How to Say Sister in Korean

Whether you want to understand basic words in K-pop or K-dramas, impress your Korean friends, or simply deepen your connection to the Korean culture, the Korean Language Starter Pack ensures that you quickly learn and retain the most commonly used Korean words and phrases today. Click here to learn more.

Up next in our family series is learning how to say sister in Korean. Like the words for brother, how you address your sister would depend on your age in relation to her. Also like the words for brother, whether you are male or female which dictates how you address her as well.

Let’s start with the first one:

언니 (eon-ni) = This is used by women to refer to their older sister. It would also be used if you are close friends with a woman who is older than you. Remember that 친구 (friend) is only used towards people who are the same age.

(여)동생 ([yeo] dong-saeng) = 동생 is used to refer to your younger siblings. Sometimes people add 여 (woman) or 남 (man) to make a distinction as to whether their younger sibling is their sister or brother. However most times, these are left out, and people simply say 동생.

누나 (nu-na) = This is used by men to refer to their older sister or a woman who is a close friend and also older than them.

And that’s it! Very simple. Check out some of our other posts on family vocabulary below:

Dad in Korean

Uncle in Korean

Brother in Korean

Grandma in Korean

Grandpa in Korean

Whether you want to understand basic words in K-pop or K-dramas, impress your Korean friends, or simply deepen your connection to the Korean culture, the Korean Language Starter Pack ensures that you quickly learn and retain the most commonly used Korean words and phrases today. Click here to learn more.