Hey everyone. Dom here again ready to bring you another “How to Say in Korean” post.

We’ve done some other posts related to family vocabulary and phrases so you will want to check those out as well (more to come):

Brother in Korean

Grandma in Korean

Grandpa in Korean

Family Vocabulary Chart

For today’s word, we’re talking about how to say dad/father in Korean. There are three main ways to say dad in the Korean language.

Let’s start with the first one:

아버지 (a-beo-ji)

This is the most common form you will see and use. You would call your own father by this name. However, you would never use this word for someone else’s father.

아버님 (a-beo-nim)

This is the formal version of the word father. You would address your own father by this terms in formal situations (like a special birthday dinner or wedding). You would also use this to refer to someone else’s father or for your father in law. I call Hyo’s father by this name all the time.

아빠 (a-ppa)

This is the informal/casual form of the word father and most children use this for this father in all situations except very formal ones. Like the word 아버지, you would only use this for your own father and not someone else’s.

Another thing to remember is when you want to say something like “My father.”, you wouldn’t use something like “내 아버지”.

The most common way of saying my father would be to say “우리 아버지”. Korean like to use 우리 not only for “we”, but “my” or “our” as well even when referring to one person. It is also acceptable to use the formal “저희” to refer to my as well:

저희 아버지가 선생님입니다 (jeo-hee a-beo-ji-ga seon-saeng-nim-im-ni-da) = My father is a teacher.

If you want to make some friends to help you with your Korean, this word is of course, very important. The word friend can be used in many situations here, but one thing I was confused about when I first arrived, is that you can’t use it for everyone, even if you would be considered friends back in your home country.

In Korea, there is a very strict hierarchy system which is very evident in the language. For instance, very rarely will you call someone, even family members or coworkers by their name. Everyone has titles. The same goes for friend. Let’s explain further:

친구 (chin-gu)

This is the word that directly translates into ‘friend’ in English. However, you can only use this terms for people you are close to who are the same age as you (born in the same year). Anyone born in the same year can be considered your friend.

형/언니 (hyeong/eon-ni)

These words refer to someone older than you who you are very close to. Basically a friend, but because of the hierarchy, you would use a formal term to refer to them. 형 is used by younger men to refer to a male friend older than them. 언니 is used by younger women to refer to a female friend older than them. In a family sense, these are also used to refer to brother and sister in the same manner.

오빠/누나 (o-ppa/nu-na)

These also refer to someone older. 오빠 is used by younger women to refer to an older man they consider a friend (also used by women as a way to call their boyfriends/husbands). 누나 is used by younger men to refer to an older woman they consider a friend.

Other words that contain 친구:

여자친구/여친 (yeo-ja-chin-gu/yeo-chin) = Girlfriend

남자친구/남친 (nam-ja-chin-gu/nam-chiin) = Boyfriend

As you can see, it can be a little confusing at first. Most learners are used to using just one word for friend. But it quickly gets easier and you will remember them quickly if you can consistently studying Korean. it basically becomes second nature.