Oppa, Sunbae, Imo: Korean Honorifics in K-Dramas, Explained

Watch a K-drama with subtitles and some of the dialogue quietly disappears. A woman calls her boyfriend "oppa," and the subtitles might just use his name. A customer shouts "imo!" across a restaurant, and it becomes "excuse me." A new hire bows to a "sunbae," and the word never makes it into English at all.

Those words aren't filler. In Korean, what you call someone tells everyone who's older, who got there first, and how close you are, and Koreans often use a title where English would use a name. Here's what the titles you keep hearing actually mean, who can say them to whom, and what to say when you're the one talking.

Why Koreans Skip Names

Calling someone older than you by their name alone is rude in Korea. Given names on their own are for people your age or younger. For anyone older, a title does the job instead, which is why Koreans work out each other's age so quickly (our Korean age guide explains how birth years and the "early birthday" exception decide who's older).

"Korean honorifics" covers two things: the polite and casual speech levels, and the titles people use for each other. This guide is about the titles. They're the part you'll hear in every episode, and the part that trips up visitors.

Family Words for People Who Aren't Family

Korean borrows sibling words for friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Which one you use depends on your gender and theirs:

So a man doesn't call anyone oppa (unless he's joking), and a woman doesn't say hyeong.

Oppa is what a woman calls her older brother, an older male friend, and very often her boyfriend. That's why it carries a romantic charge in dramas, and why female fans call male idols oppa. Here's something most guides skip: plenty of wives keep calling their husbands oppa after marriage, even though the National Institute of Korean Language's etiquette guide says married couples shouldn't.

Nuna gets its own drama genre: the older woman, younger man romance. Something in the Rain (2018) is the famous one, and its Korean title literally means "Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food."

Hyeong is how men address older men they're close to, from brothers to college friends to coworkers. Add the honorific -nim and it becomes hyeongnim (형님), which in Korean crime movies usually means the gang boss.

Eonni is what women call older sisters and older female friends. You'll also hear women use it casually with female staff at markets and clothing shops.

The younger person in any of these pairs is a dongsaeng (동생), but nobody uses that word to address someone. Older people just call their dongsaeng by name.

You'll see these spelled unni, noona, and hyung in fan writing, and eonni, nuna, and hyeong in the official Revised Romanization. Both are fine. Our Hangul Romanization tool shows the everyday and official spellings side by side if you're curious about others.

School and Work: Sunbae, Maknae, and Job Titles

Seonbae (선배, usually spelled sunbae) is anyone who joined your school, club, or company before you. You're their hubae (후배). Seniority goes by when you joined, not by age: a 25-year-old who started a year earlier is the 30-year-old new hire's sunbae. Add -nim for extra respect, and you get seonbaenim (선배님), a staple of workplace dramas.

Maknae (막내) is the youngest person in any group: a family, an office team, or a K-pop group. It's pronounced "mang-nae," and the maknae usually gets both the most teasing and the most protection.

At Korean companies, you address coworkers by job title plus -nim, often with their surname, and almost never by their name alone: 팀장님 (timjangnim, team leader), 과장님 (gwajangnim, manager), or 김 과장님 ("Manager Kim"). K-drama offices have their favorites too:

• Bonbujangnim (본부장님), a division head and a favorite title for the rich male lead
• Siljangnim (실장님), the head of an office or department
• Hoejangnim (회장님), the chairman, usually the chaebol family's patriarch

Seonsaengnim (선생님) means teacher, but it's also how Koreans address doctors and a polite catch-all for many professionals. Wonjangnim (원장님) is the head of a clinic, a private academy, or a hair salon. At salons, senior stylists often go by siljangnim, too.

Strangers, Shops, and Restaurants

This is where titles matter most for visitors.

Ajeossi (아저씨, often spelled ahjussi) means a middle-aged man, and it's the everyday word for one you don't know. Just know that plenty of men in their 30s would rather not hear it.

Ajumma (아줌마) means a middle-aged, usually married, woman. It can sound dismissive, so Koreans avoid saying it to a woman's face.

Imo (이모) literally means your mother's sister. At casual Korean restaurants, though, customers call the middle-aged women serving them imo, or imonim (이모님) to be extra polite. It's friendly and respectful at once, and it's how Koreans get around the awkward ajumma. (This is the kind of thing only locals would know: the imo bringing your stew isn't related to anyone in the room.)

