8 quick replies for KakaoTalk that sound natural
Korean texting has its own grammar of shortness. Replies are one or two syllables, laughter is a row of consonants, and the difference between a friendly yes and a cold one is a single letter at the end. KakaoTalk, where almost all of it happens, is also where you text your boss, so register matters even here.
The first three below are polite 요 speech or neutral enough for anyone. The rest are casual, for friends and partners, and the notes say which ones to keep away from a work chat.
-
넵
nep
Yes, got it.
네 with a ㅂ snapped onto the end. It is the office KakaoTalk yes: prompt, bright, slightly eager, and safe to send a manager. 넹 (neng) is the softer, cuter version for friends.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
알겠어요.
algesseoyo.
Understood.
The polite acknowledgement when 넵 feels too thin. Among friends it drops to 알겠어 or just ㅇㅋ (ok). To someone senior 알겠습니다 is better still.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
지금 가요.
jigeum gayo.
On my way.
Literally: (I'm) going now.
Sent from the door, or from the sofa. The close cousin 거의 다 왔어요 (geoui da wasseoyo, almost there) is the small lie every Korean has typed from the subway.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
뭐 해?
mwo hae?
What are you up to?
Casual speech (반말), for friends and partners, and the default opener of a Korean text conversation. It is less a question than a knock on the door. In polite speech it is 뭐 해요?
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
미안, 늦을 것 같아.
mian, neujeul geot gata.
Sorry, I think I'll be late.
Casual speech again, to friends. -ㄹ 것 같아 (it seems I will) softens the news, and Koreans soften nearly every text with it. To a colleague: 죄송해요, 조금 늦을 것 같아요.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
ㅋㅋㅋ
kekeke
haha
The laugh. ㅋ alone can read as dry; ㅋㅋ is normal; a long run is real laughter. ㅎㅎ (hehe) is gentler and is what you send when the joke is only mildly funny or the other person is older.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
헐
heol
No way.
Shock, dismay or disbelief in one syllable, and the most common one-word reply among people under forty. It is slang, so keep it for friends; send it to your boss and the silence will be long.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
대박
daebak
Amazing.
Literally: Big hit.
Good news gets 대박 and so, confusingly, does disaster; the tone is 'that's huge'. Casual but widespread enough that a friendly older colleague would not mind.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase →
Punctuation is part of the message. A full stop at the end of a casual Korean text reads as cold or annoyed, which is why friends drop it; ㅋㅋ or ㅎㅎ fills the space instead and tells the other person you are smiling.