10 Common Korean Curse Words 🤬 Speak Like a Native

The Most Common Korean Swear Words 🤬

Learning a new language can be super rewarding and fun but of course, from time to time our brains need a rest!

To take a break and learn something that we can’t find in the textbooks, here are some of the most used KOREAN CURSE WORDS.

Have you ever wondered why we tend to memorize swear words in other languages so much faster than non-swear words?

Most people go into language learning with a noble goal in mind, but it’s not unrealistic to assume you’ll have the most fun learning curse words in other languages.

Not to mention, I believe that swearing in foreign language is a first step to fluency.

If you can comfortably swear in one language, it shows that you have a much deeper understanding of it.

That is why taking the step to learn Korean swear words is a positive one! Although we sincerely hope you don’t have the need to use them all that much!!

With that said… let’s discover some of the most popular curse words in Korean

Korean Swear Words #1 || 씨발 (Ssi-Bal)

Korean Swear Words #2 || 개새끼 (Gae-Sae-Ggi)

Korean Swear Words #3 || 지랄 (Ji-Ral)

Korean Swear Words #4 || 빈대새끼 (Bin-Dae-Sae-Ggi)

Korean Swear Words #5 || 미친놈, 미친년 (Mi-Chin-Nom, Mi-Chon-Nyeon)

Korean Curse Words #6 || 좆됐어 (Joj-Dwaesseo)

Korean Curse Words #7 || 병신 (Byung-Shin)

Korean Curse Words #8 || 닥쳐 (Dak-Cho)

Korean Curse Words #9 || 꼰대 (Kkon-Dae)

Korean Curse Words #10 || 급식충 (Geup-Sik-Chung)

Korean Curse Word #1 – 씨발 (Ssi-Bal)

This is perhaps the most commonly used Korean curse word which can be adapted in any kind of situation.

Surely, you’ve heard this before from Korean dramas and movies.

Just like the word ‘F*ck’ in English, this can be used when you’re angry or when something is frustrating.

You can also create a new swear word by adding ‘Ssi-Bal’ to other words such as ‘씨발놈 Ssi-Bal-Nom’ and ‘씨발년 Ssi-Bal-Nyeon’.

‘놈 Nom’ refers to men and ‘년 Nyeon’ refers to women in a rude way.

Therefore, 씨발놈 means ‘a son of f*cking b*tch’ and 씨방년 means ‘f*cking b*tch’.

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Korean Curse Word #2 – 개새끼 (Gae-Sae-Ggi)

Here’s a quick vocabulary lesson for you!

The word ‘개 Gae’ means dog and ‘새끼 Sae-Ggi’ literally means ‘young or baby animal’.

However, 새끼 is more often used in a vulgar sense under the meaning of ‘bastard’.

So, when you combine these two words, what does it become?

It becomes “son of a b*tch” and/or “a jerk”. 

Korean Curse Word #3 – 지랄 (Ji-Ral)

This traditionally means ‘epilepsy’, ‘stroke’, and/or ‘seizure’. It originated from the middle ages in Korea and it was used to mock an ill person.

Somehow, it became widely accepted and broadly used as a swear word in more recent times.

It is often used to call out someone’s bullshit such as when you realise someone is lying to you, you can say ‘지랄하지마라 Jiral-Hajimara’.

You can also use it on its own as a noun which means ‘do not bullshit me’.

However, you can also use this Korean curse word when someone is acting crazy.

For instance, if your boss tells you to finish a certain task quickly and once you complete it, he/she complains why are you wasting your time doing this certain task then you can quietly say in your mind (unless you no longer want to keep the job!) ‘지랄하고 있네 Jiral-hago-Issne – he/she’s going crazy’.

I’d say this is rather mild to medium level on the scale of Korean swear words!

😎 TOP TIP – You can also add the word ‘개 gae’  in front of ‘지랄 Ji-Ral’ = ‘개지랄’ and intensify the level of this swear word!

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Korean Curse Word #4 – 빈대새끼 (Bin-Dae-Sae-Ggi)

Do you have that one friend who never pays for anything?

They always show up empty-handed and finish all your food at your home or often say that they forgot their wallet. The excuses go on and on.

‘빈대’ literally means a bedbug.

Yes, those vicious, small, oval, brownish insects which live on the blood of animals or humans, so 빈대새끼 refers to someone who is dependent on others, more specifically financially.

#5 – 미친놈, 미친년 (Mi-Chin-Nom, Mi-Chon-Nyeon)

Play 미친놈 Play 미친년

I’m pretty sure you also have heard of this from many dramas and movies as this Korean curse word is very widely and commonly used in Korea.

It comes from the verb ‘미쳤다 Mi-Chyeoss-Da’, which literally means ‘crazy’.

미친놈 is used with men which means ‘crazy son of a b*tch’ and 미친년 is used with women which means ‘crazy b*tch’. 

😎 TOP TIP – You can also use 새끼 instead of 놈 and/or 년. However, this often refers to men more than women.

Korean Curse Word #6 – 좆됐어 (Joj-Dwaesseo)

If we interpret this phrase literally, 좆 means penis.

However, this is usually used as ‘I’m f*cked’, ‘it’s f*cked up’, and ‘I’m screwed’.

When you find yourself getting into trouble or caught up in ridiculous situations, you can say this to yourself as an expression or use it to tell your friends about that certain situation.

This is not used as a swear word to curse at others.

Korean Curse Word #7 – 병신 (Byung-Shin)

This word literally means a disabled person and was also used to refer to someone who had a disease in the past.

However, it is now only used as a swear word to curse anyone you find irritating and annoying.

It is equivalent to English swear words such as ‘idiot’, ‘dickhead’ and ‘asshole’.

Korean Curse Word #8 – 닥쳐 (Dak-Cho)

This Korean curse word means ‘Shut up’ or ‘Shut it’, you’ll hear it pretty often.

It originated from a normal verb ‘닫다 Dat-Da’ which means shut or close (the door).

It is often used with the slang ‘아가리 Agari’ which means ‘animal’s mouth’ = ‘아가리 닥쳐’ ‘shut your mouth’. 

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Korean Curse Word #9 – 꼰대 (Kkon-Dae)

This is an expression to describe a person who enforces their experience and opinion on younger people, in a condescending way.

For instance, someone who always start their sentence with ‘when I was your age, I was….’ etc.

This word is more popular among teenagers when they refer to older people such as their parents or teachers.

LAST ONE #10 – 급식충 (Geup-Sik-Chung)

This is quite the opposite of 꼰대.

급식 means lunch, as in school-provided lunch for children. 충 means insect and is often used to insult people.

As a result, referring to someone as 급식 is thus calling out their immaturity.

We use this word to describe underage people who speak and behave inappropriately in online communities AKA trolls!

I hope this article was helpful in your Korean studies, but please use these words with great caution!!

It is always very helpful to know some Korean curse words but don’t use them in any old sentence.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely check out the most common Korean slang words too.

Have you ever used any of these Korean curse words? Do you know more?

Share your wisdom in the comment section!

Are you learning Chinese or Japanese as well and would like to expand your vocabulary and learn some more naughty words?

We also have great guides for Chinese swear words, Italian swear words, Japanese swear words, Russian swear words and even Vietnamese curse words too!

BONUS || VOCABULARY QUIZ ✅

How well do you know your Korean swear words?

Whether you knew some (or all) of them before reading this article, or on the contrary just learnt a bunch of them, take our quick fire quiz to see how well you remember them.

Share your results in the comments, and good luck!

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