오빠

Korean

Etymology

Of native Korean origin. Compare 아버지 (abeoji).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [o̞p͈a̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [오빠]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	oppa
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	o'ppa
McCune–Reischauer?	oppa
Yale Romanization?	o.ppa

Noun

오빠 • (oppa)

1. elder brother of a female

   니 오빠는 정말 착한 학생이고 절대로 텔레비전은 안 봐.

   ni oppa-neun jeongmal chakhan haksaeng'igo jeoldaero tellebijeon-eun an bwa.

   Your brother is such a good student and he never watches TV.

2. (by extension, spoken by a female) a close elder male, an elder boyfriend

   오빠의 페이스북 친구 중에서 정말 친구는 몇 명이나 돼?

   oppa-ui Peiseubuk chin'gu jung'eseo jeongmal chin'gu-neun myeot myeong'ina dwae?

   How many of your Facebook friends are your real friends?

Usage notes

The term 오빠 is used by a female to refer to an elder male as an affectionate replacement for a second person singular pronoun 너 (neo).

Derived terms

• (Honorific) 오라버님 (orabeonim)
• 작은오빠 (jageunoppa)
• 친오빠 (chinoppa)
• 맏오빠 (madoppa)
• 오빠부대 (oppabudae)
• 사촌오빠 (sachonoppa)
• 큰오빠 (keunoppa)

See also

• 언니 (eonni, “elder sister of a female”)
• 누나 (nuna, “elder sister of a male”)
• 형 (兄, hyeong, “elder brother of a male”)
• 아저씨 (ajeossi, “middle aged man; older male”)
• 할아버지 (harabeoji, “grandfather; senior male”)