How to say “friend” in Korean
- 친구chingu
friend
"Friend" in Korean is 친구 (chingu). In Korea it usually means someone your own age, while friends who are older or younger are often called by words like 언니, 오빠, 형, 누나 or 동생.
Ways to say it
| Korean | Level | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 친구 chingu | Any | Friend. The everyday word, mostly for people the same age as you. |
| 친구분 chingubun | Polite | A polite way to say "your friend" or someone else's friend, especially when speaking to elders. |
| 남사친 namsachin | Casual | Slang for a male friend who is just a friend, not a boyfriend. Short for 남자 사람 친구. |
| 여사친 yeosachin | Casual | Slang for a female friend who is just a friend, not a girlfriend. |
| 동갑 donggap | Any | "Same age." Koreans say 우리 동갑이에요 (we're the same age) when becoming friends. |
Examples
Tap a word to see what it means and save it to your flashcards.
Introducing someone
Telling someone what you did
Asking someone to be friends
Tips
Age matters for friendship in Korea. 친구 is mainly for people born in the same year. With someone even a year older, you would usually call them 언니, 오빠, 형 or 누나.
Two people often become friends after finding out they are the same age and saying 우리 친구 하자 (let's be friends), then switching to casual speech.
남사친 and 여사친 are handy words to make clear a friend is not a romantic partner, which comes up a lot in Korean dramas.
More on 친구 in our Korean phrase guides.
Questions learners ask
Can I call an older person chingu?
You can describe them as a friend, but you would usually address them as 언니, 오빠, 형, 누나 or 선배 rather than by name or as 친구.
How do you say "my friend" in Korean?
Say 제 친구 (je chingu) politely or 내 친구 (nae chingu) casually.
What does yeosachin mean?
여사친 means a female friend who is only a friend, as opposed to 여친 (girlfriend).