If you are still new to the Korean way of expression , I will explain to you the meaning and the use of such words .
First there are four of these “honorific” words you must know cause they are used a lot .
They are :
형 (hyeong) a male's older brother
누나 (noona) a male's older sister
오빠 (oppa) a female's older brother
언니 (eonni) a female's older sister
This words are for addressing your older relatives ( brothers or sisters ) but can be used also to call people who are not related to you . Still , I don’t think it is wise to directly address in that way a person you have just met ( unless you are a small kid ) .
These words can be used in stead of the person’s name.
For example – you have met and befriend a girl in school who is older than you. When you meet her, you (a girl in this case) can greet her like this , without saying her name - “ Hi , eonni ! How are you ? “
All people or brother/sister that are younger that you are called “dongsaeng” .
Dongsaeng is , however, rarely used instead of person’s name , as in the case of nuna/oppa/eonni/hyeong . Therefore , you might very rarely hear greetings like that “ Hi , dongsaeng ! How are you ? “ but instead you can hear someone older to indroduce you to other like this - “This is my dongsaegn from school . Her/His name is … . “
Obviously we are talking about small age differences here. You don’t call someone the same age as your father “oppa” . There are other words for the case but I will tell you about them next time .
“Oppa” is very often used by girls also to call their boyfriends or boys they like or are close to .
I made you a picture to understand better the different cases in which the words are used . The right use of this words depends on - your age and sex and other people’s age and sex .
Ask me , if there are any questions .
to see bigger picture follow the link
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