63 Korean Words You Never Knew You Knew!

Korean Loanwords or Konglish // You Already Know Some Korean!

Korean Loanwords do really exist, and they are here to make your life learning Korean easier than you thought!

There is nothing clickbaity about the title! You genuinely already know a number of words in Korean (even if you’ve never studied Korean) thanks to Korean Loanwords or Konglish!

Today we are going to teach you 63 of those words! But first, to answer a question that’s probably on your mind…

Korean Loanwords

WTF is Konglish you ask? Well, you’ve heard of Chinglish, right? (If not click that link).

The equation to Konglish is simple:

Konglish = Korean + English

It’s the same as Chinglish (with Chinese) and the same as Singlish (with the Singaporean accent of English).

However, whilst Chinglish generally relates to more humourous translations of English to Chinese, Singlish focuses on the accent… Konglish is essentially Korean Loanwords.

As Wikipedia states:

Konglish refers to English loanwords that have been appropriated into Korean and includes many English words that are used in ways that are not readily understandable to native English speakers.

For more of that check out the Konglish article on Wiki here.

So why are we teaching you Konglish?

Korean Loanwords

Well, learning Korean Loanwords is actually an incredibly motivating way to learn a language as tricky as Korean.

By already discovering a number of words in a language completely different to English, it gives us a mental boost.

So today, to help you along your Korean journey we want to give you a foot up and get you believing it can be done.

We will split the words into categories below… so pick your favourite or better still, study them all!!

Remember when looking at the words, focus on the Romanization if you cannot read Korean, this will show you how to pronounce the script.

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || Food

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || Daily Life

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || Culture

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || Work Culture

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || Technology

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || Beauty & Fashion

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || Expressions

Korean Loanwords / Konglish || FAQs

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The Korean Alphabet | A Complete and Definitive Guide to Hangul 한글

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KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH – FOOD

Because food is more important than anything else… so obviously it comes first.

Korean cuisine is also something else! If you are yet to discover it, oh boy, you’re in for a treat.

Here are some Korean loanwords you already know in English!

EnglishKoreanRomanji
Cake 케이크 keaikeu
Cider 사이다 saida
Chocolate 초콜릿 choko-lit
Dessert 디저트 dijeoteu
Hot Dog 핫도그 hat-dogeu
Ice Cream 아이스크림 iseu-keulim
Whipping Cream 휘핑크림  hwiping-keulim

Chicken 치킨 (chikin) refers to fried chicken. The recipe for fried chicken came from American soldiers who were stationed in Korea after the Second World War and now has become a staple in Korean culture.

Trust us, Korean’s LOVE fried Chicken!

This one deserves some extra attention…

One Shot! 원샷 won-syat – Ever been in a bar with your friends and you are the last one to finish their drink (yeah, me too)…!

This is an expression when you go out to drink with friends or colleagues and you have to finish your drink in one shot.

As you can see by the Romanization, the Korean is remarkably similar, if not identical to the English, “One Shot”!

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Learn Korean on YouTube | 12 Channels to Follow 🌟

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KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH – DAILY LIFE

EnglishKoreanRomanji
Apartment 아파트 a-pa-teu
Ballpoint Pen 볼펜 bol-pen – shortened from Ballpoint Pen
Big Size 빅 사이즈 bik-sa-ee-jeu
Eco Bag / Bag for Life 에코백 eh-ko-baek
Health Club 헬스클럽 helseu-keulleop
Key Chain (Key Holder) 키홀더 ki-holdeo
Kitchen Towel 키친타올 kichin-taol
Klaxon 크락션 (keulag-syeon)
Menu 메뉴 menyu
Morning Call 모닝콜 mo-ning-kol
Nightclub 나이트 na e teu
Open Car / Convertible 오픈카 oh-peun-ka
Physical Contact (Skinship) 스킨십 seukin-sip
Plastic Bag / Vinyl Bag 비닐백 binil-baeg
Rear View Mirror / Back Mirror 백미러 baeg-mileo
Report 리포트 li-poteu
Ribbon 리본 li-bon
Running Machine / Treadmill 러닝머신 leo-ning-meo-shin
Sale 세일 seil
Screwdriver 드라이버 deulai-beo (as in ‘driver’)
Self Service 셀프 sel-peu (as in ‘self’)
Sun Cream 선크림 seon-keulim
Window (Eye) Shopping 아이쇼핑 ah-ee-syo-ping
Glue 본드 bond-deu (as in ‘glue’)
Korean Loanwords
Loanwords in Korean

KEY NOTE – In Korean the R sound does not exist so you’ll notice words like Running and Ribbon start with the L so they essentially sound like Lunning and Libbon in English.

  • Solo – 솔로 (solo). This one is mostly used by the younger generation, when you’re single, you’re enjoying the “solo” life!

Taxi – 택시 (taegsi). Taxis are quite cheap in Korea but it is rare to find English speaking drivers, it might be useful to learn a few words in Korean to communicate with your driver.

This article is a good starting point!

KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH – CULTURE

Healing – 힐링 (hil-ling). The word “healing” refers to the action of resting. Koreans often refer to resting time as healing time. Lovely feeling, isn’t it? 

EnglishKoreanRomanji
Hoodied T-Shirt 후드티 hu-deu-ti
Pop Song 팝송 pap-song
Sign 사인 sain
Supermarket 슈퍼 syu-peo

Studio (apartment) – 원룸 (won-lum, spoken as one room in English). It is very common in big cities like Busan or Seoul to have studio apartments for younger people to live in. These studios are composed of one room only, that’s why they are called “one room” in Korean.

