There are people you shouldn’t call “Oppa”!?
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Actually, “Oppa” isn’t a term that could be used on everyone. Why do some people are not allowed to be called “Big brother”?
The reason is that the term “Oppa” is used for women to call men who is older than her. In other words, only women could use it. But, of course, it doesn’t mean men couldn’t use the term as well. Men used “Oppa” when talking to younger women, which is said as if he calls himself, “Big brother is…”
What is the difference between “Oppa” and “Hyun”?
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The word we heard as often as Oppa is “Hyun”. It’s also used to call older men. So, what is the difference? When a woman calls an older man, we use “Oppa”. When a man calls an older man, it becomes “Hyun”.
In Japanese, the term is similar to “Aniki” (big brother). In Japan, even women who act like a mischievous little girl sometimes says “Aniki!”, But in Korea, women would never say “Hyun”. For that matter, the term is strictly distinguished in Korea.
Not only for celebrities, even in general, sometimes we should confirm to people we talk to about what to call each other. If there’s people who is confirming by asking, “Can I call you oppa?”, on the contrary, there are also men who decide how to call himself by saying, “My name is XX but you can call me oppa”.
There are times when a woman does not want to get too close to a man, which in result being told by “No way!” and become a gutter. It’s a difficult word to use.
Be careful when using “Oppa”
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Again, “Oppa” is a word used for older men who are closely related. Even if it’s an honorific title, it’s still a casual word, so let’s not use it for men you are about to meet for the first time. However, it seems that Korean men are very happy being called “Oppa” from a young woman. Try to use it for men you feel close to.
If you want to use it for people you meet for the first time, we recommend using this instead; “오빠 라고 불정도 되나요?” (Opparago Pulodo Denayo) “, “Can I call you big brother?”. If you use the word correctly it will definitely shrink the distance.
How was it? The word “Oppa” is an indispensable word for everyday life. Please remember the correct way to use it for Korean older men.
We recommend to watch Korean drama and variety show scenes which actually use the terms, and try to listen to it.
