Ahjumma? Oppa? -- Titles in Korean

In Korean, it is rude to call someone older than you by their name. As a result, there are titles that you call those who are older than you to show respect.

The formal, applies-in-most-situations when you don't know which term to use, is to put 씨 ssi (pronounced like she) at the end of someone's full name. This is basically the equivelant of saying Mr. or Ms.
e.g. Kim Minho-ssi = Mr. Minho Kim.

*Also, Korean surnames come before the given name. In English, Minho Kim. In Korean, Kim Minho. And most Korean given names are two syllables (like Min-Ho) although occasionally there are those with one syllable given names, e.g. Kim Yeol.

Ahjumma (아줌마) is a married woman. The stereotypical ahjumma sports floral shirts and a perm and will elbow you out of the way on the subway. But of course not everyone is a stereotype, and this is a perfectly acceptable term so long as it's being applied correctly. If you call someone an ahjumma who is still young or unmarried, she could be offended.

Ahjussi (아저씨) is a middle aged or older man. Again, the "ssi" romanization is pronounced like "she".
*note: known for making dad jokes.

Eonni/Noona (언니/누나) are the terms for older sister. Eonni is what a female would call both her literal older sister and female friends who are older than her. Noona is what a male would use to call his older sister/older female friends. Usually, though, a guy wouldn't be comfortable calling his girlfriend or a girl he likes noona.

Oppa/Hyung (오빠/형) are the terms for older brother (again, both literal older brother, and older male friends). Oppa is the word females use, and hyung is the term males use.
You may hear Kpop fans apply the word oppa to their celebrity crush. This is just a silly thing, like calling a celebrity you like your boyfriend. Because in real life, if you were close to a guy older than you, whether that guy is your friend or your boyfriend, you would call him oppa.

Halmoni (hal-meo-ni) 할머니 means grandmother, and Halabeoji (hal-ah-beo-ji) 할아버지 means grandfather. These you would use only with much older people, obviously.

What you call someone relates to the age difference between you and the person. For example, an ahjumma would not call another ahjumma that. She would call her by her name if they're the same age or if she's younger, or she would call her oenni if the other lady is older than her.

Oma 엄마 is the word for mom, and Appa 아빠 is the word for dad. You wouldn't call strangers these, but I thought I would include them since they're basic family words. You'll also hear people using them when talking about their parents, and often if you are a parent you'll be addressed as "so-and-so's mom". In some situations, you may address the parents of your same age or younger friends like this as well, for example, "In Ha's Oma".

If your friends have English names, you probably don't need to worry about titles. Typically, culture changes with the language. English language, English culture--and vice versa.

Fun Fact! The Korean surname Lee is actually "ee". No L sound. I assume when translated the L is added to make it sound more natural in English.

I know this all sounds really complicated and I didn't mean to make it seem so! No one will begrudge you any mistakes you make. Most who speak English understand that us foreigners usually use people's first names and aren't offended by it.

<3 강다은 Da Eun