Day 3 of 15~12 minWho calls whom 오빠, 언니, 누나 or 형, and what -님 and 막내 mean.
Romanisation help
오빠, 언니, 형, 누나, 막내, 선배, 후배, 선배님, -님, 저기요
Korean has four words for an older brother or sister, and which one you use depends on your own sex as well as theirs. They are also used for people who are not family at all, idols included. Today covers 오빠 (oppa), 언니 (eonni), 형 (hyeong) and 누나 (nuna), the titles inside a group, and what -님 adds. By the end you can work out who should call whom what, in a group, a drama or real life.
Older brother, older sister
Pick the word by who is speaking first, then by who is being spoken to:
오빠
oppa
older brother, said by a woman or girl
Also a woman's older male friend or boyfriend. Female fans use it for a male idol older than they are; a fan who is older than him uses his name.
언니
eonni
older sister, said by a woman or girl
Also an older female friend, and what a female fan calls an older female idol.
형
hyeong
older brother, said by a man or boy
Also an older male friend, a senior at university, or an older member of the same group. Male fans call an older male idol 형.
누나
nuna
older sister, said by a man or boy
Also an older female friend. A male fan of an older female idol calls her 누나.
Why it works
English picks the word by the person you are talking about. Korean picks it by the pair: the same older brother is 오빠 to his sister and 형 to his brother. So women say 오빠 and 언니, and men say 형 and 누나. The words also stand in for a name, because a bare given name is how you address an equal or someone younger, and saying it to someone older sounds cheeky. Stretching family words to friends, and then to people on a screen, makes everyone older a kind of sibling: warm, and with the age order still in plain view.
Titles inside a group
Groups, schools and workplaces all rank people by who arrived first:
막내
mangnae
the youngest member
Said [망내], hence the ng. English-speaking fans write it maknae, from the spelling. At work, the 막내 is the youngest, newest person on the team.
선배
seonbae
senior: someone who started before you
A year above you at school, or a group that debuted before yours. It counts arrival, not age, though the two usually match.
후배
hubae
junior: someone who started after you
You call a 선배 by the title, but a 후배 by their name.
선배님
seonbaenim
senior, with respect
With -님 it becomes a respectful way to address someone. A new idol greets an older group as 선배님.
Why it works
선배 and 후배 are Sino-Korean: 선 'before', 후 'after', and 배 'people of the same rank'. The system counts from when you joined, so two idols of the same age can still be 선배 and 후배, for life. -님 is the honorific suffix that turns a title into respectful address: 선생님 (seonsaengnim) 'teacher', 사장님 (sajangnim) 'boss', 작가님 (jakganim) for the writer of a drama. Online, fans put -님 after the username of another fan they do not know. It never goes on your own title: nobody calls themselves 선배님.
The same person at three distances
The title and the speech level are separate choices. Each row keeps the same pair of people and changes how close they are:
Are you coming?a woman to an older man
Close
오빠, 와?
oppa, wa?
Friendly
오빠, 와요?
oppa, wayo?
Formal
선배님, 오세요?
seonbaenim, oseyo?
오세요 adds the honorific -시-. 오빠 with 해요 is common between people who are friendly but not yet close.
Have you eaten?a man to an older woman
Close
누나, 밥 먹었어?
nuna, bap meogeosseo?
Friendly
누나, 밥 먹었어요?
nuna, bap meogeosseoyo?
Formal
선배님, 식사하셨어요?
seonbaenim, siksahasyeosseoyo?
식사하셨어요 swaps 밥 'a meal' for the politer 식사 and adds the honorific. It is a greeting as much as a question.
Did you see this?a woman to an older woman
Close
언니, 이거 봤어?
eonni, igeo bwasseo?
Friendly
언니, 이거 봤어요?
eonni, igeo bwasseoyo?
Formal
선배님, 이거 보셨어요?
seonbaenim, igeo bosyeosseoyo?
봤어요 becomes 보셨어요 with the honorific -시-.
Why it works
Moving from the middle column to the left is a real event in a Korean friendship, and the older person usually starts it with 말 편하게 해 (mal pyeonhage hae), 'speak comfortably'. Until then, a family title plus 해요 is the normal compromise. The right column drops the family word for a school or work title, because 오빠 and 누나 claim a closeness that a formal setting does not have. That is why a new junior starts with 선배님 and waits to be told to switch, rather than trying 오빠 or 언니 on the first day.
Carry over, from earlier days
팬덤
paendeom
fandom, all of a group's fans together
덕질
deokjil
being a fan as an activity: watching, collecting, following