Day83 One-line Summary
Texting vs Spoken Korean Today you practice expressing the same meaning in two ways:
Texting (short) vs Speaking (natural full sentences).
Key rule: when you turn a text into speech, use complete sentences and choose polite vs casual.
4 Core Differences (Text vs Speech)
- Texting: very short (often drops the subject)
- Speaking: uses connectors and intonation (근데/그래서/일단)
- Texting: uses consonant abbreviations (ㅇㅋ, ㄱㄱ)
- Speaking: rarely uses those abbreviations—use normal words (“알겠어요”, “가요”)
Simple beginner rule:
Text = short. Speech = full sentence.
20 Common Text Abbreviations (Meaning + Spoken Version)
Learn each as a pair: text → meaning → how to say it out loud
- ㅇㅋ = OK → “알겠어요 / 좋아요”
- ㄱㄱ = go go → “가요 / 하죠 / 시작해요”
- ㅇㅇ = yes/yeah → “응 / 네”
- ㄴㄴ = no no → “아니 / 아니요”
- ㅋㅋ = laughter → “하하 / 재밌다”
- ㅎㅎ = light laughter → “하하(조금)”
- ㅠㅠ / ㅜㅜ = sad/cry → “슬퍼요 / 속상해요”
- ㄱㅅ = thanks → “고마워요 / 감사합니다”
- ㅈㅅ = sorry → “죄송해요 / 미안해요”
- ㅂㅂ = bye bye → “이따 봐요 / 나중에 봐요”
- ㅅㄱ = good work → “수고하세요 / 고생했어요”
- ㅊㅋ = congrats → “축하해요!”
- ㄹㅇ = real? / really → “진짜요? / 정말요?”
- ㅇㅈ = 인정 (agree) → “맞아요 / 인정해요”
- ㄷㄷ = shocked/scared → “헉 / 놀랐어요 / 무서워요”
- ㅎㅇ = hi → “안녕!”
- ㅃㅇ = bye → “안녕 / 바이”
- ㅃㄹ = hurry → “빨리 와요 / 서둘러요”
- ㅈㄱ = now → “지금”
- (Caution) some slang can be rude—beginners should avoid profanity abbreviations.
The 3-Step Conversion Rule (Text → Speech)
When you convert a text message into spoken Korean:
- Expand the meaning
- ㅇㅋ → OK → “알겠어요”
- Choose politeness level
- Friend: “알겠어”
- Polite/general: “알겠어요” / “알겠습니다”
- Finish as a full sentence (sound natural)
- “네, 알겠어요.”
- “좋아요. 그럼 7시에 만나요.”
12 Ready-made Pairs (Text vs Spoken)
Memorize these chunks.
- Text: “ㅇㅋ”
Spoken: “네, 알겠어요.” / “좋아요.” - Text: “ㄱㄱ”
Spoken: “가요!” / “그럼 가요.” - Text: “ㅇㅋ 7시”
Spoken: “네, 좋아요. 7시에 만나요.” - Text: “ㅈㅅ 지금 ㄴㄴ”
Spoken: “죄송해요. 지금은 좀 어려워요.” - Text: “ㅈㅅ 늦음”
Spoken: “미안해요. 제가 조금 늦어요.” - Text: “ㅇㅇ”
Spoken: “응.” / “네.” - Text: “ㄹㅇ?”
Spoken: “진짜예요?” / “정말요?” - Text: “ㅋㅋ”
Spoken: (laugh) “하하.” / “재밌다.” - Text: “ㅠㅠ”
Spoken: “아… 속상해요.” / “슬퍼요.” - Text: “ㅂㅂ”
Spoken: “이따 봐요.” / “나중에 봐요.” - Text: “ㅅㄱ”
Spoken: “수고하세요!” / “고생했어요.” - Text: “ㅊㅋ”
Spoken: “축하해요!”
Mini Dialogue 1 Plans (Text → Spoken)
Text version
A: “ㅇㅋ 내일 2시 ㄱㄱ”
B: “ㅇㅇ 역앞”
Spoken version
A: “네, 좋아요. 내일 2시에 가요.”
