KPOP Vocabulary

Do you want to know kpop vocabulary? Do you want to start in Kpop? Do you want to talk like all the fans?

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What you will discover in this article:

• A rich vocabulary drawn from English and Korean
• How to talk with all KPOP fans
• The essential words to understand everything about Korean music

Let's start without further ado to discover the 40 most used vocabulary words by KPOP fans.

Lexicon and meaning of vocabulary in Kpop

Annyeong and annyeonghaseyo

Korean word: 안녕 and 안녕하세요

It means “Hi” or “Hello” in its full form. It's not a Kpop-specific word but it's used a lot by fans.

Korean Standard Time

English words: Korean Standard Time

Kpop fans often use the letters “KST” to indicate live times. This makes it possible to speak with the same reference time as in South Korea.

dance practice

English word: dance training

Video that shows us a group doing their choreography. This is often shot in Korean TV studios or sports halls.

Example of a game with a Monsta X Dance Practice:

Drama

English word: theatre/drama

Korean series are called Dramas. The word derived from its original usage. Kpop fans often watch Korean Dramas.

Teaser

English word: tease

These are videos and photos that pick up fans' curiosity for upcoming events or albums.

Music Video (MV)

English word: Music video

It is the equivalent of the word clip, which is widely used in the world of Kpop. For example: Have you seen the latest Stray Kids MV?

stanner

Stan is an English slang word. It is widely used in Kpop and translates the action of following a group or a member. We use stan as a full verb.

For example: Who are you? I stan Mamamoo right now.

Idol / K-idol

English words: Korean idol

This is the name given to Kpop artists, members of Korean music groups. Putting “K-” + “Word” was a very trendy practice a few years ago.

Bias

The Bias is a fan's favorite member in a group. Therefore, each fan can choose one Bias per Kpop group.

Example: Jungkook is my bias in BTS.

Ultimate Bias (UB)

English words: Ultimate Bias

The Ultimate Bias is a Fan's favorite vocalist of all bands. We can therefore use this notion to talk about his favorite member in the world of Korean music.

Example: Jimin is my UB

Bias List

English word: bias list

This is the list of all Bias of a Fan. There is therefore a Bias per Group in each list.

Wrecker

English word: destroyer

The wrecker is second, just behind your Bias. The question to ask is: Who would be my bias if it didn't exist? So we can have a lot of Wrecker. You can also use the name “Bias Wrecker” when changing your Bias List.

Leader

English word: leader, leader

The leader of a Kpop group is the ringleader, the main vocalist of the group. For example, the leader of the Ateez group is Hongjoong.

Maknae

Korean word: 막내

Maknae is a name that designates the youngest member of a Kpop group. Jungkook is the Maknae of BTS. It would even be referred to as Golden Maknae if compared to the other groups.

Streak

English word: intern

A Trainee is a person who undergoes hard training to become a Kpop idol. We often talk about an apprentice and this has a link with agencies. Trainees have no certainty of becoming Idol and it can last more than 10 years, like for Jihyo from Twice for example.

Ultimate Group (UG)

English words: Ultimate Group

A Kpop Fan's Favorite Band. It is not mandatory to have an Ultimate Group, but many fans place a lot of importance on this notion.

Example: My UG is Ateez

Comeback

English word: return

A comeback is the return of a group after a period of silence. Comebacks are very important events in Kpop as evidenced by the importance of BTS's in 2020.

rookie

English word: novice/beginner

It is said of a group which has just started in K-pop, that it is a Rookie. This means that it is a young group which must continue to prove itself.

All Kill

English words: kill everything

We talk about All Kill when a title is incredibly successful as soon as it is released. It is a distinction that is awarded to a group. You can follow the trends on ichart .

Disband

English word: disperse/dissolve

We use this English word to talk about groups that separate. For example, we say: What are you going to do if Ateez gets disbanded? (answer us in the comments)

Pairing

English word: pair

Pairings are couples between Idols. These are often stories made up by fans of one or more bands. They give theories known as the Vkook, mix of names between V and Jungkook of BTS.

One True Pairing (OTP)

English words: the only true pairing

Everyone's favorite pairing is a personal choice that aims to find the couple of Idols that you prefer.

TO + number

This method is used to describe the number of members of a group that go well together. For example, Exo was OT12 and since 3 members left, they are OT9.

fan-meeting

English word: meet the fans

The Fan meeting is a direct meeting with members of Kpop groups. There are signatures, autographs and dedications. This can be done at conventions or after concerts.

fan base

English word: Fanbase

The fanbase is all of a group's fans. She can organize herself into a complex group and have meetings, events or find herself on social networks.

fan page

English word: fan page

The fan page is a fan-run online space to share news about and support a Kpop group.

Fandom

English word: kingdom of fans

Fandom is a widely used expression in Korean music. It is the contraction between the word “fan” and “kingdom”. A fandom is the community of fans of a particular band. There are names of fandoms such as the Army, BTS fans.

Fanchants

English word: Fan songs

During a concert, there are words that the fans will shout louder, these are the fanchants.

Hwaiting or Fighting

Korean word derived from English fight: to fight

This word derived from English is used to encourage. It is often used by idols in videos or music.

light stick

English word: stick of light

Light Sticks are colorful, glowing sticks that fans wave during concerts. Each group has its own Lightstick, which makes it possible to recognize fandoms. Fans love collecting Lightsticks.

Aegyo

Korean word: 애교

It's a Korean way of speaking that is used by Idols. It highlights the cute side and is often used by young Korean girls.

The word aegyo is also used for makeup that brings out the eyes.

Gwiyomi

Korean word: 귀요미

It means cute in Korean. It is used to describe several types of aehyos in the world of kpop. There is the Gwiyomi Song which was covered by Saturday.

buing buing

Onomatopoeia

Buing Buing is a well-known onomatopoeia in the Kpop world. A cute sign accompanied by this noise is driving a lot of fans crazy. You can see that with Momo from Twice.

Dongsaeng

Korean word: 동생

It is a word that is used to call a person younger than either. This word is still little used in Korean, since it suffices to end a first name with -a or -ya if you want to mean the same thing.

hyung

Korean word: 형

It's a word boys use to call another boy older than them. Literally, we could say “big brother”.

United

Korean word: 언니

A name used by girls to call older girls. Literally we could say “big sister”.

Oppa

Korean word: 오빠

This is the name girls use to call a boy older than them. Literally, we could say “big brother”.

noona

Korean word: 누나

This word is used for boys who want to designate a girl older than them. Literally we could say “big sister”.

sunbae

Korean word: elder

The word Sunbae, pronounced "Seunbe", is used when speaking of a group that predates another. For example, SHINee are the sunbaes of BTS.

Hoobae

Korean word: junior

The word Hoobae, pronounced "Hoobé", is the reverse of Sunbae. It's when we talk about a group younger than another. For example, Twice are EXO's hoobaes.

Spread these words around you

We have just seen together, almost all the lexicon used by Kpop fans ! You are now an expert and you will be able to share your knowledge with your friends who like to follow Korean music groups.

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