Korean Family Titles: 언니, 오빠, 형, 누나 and Who to Call What

Korean has no single word for “brother” or “sister”: the word depends on whether the person is older or younger than you, and on your own gender. Koreans also use these family words for people who aren’t family at all, from older friends to the woman serving your soup.

This post explains who calls whom what, and how far outside the family each word goes. To learn the words with audio and flashcards, use the Korean family vocabulary set.

What do 언니, 오빠, 형 and 누나 mean?

All four mean an older sibling. Which one you use depends on your gender, not just theirs:

So a woman calls her older sister 언니 and her older brother 오빠. A man calls his older sister 누나 and his older brother 형. Two siblings can call the same older brother different things: his younger sister says 오빠, his younger brother says 형.

A few pronunciation notes. 오빠 has a tense ㅃ, so it is a sharp op-pa, not a soft “o-ba”. 형 is usually spelled “hyung” in K-pop fandom, but its Revised Romanization is hyeong, said in one syllable. 언니 sounds just as it is written, eon-ni.

What about younger siblings?

Younger siblings are simpler. Everyone uses 동생 (dongsaeng), whatever their gender. To be specific, add 남 (male) or 여 (female): 남동생 (namdongsaeng, younger brother) and 여동생 (yeodongsaeng, younger sister).

Notice that 동생 is mostly a word you use about someone, not a word you call them by. Older siblings usually call younger ones by name. Your younger sister calls you 언니 or 오빠; you call her by her name.

The youngest child in a family is the 막내 (maknae). Watch the sound change here: it is written mak-nae but said mang-nae, because ㄱ before ㄴ turns into ㅇ. In K-pop, the 막내 is the youngest member of a group.

Can you call friends 언니 or 오빠?

Yes, and this is where most learners first hear these words. Koreans call older friends by the sibling word that fits, often with the friend’s first name in front. Here are the patterns, with sample names:

These words signal closeness, so they come after you know someone, not on the first day. Using them too soon can feel pushy. A common step is that the older person says something like 언니라고 불러 (eonnirago bulleo, “call me eonni”). Who counts as older usually comes down to birth year, which is why age comes up so early; our post on how Koreans ask your age covers that conversation.

Why is 오빠 more than just “older brother”?

Because women also use 오빠 for boyfriends, husbands they met when dating, and older male celebrities. Fans call older male idols 오빠, and in dramas a woman calling a man 오빠 for the first time is often a hint that the relationship has changed. Our Korean for K-pop fans page lists other fandom words like this.

The meaning still depends on context. A woman calling her actual brother 오빠 is completely ordinary, and plenty of women call older male friends 오빠 with no romance involved.

What do you call coworkers and seniors?

At work, sibling words are for close colleagues outside formal settings. In the office, people usually use a job title plus 님, such as 과장님 (gwajangnim, section manager) or 팀장님 (timjangnim, team leader). Among peers, many workplaces use a name plus 씨, such as 지수 씨 (Jisu ssi). Don’t add 씨 to someone more senior than you; use their title instead.

At school and university, the key word is 선배 (seonbae), someone who started before you. Add 님 for extra respect: 선배님 (seonbaenim). The opposite is 후배 (hubae), someone who started after you. Seniority by entry year can matter even when the 후배 is older in years. Students also call 선배 they are close to 언니, 오빠, 형 or 누나 instead.

Why do people call restaurant staff 이모?

이모 (imo) literally means your mother’s sister. In casual restaurants, many customers call the middle-aged women who work there 이모, as a warm, familiar term, for example 이모, 여기 물 좀 주세요 (imo, yeogi mul jom juseyo, “Imo, some water here please”). It treats the server like a relative rather than a stranger. 이모님 (imonim) adds a little more respect.

You will also hear 사장님 (sajangnim, “boss” or owner), used for the person running a shop or restaurant, whether or not they own it. For male workers, some people use 삼촌 (samchon, uncle).

If you're not comfortable with family words for strangers, you don't need them. Saying 저기요 (jeogiyo, "excuse me") or 여기요 (yeogiyo, "over here") to get a server's attention is polite and works everywhere.

What do 아저씨 and 아줌마 mean, and why can 아줌마 offend?

아저씨 (ajeossi) is a general word for a man of roughly middle age, like a taxi driver or a man in the street. It is neutral to mildly casual. Many younger men in their twenties don’t love being called 아저씨, because it makes them feel old, but it isn’t an insult.

아줌마 (ajumma) is the female counterpart, a married or middle-aged woman. The trouble is that the Standard Korean Language Dictionary describes 아줌마 as a lowered form of 아주머니 (ajumeoni), the more polite word. Calling a woman you don’t know 아줌마 can sound like you are calling her old and treating her with less respect, and many women find it rude, especially younger women or those who aren’t married. Some women use 아줌마 about themselves with pride, but that is their choice, not yours.

If you must address a woman you don’t know, 아주머니 is more polite than 아줌마, and in a shop or restaurant 사장님 or 저기요 avoids the problem entirely.

Do you call family members like 할머니 by name?

No. In Korean, you call older relatives by their title, never by their first name: 할머니 (halmeoni, grandmother), 할아버지 (harabeoji, grandfather, said with linking as ha-ra-beo-ji), 엄마 and 아빠 (mom and dad). Even older siblings are called 언니, 오빠, 형 or 누나 rather than by name. Calling an older sibling by their first name alone sounds disrespectful in most families.

This carries over outside the family too. An older friend you call 수진 언니 will probably not expect to be called just 수진. If you want to sound natural, keep the title. For the speech levels that go with these titles, see Korean politeness levels, and to drill the full set of family words, try the Korean vocabulary flashcards.

Sources: National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), Standard Korean Language Dictionary (표준국어대사전) entries for 언니, 오빠, 형, 누나, 동생, 이모, 아저씨, 아줌마 and 선배; 표준 언어 예절 (Standard Language Etiquette); Standard Pronunciation rules.

We follow the rules of the National Institute of Korean Language. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.