Representing laughter while texting is more important than we would think at first. You might want to show that you find something funny, or just be friendly, and you don’t know how to. Of course, you can use emoticons. And in English, you can use “lol”, “lmao”, “rofl”, etc. But is there a way you can laugh in Korean?
If you’ve been learning Korean for a while or watching Korean variety shows, you might be familiar with how to represent laughter in Korean.
Actually, once you have learned it and started using it, it will become second nature to send it along with all your sentences. These days, I don’t even use any “English” way to laugh while texting anymore, even when I text in English.
So let’s get into it and get you used to new ways to laugh!
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How to Say “Lol” in Korean
Just like we have many ways to represent laughter in English, there are also various ways to represent it in Korean. They each have their nuances. More importantly, it also depends on the person you’re talking to and their personality.
And since it will depend on your personality and other people’s personality, I can’t teach you a universal way to use each. You will have to learn it while you learn the language and meet new people.
But for now, I can guide you through the basics of laughing in Korean!
Using ㅋ to Laugh
ㅋㅋㅋ
The most popular way to laugh in Korean is to use the character ㅋ. It represents a burst of laughter.
You can write it ㅋ, ㅋㅋ, ㅋㅋㅋ or more.
It is pronounced 크 (keu), not “kay”. And even though you’re probably not going to laugh in real life sounding like “크크크크크크“, I think it’s useful to picture it the right way in your head ㅋㅋ
Okay so, what’s the difference between ㅋ, ㅋㅋ, ㅋㅋㅋ or more ?
It all depends on how much you find the situation funny or how much you’re laughing.
While ㅋ might be seen as sarcastic (like saying lol while the situation is not actually funny), ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ will express real genuine laughter.
Again, it will all depend on your personality.
But basically, remember that the more ㅋㅋㅋ, the funnier the situation / stronger the burst of laughter.
The use of “zzz” instead of “ㅋㅋㅋ“
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ can also be written “zzz”. ㅋㅋㅋ and zzz are the same. Why is that? It simply comes from the fact that z and ㅋ are at the same position on the keyboard.
When you’re typing on your computer and don’t switch the keyboard between 한글 and latin alphabet, you can end up typing zzzzz instead of ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
In the same way, if you’ve been learning Korean for a while and started using ㅋㅋㅋㅋ to express laughter, and are still speaking English often, you can end up writing “kkkkk” to laugh. I do all the time, and actually, ㅋㅋㅋㅋ, zzzz or kkkkk are more natural to me now than any other texting laughter.
Other ways to use ㅋ in laughter
There are a few other very popular ways to use ㅋㅋㅋ to represent laughter
- 엌ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- 앜ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Also just adding ㅋㅋㅋㅋ to the end of your sentence without putting space before it is very common.
- 뭐얔ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (what’s this dsqlkjdq)
- 너무 웃곀ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (too funny dsqmkdsq)
Adding a lot of ㅋㅋㅋㅋ at the end of your sentence without caring about the spaces represents well the “rolling your head on the keyboard” kind of situation.
Using ㅎ for Haha
ㅎㅎㅎ
Another common way to laugh in Korean is to use the character ㅎ. Compared to ㅋ, it’s closer to a gentle laugh, expressing joy or happiness. It can feel more polite, too.
Just like ㅋㅋㅋ, using only one ㅎ or two ㅎㅎ can appear sarcastic, and ㅎㅎㅎㅎ more genuinely “laughing”.
I would say if you’re not really laughing but trying to keep the conversation friendly, you can use ㅎㅎㅎ. 🙂
Some people also use 하하하 for sarcastic purposes.
Full Sentences to Express Laughter in Korean
In real life, you won’t be using ㅋㅋㅋㅋ or ㅎㅎㅎㅎ. While laughing out loud or smiling will work, you might want to use sentences to express that you find a situation funny. In this case, you can use the verb 웃기다 and make sentences with it.
In the same way, you can use it if you’re texting but still want to express laughter in Korean through sentences.
The verb 웃기다 means “to be funny” and is widely used for actual funny situations – where you’d laugh. 웃다 means “to laugh.”
- 존나 웃겨 : fucking funny (it’s very casual language, to use only friends close friends!!)
- 너무 웃겨 : too funny
- 항상 나를 웃기게 해 : (you) always crack me up
- 웃겨 죽겠다 : dying from laughter
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