눈이 높다 – to be not easily satisfied with a person, be picky, have high standards
데이트(하다) – a date, to date
사귀다 – to go out, to become a couple
원나잇 스탠드 – a one night stand
성적 매력 – sex appeal
섹스 – sex
성관계를 갖다 – to have sex(formal)
섹스하다 – to have sex
섹스하다 is not usually expressed directly. The following expressions: ‘자다’ (sleep together) or ‘그것을 하다’ (do it) are instead used.
연애 <戀愛> – love, amour, a romance
연애하다 – to see someone, to start a (romantic) relationship with someone
연애편지 <戀愛便紙 / 戀愛片紙> – a love letter
뽀뽀 – kiss, a peck
키스 – kiss (This word is more sexual than 뽀뽀)
사랑(하다) – love, to love (someone)
사랑에 빠지다 – fall in love with
사랑합니다, 사랑해요, 사랑해. – I love you.
첫사랑 – one’s first love, one’s first boyfriend/girlfriend
짝사랑 – secret crush
헤어지다 – to break up
바람피우다 – to cheat on, have an affair
양다리 걸치다 – sitting on the fence, go out with two girls/boys
불륜 <不倫> – an adulterous relationship
삼각관계 <三角關係> – love triangle
권태기 <倦怠期> – a period of ennui (while married), stage where the couples get bored of each other
권태기에 들다 – to enter the stage of ennui
차다 – to dump (someone)
집적대다 – to make a pass at
꼬리치다 / 유혹(하다) <誘惑> – to flirt (in a bad way), seduce
튕기다 – play hard to get
고무신 거꾸로 신다 – to get a new boyfriend
In Korea, every young man must serve in the army for about two years. The soldiers’ girlfriends often dump them and get a new boyfriend. In this situation, we use the following expression.→’내 여자친구가 고무신 거꾸로 신었어.’ But these days, many soldiers dump their girlfriends for some reason. In this situation, we use the following expression.→’내 남자친구가 군화 거꾸로 신었어’. (군화 means army boots.)
동성애 – homosexual love
동성애자 <同性愛者> – gay
게이/호모 – gay male
레즈비언 – lesbian
게이 – gay (more modern term)
Terms of endearment
당신 <當身> – One meaning is you, but often used by married couples to mean darling. (becoming outdated?)
자기 – baby, honey
여보 – darling, honey (for married couples only?)
오빠 – “older brother”, but means “honey”, etc. (girl says this to her older boyfriend)
Marriage and preparation
청혼(하다) <請婚> / 프로포즈(하다) – a proposal of marriage
약혼식 <約婚式> – an engagement ceremony
약혼(하다) <約]]婚> – engagement, to be engaged
약혼자 <約婚者> – fiancé (male)
약혼녀 <約婚女> – fiancée (female)
I’ve seen a soap opera about engagement of American couple. The man asked her “Will you marry me?” and the woman answered “Yes”. Immediately after that, the woman said “나 약혼했어!”. Not in Korea. We have an engagement ceremony. After engagement ceremony, we use “나 약혼했어”.
파혼(하다) <破婚> – break off an engagement
결혼식 <結婚式> – wedding ceremony
예식장 <禮式場> – wedding hall
웨딩 Hall – wedding hall (Konglish)
결혼(하다) <結婚> – get married
시집 가다 – get married (for a woman – “going to the husband’s house”)
피로연 <披露宴> – a wedding reception
신랑 들러리 – a best man
신부 들러리 – a bridesmaid
들러리를 서다 – serve as a best man/bridesmaid
In Korea, We don’t need 들러리s at the wedding ceremony. However some couples want 들러리s at the wedding. (Maybe it’s a Western-style wedding.) But most couples don’t need or have 들러리s.
부조(하다) <扶助> – give congratulatory money to aid in a marriage
부조금 <扶助金> – congratulatory money
We give some money instead of gift at a wedding. So we don’t have a bridal shower or resister list. In general, we give 30,000 won to acquaintance, 50,000 won to close friend/co-worker. And we can give over 100,000won to the best friend. Sometimes Koreans chip in and buy an expensive gift such as a washing machine, a refrigerator, TV, things like that.
와이프 – wife (Konglish version)
신혼여행 <新婚旅行> – honeymoon
신랑 <新郞> – bridegroom
신부 <新婦> – bride
시댁 <媤宅> – the husband’s home
친정 <親庭> – the wife’s parents’ home
장모님 – mother-in-law (mother of bride) – usually you just call her “어머님”