B: “네. 역 앞에서 만나요.”
Tip: In speech, “역앞” becomes “역 앞” with a natural pause.
Mini Dialogue 2 Running Late
Text: “ㅈㅅ 10분 늦음”
Spoken: “죄송해요. 10분 정도 늦을 것 같아요.”
Tip: “-것 같아요” (“I think / it seems”) is a very common softener.
Mini Dialogue 3 Expressing ㅋㅋ / ㅠㅠ in Speech
Text: “ㅋㅋ 대박”
Spoken: “하하, 진짜 대박이다.”
Text: “ㅠㅠ 망했다”
Spoken: “아… 큰일 났어요.” / “망했어요…” (with close friends)
Tip: “큰일 났어요” is a safe, common expression.
Class Script (Conversion Training)
Teacher: Text is short, speech is full sentences.
Student: 네.
Teacher: How do you say “ㅇㅋ” out loud?
Student: 알겠어요. / 좋아요.
Teacher: How do you say “ㅈㅅ”?
Student: 죄송해요.
Teacher: Convert “ㅇㅋ 7시 ㄱㄱ” into speech.
Student: 네, 좋아요. 7시에 가요.
Teacher: Even more natural: “그럼 7시에 만나요.”
Drills (7 Sets)
Drill 1 Text → speech (15 items)
ㅇㅋ / ㄱㄱ / ㅇㅇ / ㄴㄴ / ㄱㅅ / ㅈㅅ / ㅂㅂ / ㅅㄱ / ㅊㅋ / ㄹㅇ / ㅋㅋ / ㅎㅎ / ㅠㅠ / ㅜㅜ / ㅇㅈ
Drill 2 Speech → text (8 items)
알겠어요→ㅇㅋ, 가요→ㄱㄱ, 고마워요→ㄱㅅ, 죄송해요→ㅈㅅ, 아니요→ㄴㄴ, 진짜요?→ㄹㅇ?, 축하해요→ㅊㅋ, 수고하세요→ㅅㄱ
Drill 3 Polite vs casual pairs
알겠어요/알겠어, 미안해요/미안, 괜찮아요/괜찮아, 가요/가
Drill 4 Emoji/reactions → speech
ㅋㅋ→“하하”, ㅠㅠ→“속상해요”, 👍→“좋아요/오케이”, 😭→“슬퍼요”
Drill 5 One short text → two spoken sentences
Text: “ㅇㅋ 내일 3시”
Speech: “네, 알겠어요. 내일 3시에 만나요.”
Drill 6 Make 5 sample texts
accept / refuse / change plan / late / congratulate
Then convert each into spoken Korean.
Drill 7 Speak out loud
Say your spoken versions twice, slowly and clearly.
5 Things Beginners Should Watch Out For
- Abbreviations are safest with close friends.
- For seniors/first meetings, avoid abbreviations—use polite full phrases.
- Too many ㅋㅋ/ㅠㅠ in work messages can look unprofessional.
- Avoid profanity abbreviations.
- Never read abbreviations out loud—convert to full sentences.
Quiz (Answers below)
- ㅇㅋ means: (a) OK (b) apple
- ㅈㅅ means: (a) sorry (b) congrats
- ㅠㅠ expresses: (a) sadness (b) happiness
- ㅅㄱ spoken version is: (a) 수고하세요 (b) 배고파요
Answers: 1-a, 2-a, 3-a, 4-a
Homework
- Write 10 sentence pairs (text + spoken)
Example: Text “ㅇㅋ 내일 2시” / Spoken “네, 좋아요. 내일 2시에 만나요.” - Make 5 spoken sentences for ㅋㅋ and 5 for ㅠㅠ
- ㅋㅋ: “하하, 재밌다.”
- ㅠㅠ: “아… 속상해요.”
- Create your own 4-line mini dialogue
2 lines in text style + the same 2 lines in spoken style