Family Words in Korean

Who is speaking, and why oppa travels

For older siblings, the word depends on the speaker. A man calls his older brother 형 and his older sister 누나. A woman calls the same people 오빠 and 언니. Four words, two relationships.

Younger siblings need only 동생, and adding 남 or 여 in front specifies brother or sister when it matters.

These words are not limited to blood relatives. A woman may call a close older male friend 오빠, and students call older classmates 형 or 언니. That is why 오빠 turns up so often in Korean drama and pop music, where it carries affection rather than family.

Korean says 우리, our, where English says my: 우리 엄마 is my mum, literally our mum. Using 제 어머니 sounds oddly distant about your own family.

Korean also distinguishes aunts and uncles by which side of the family they are on. 이모 is a mother's sister; a father's sister is 고모.

• 우리 언니예요.This is my older sister, said by a woman.
• 동생이 두 명 있어요.I have two younger siblings.