A few more you'll hear:

• Sajangnim (사장님), "boss," for any shop or restaurant owner, and a safe, flattering choice for whoever seems to be in charge
• Gisanim (기사님), for taxi and bus drivers
• Halmeoni (할머니) and harabeoji (할아버지), grandma and grandpa, for elderly strangers
• Haksaeng (학생), "student," which is what older Koreans call young people, whether or not they're in school
• Agassi (아가씨), "young lady," which sounds dated and can come across as condescending
• Gogaengnim (고객님), "dear customer," which is what you'll be called at every bank and phone store

Couples: Jagiya, Yeobo, and Kids' Names

Jagiya (자기야) is "honey" or "babe," the default for dating couples. Yeobo (여보) is what married couples call each other, the Korean "dear."

Once kids arrive, many couples switch to calling each other by their child's name: "Jiwoo appa" (Jiwoo's dad) or "Jiwoo eomma" (Jiwoo's mom). Neighbors do it too, which is why K-drama moms often go by their kid's name rather than their own.

Name Endings: -ya, -ssi, and -nim

Among friends the same age, or when an older person calls a younger one, it's the name plus a small ending: -ya after a vowel (Jiwoo-ya) and -a after a consonant (Minjun-a).

-Ssi (씨) works like a polite Mr. or Ms. for colleagues and people around your age or younger: "Jiwoo-ssi" or "Kim Jiwoo-ssi." Two rules trip people up. First, it's not for someone clearly senior to you. Your boss gets a job title, not "-ssi." Second, never attach it to a surname alone. "Kim-ssi" has almost no respect in it and can sound condescending.

-Nim (님) is the more respectful ending. It's already built into titles like seonsaengnim and sajangnim, and you'll see it after names in online communities and customer service messages.

What Should You Call People in Korea?

The good news: nobody expects a visitor to get this perfect. A few easy rules cover almost everything:

• To get a server's attention, say jeogiyo (저기요, "excuse me") or yeogiyo (여기요, "over here"). Both work everywhere. Calling out "imo!" at a casual place is fine too, and it'll probably get a smile, but jeogiyo is never wrong. Check the table first, though: many restaurants have a call button, and more and more have a tablet for ordering, so you may not need to call anyone at all.
• Shop and restaurant owners: sajangnim.
• Taxi drivers: gisanim.
• Older strangers: start with jeogiyo and skip ajumma, ajeossi, and agassi.
• Korean friends older than you: just ask what they'd like to be called. Being invited to call someone oppa, eonni, hyeong, or nuna means you've gotten close.
• At work: job title plus -nim, and follow what your colleagues do.

Not sure which title fits? Our Korean Honorific Finder asks a few quick questions and tells you what to say.

Quick Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

What does oppa mean?

Oppa (오빠) is what a woman calls an older man she's close to: her older brother, an older friend, or her boyfriend. It's warm and a little affectionate, which is why it shows up in so many K-drama romances and why female fans call male idols oppa. Only women say it; men call older men hyeong.

Can a man call someone oppa?

Not seriously. Oppa is only for women speaking to an older man. Men call older men hyeong (hyung) and older women nuna (noona). A man saying oppa is a joke.

What does sunbae mean?

Sunbae (선배, officially seonbae) is someone who joined your school, club, or company before you did. It's based on when you joined, not on age, so a sunbae can be younger than you. The people who joined after you are your hubae.

Why do Koreans call restaurant servers imo?

Imo literally means your mother's sister, but at casual restaurants it's a warm, respectful way to address the middle-aged women serving you. Koreans use it instead of ajumma, which can sound dismissive. Imonim is the extra-polite version.

Is it rude to call someone ajumma?

It can be. Ajumma means a middle-aged woman, but saying it to someone's face often sounds dismissive. As a visitor, say jeogiyo ("excuse me") to get anyone's attention, or imo at a casual restaurant.

What's the difference between -ssi and -nim?

-Ssi is a polite Mr. or Ms. for coworkers and people around your age or younger, used with a full name or given name, never a surname alone. -Nim is more respectful and appears in titles like sajangnim and seonsaengnim. Your boss gets a job title with -nim, never -ssi.

What does maknae mean in K-pop?

Maknae (막내) means the youngest member of a group. It's used for families and office teams too, not just K-pop. It's pronounced "mang-nae," since the k turns into an ng sound before the n.

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Trying out your own Korean name? Our Korean Name Generator finds one that sounds like yours, and once you've got the imo's attention, our K-drama food guide covers what to order.