카톡: Instant Messaging in Korean

For those who do not know what 카톡 (KakaoTalk) is, it refers to the smart phone instant messaging application that is widely used in Korea. Having lived in Korea for the past year, I have come to realize that one simply cannot do without this app! Needless to say, my Korean writing skills (and texting speed, for that matter) have improved by leaps and bounds, simply because I use it to communicate with my Korean friends, and through our daily conversations, I began to pick up the different kinds of abbreviations and 애교 that Koreans use – something Korean teachers would never teach you and probably frown upon when you use them.

Some interesting abbreviations that are commonly used today:

ㅊㅋㅊㅋ

Short for 추카추카, which comes from the word 축하 (Congratulations)

ㅂㄱㅅㅇ

Short for 보고싶어 (I miss you)

짐

Short for 지금 (Now)

걍

Short for 그냥 (Just)

어케

Short for 어떻게 (How)

까도남

Short for 까도로운 남자 (A picky guy)

차도남

Short for 차가운 도시 남자 (A cool city guy)

Also, other than the usual way of adding 애교 into your sentences by ending with an ㅇ or ㅁ at the end of each word/sentence (ie 맛있당/보내삼), here are some other examples of 애교:

알쏘

Short for 알았어 (To know)

틴구

친구 (Friend)

딸랑해

사랑해 (I love you)

업떠

없어 (Do not have)

죠

줘 (Give)

아포

아파 (Pain)

가쟈

가자 (Let’s go)

와쑝

왔어 (Came)

And you get the drift! Sometimes I still have difficulty deciphering what my younger friends mean when they use such 애교 ㅋㅋㅋ But I hope that this helped to clear up some doubts, or was just a fun piece to read! Go on, try it with your Korean friends and amaze them with how much abbreviations and 애교 you know! ^^