Korean Terms for Family Members and Relatives (2024)

When you watch Korean movies or Kdramas, you may recognize that there are a lot of ‘imo’ and ‘samchon’. These are Korean terms for aunts and uncles and Koreans don’t call family members and relatives by their names (except for certain relationships such as sons, daughters, and younger siblings.)

Korean language has a rich vocabulary for family members, with specific terms used to refer to different members of one’s family. These terms reflect the traditional Korean culture, which places a strong emphasis on family and respect for elders. For example, there are different terms for older and younger siblings and different terms for maternal and paternal grandparents.

At first, it could be confusing and hard to follow, but once you get them, learning the Korean terms for family members can provide valuable insight into Korean culture and social norms. Also, it would help you understand their relationships just by recognizing the terms. And, understanding the story better when you watch Korean movies or Korean dramas is a bonus. Let’s begin with the Korean terms for the closest family members.

Korean Terms for My Siblings

Before we start, keep in mind that the terms for family members are often different depending on your gender. Here, I will explain for both genders.

1. Older brother: If you are a woman, you call him ‘오빠 (oppa).’ For a man, he is ‘형 (hyeong).’ I know you’ve seen many oppas in Korean movies or Kdramas, or fans call male Kpop stars oppa. Oppa is technically a term for older brothers, but in Korea, the term is used more generously for men older than themselves. For example, for a couple whether married or not, if a guy is older than a lady, the female calls the significant other ‘oppa.’
2. Older sister: If you are a woman, you call her ‘언니 (eunni).’ For a man, she is ‘누나 (nuna).’ These terms also can be used in social relationships like oppa.
3. Younger brother: A younger brother is ‘남동생 (namdongsaeng).’ This word is just for the relationship. You call him not namdongsaeng but simply by his name.
4. Younger sister: A younger sister is ‘여동생 (yeodongsaeng),’ and its usage is the same as namdongsaeng. You call your younger sister simply by her name.

Korean Vocabulary for Parents and Their Siblings

For parents or siblings of the parents, your gender does not matter, but Korean terms are different depending on whether they are on the mom’s side or the dad’s side.

1. Mom: Mom is ‘엄마 (eomma)‘ or ‘어머니 (eomeoni).’ The easiest way to explain the difference between them is that eomma is more like mom and eomeoni is like mother. Eomma is a more informal and friendly way to call mom.
2. Dad: Dad is ‘아빠 (appa)‘ or ‘아버지 (abeoji).’ The difference is the same as the difference between eomma and eomeoni.
3. Mom’s brother: Mom’s brother is ‘외삼촌 (oesamchon).’ It doesn’t matter whether he is older or younger than mom.
4. Mom’s sister: Mom’s sister is ‘이모 (imo).’ Both the younger and older sisters of the mom are imo.
5. Dad’s older brother: Dad’s older brother is ‘큰아버지 (keunabeoji).’
6. Dad’s younger brother: If dad’s younger brother is married, he is ‘작은아버지 (jageunabeoji).’ If he is not married, he is ‘삼촌 (samchon).’ TMI: Calling dad’s younger brother samchon is technically wrong according to the specialists and scholars because samchon is a term, not for a person but for a relationship (I will discuss this in another post.) But, it is very widely used and many people call dad’s younger brother samchon even after he gets married.
7. Dad’s sister: Dad’s sister is ‘고모 (gomo)‘ whether she is younger or older than the dad.

Korean Terms for Grandparents

The same as mom and dad’s siblings, as for your grandparents, your gender does not matter. But the terms depend on whether they are on the mom’s parents or the dad’s parents.

1. Mom’s mom: ‘외할머니 (oehalmeoni).’
2. Mom’s dad: ‘외할아버지 (oeharabeoji).’
3. Dad’s mom: ‘할머니 (halmeoni).’
4. Dad’s dad: ‘할아버지 (harabeoji).’

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