Villa – 빌라 (billa). This is very specific to Korea. A villa is an apartment (often quite old fashioned) in smaller buildings and not particularly highly prised by younger/trendier people who prefer to live in Apartments 아파트 (aparteu) located in high rise buildings. 

KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH – WORK CULTURE

Career Woman – 커리어우먼 (keorieo-umeon). Spoken almost exactly the same as the English version, a career woman is a woman who works, and lives to work, taking great pride in her career.

  • Marketing – 마케팅 (maketing)
  • Team – (tim)

Salary Man – 샐러리맨 (saelleoli-maen). This word is very common both in Japan and Korea. It refers to employed men in big cities with suits and briefcases, businessmen. 

KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH – TECHNOLOGY

Time to get techy with the top Korean Loanwords in Tech.

EnglishKoreanRomanji
Air Con 에어컨 aeo-con
Digital Camera 디카 di-ka
Remote Control 리모컨 rimo-keon
Selfie 셀카 selka
Smart/Hand Phone 핸드폰 haen-deu-pon

KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH – BEAUTY & FASHION

Acetone – 아세톤 (a-seh-ton). What do you use to remove nail polish? Acetone! Nice and easy!

Loanwords in Korean

Burberry (the brand) – 버버리 (bo-bo-ri) – The most famous trench coats are from the brand Burberry. Because of this, the brand slipped into common language and is now a trench coat is a Burberry. A bit like how a tissue can be referred as a Kleenex.

Manicure – 매니큐어 (mae-ni-kyueo)

Panty – 팬티 (paen-ti). It’s worth nothing whilst in English Panties generally only refer to female underwear, in Korean that is not the case. 팬티 is gender neutral so chaps, don’t be worried about describing your underwear as Panties!

Sexy – 섹시 (seg-si). This one speaks for itself! 

KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH – EXPRESSIONS

Comfort Food – 소울푸드 (soul-pudeu, spoken as soul food in English). This concept is very important to Koreans, as food is a huge part of their life. Comfort food is food for the soul, or “soul food”

Dutch Pay (Going Dutch) – 더치 페이 (deo-chi-peh-ee). When the group split the bill between them, meaning everyone pays their own share.

It’s worth noting this is not very common in Korea. Usually, the elder person/people will pay for everyone. 

FIGHTING – 파이팅 (pai-ting). Not to fight, but kind of like 加油 in Chinese, the person is trying to cheer you up, encouraging you to do great. The fighting isn’t seen as the physical act to fight, but as in fighting through difficult moments to achieve something great. Learning Korean? FIGHTING!! You got this.

It’s a very common expression in daily life.

Visual – 비주얼 (bi-ju-al). Usually when we say someone is a “visual” it means they are good-looking or the most good-looking person in a group.

Working Mum – 워킹맘 (woking-mam). While Korea is still a very traditional and Confucian society, it is not rare to find working mums nowadays. 

Mummy’s Boy – 마마보이 (ma-ma-bo-ee)


There we have it 63 words in Korean you already knew! Not so bad is it?

DID YOU SPOT || some words in Korean are taken directly from English but in daily usage their pronunciation was too long, so Koreans cut the words in half to make it easier

Drop us a comment below with any that you found.
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BONUS || if you love learning about loanwords in other languages why not check out…

KOREAN LOANWORDS / KONGLISH || FAQs

Are there some English words also used in Korean?

Yes and more than you probably think.

Learning Korean Loanwords is actually an incredibly motivating way to learn a language as tricky as Korean. By already discovering a number of words in a language completely different to English, it gives us a mental boost.

It proves to us learning languages like Korean is absolutely not impossible, and that there are similarities, even if the two languages differ so much.

What is Konglish?

Effectively it’s Korea and English pushed together:

Korean + English = Konglish.

Konglish refers to English loanwords that have been appropriated into Korean and includes many English words that are used in ways that are not readily understandable to native English speakers.

What does 파이팅 mean in English?

It’s spoken as pai-ting. This is not to fight, but kind of like 加油 in Chinese, the person is trying to cheer you up, encouraging you to do great.

‘Fighting’ isn’t seen as the physical act of fighting, but as in fighting through difficult moments to achieve something great. Learning Korean? FIGHTING!! You got this.

How do you say Sexy in Korean?

섹시 (seg-si) – almost exactly the same as English!

Is Taxi the same in Korean?

Essentially yes. Taxi in Korean is 택시 (taeg-si).

How do you say Mummy’s Boy in Korean?

Mummy’s Boy is actually spoken almost exactly the same as in English:

마마보이 (ma-ma-bo-ee)

Want More From LTL?

FANCY LEARNING KOREAN? Check out our online Korean courses here.

We offer a 7-day free trial to all online students where you can study Korean 24/7.

Want to study Korean in Korea instead? Our Korean courses in Seoul can either be taken in small groups of no more than 5 students or individually for a more tailored experience.

We even offer incredible homestay experiences in Seoul too.

To top it all off, it certainly doesn’t end with Korean. Check out the other languages we teach 👇🏻

8 comments

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  1. Rosie
    Reply

    HAha these are super handy

    1. LTL Team HQ

      Glad you liked it Rosie

  2. Love articles like this!

    1. Max Hobbs

      Thanks so much!

  3. Harry
    Reply

    Whoa! Some unexpected ones!

    1. LTL Team HQ

      It's great isn't it!

  4. Bruce
    Reply

    Youre so cool! These Korean posts are great for beginners like me

    1. LTL Team HQ

      Absolutely pleasure Bruce!

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