superiors, even if they are older than you! A younger brother or a younger man will use the Korean word. 누나 (noona) to address a female friend who is older. Nuna is the opposite of oppa. While oppa is used exclusively by females when addressing older males, nuna is used exclusively by males when addressing older females. You may also see 누나 spelled as “Nuna.” Nuna is used in place of a person’s name. Just as with the other honorifics covered in this article, nuna is informal and only used when addressing older female relatives and very close older female friends in your social group. It would not be appropriate to address someone as nuna at work.

F) Bonus Honorifics

If all of the abovementioned honorifics can only be used in informal settings, how does one address someone in a formal setting? Keep reading to find out!

1) Sunbae

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Simply put, sunbae means senior. Sunbae (more commonly spelled as “seonbae”) refers to people who have more experience in work, school, etc. Whether the person is older than you or not, if they started earlier than you did, you should call them 선배 (seonbae).

2) Hubae

If Sunbae means senior, what would you call someone who started later than you in work, school, etc.? In this case, you may call them후배 (hubae), which means “Junior.” Hubae is a Korean word that refers to people who have less experience than you. For example, your friends at university who started later than you can be referred to as 후배 (hubae), aka “junior.”

3) Chingu

All of the honorifics that were covered in-depth in this article depends on an age gap. Naturally, the question arises as to how one should address your peers of the same age. In this case, you two can comfortably call each other friends, which is the word 친구 (chingu) in Korea. In this case, likely, you will refer to them by name (if you are close).

4) Dongsaeng

What if you are the older one? Then the other person is your 동생 (dongsaeng)! This term means both younger sister and little brother, though if you want to put more emphasis on the gender of the 동생 (dongsaeng) you are talking about, you can add 여 (yeo) for girls and 남 (nam) for boys. However, usually, these gender markers are used only when talking about your actual blood-related siblings.

G) Gay Culture

Oppa is often used by girls to address their boyfriends. In this context, it is flirtatious and endearing. It is worth noting that the honorifics that are discussed above are used in a variety of ways in the LGBTQ+ community. This results in an extension of the context in which each of the honorifics can be used. For example, hyung is often used by both men in a gay relationship to refer to each other. You may also hear gay men playfully call each other unnie, in a way similar to how, in English, gay men might playfully call each other “girl.” Also, gay men might refer to women they are close with as unnie, particularly if they are all part of a group accepting of each other’s sexual identity.

H) Honorifics in Korean Culture

The honorifics discussed in detail above are often used out of context and in different variations by Korean celebrities in Korean songs, movies, or TV series. In fact, oppa gets so much use as a term women use for the targets of their affection that it often gets misunderstood by people learning Korean as a second language. Oppa is used frequently by K-pop artists such as in the song: Boombayah – Blackpink. The artist Jessi has a song with the title of Nuna. The most famous example of these honorifics being used by artists is of course the worldwide sensation PSY with his hit single Oppan Gangnam Style. The example set by these artists has influenced many of their fans across the world to begin using these honorifics. It has had a strong influence on current trends in Korean culture. Why not join them? You can start today!

Meaning of Oppa ( 오빠 ) = older brother

Meaning of Hyung ( 형 ) = older brother

Meaning of Noona ( 누나 ) = older sister

Meaning of Unnie ( 언니 ) = older sister

Meaning of Sunbae ( 선배 ) = Sunbae means senior

Meaning of Hubae (후배)= Hubae means Junior

I) Conclusion

So, that is how you show respect in Korean culture by using honorifics. Make sure to become very familiar with each of the above-mentioned honorifics and their various usages to save yourself from a great deal of embarrassment or from potentially offending someone. Honorifics can be tricky but it comes with practice. Just like honorifics, learning Hangul is not as hard as it looks! Learn with great tutors on AmazingTalker and be sure to check out our online Korean courses

Discover the answers to your language-related questions on AmazingTalker’s Q&A page.

en.amazingtalker.com - Meaning of Oppa 오빠, Noona, Unnie, Hyung and more! - Amazing Talker

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