오빠

Korean

Etymology

Probably contracted from 오라비 (orabi, “brother of a female”) +‎ 아 (-a, “hey”, vocative particle), compare 누나 (nuna, “elder sister of a male”). For more on the etymology, see 오라비 (orabi).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [o̞p͈a̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [오빠]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	oppa
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	o'ppa
McCune–Reischauer?	oppa
Yale Romanization?	o.ppa

Noun

오빠 • (oppa)

1. elder brother of a female

   Synonym: (honorific, dated) 오라버니 (orabeoni)

   Coordinate term: 언니 (eonni)

   우리 오빠는 아버지를 빼닮았다.

   Uri oppa-neun abeoji-reul ppaedalmatda.

   My older brother takes after my father.

2. (women's speech, in informal friendly settings) somewhat older male

   오빠랑 사귄 지 얼마 됐지?

   Oppa-rang sagwin ji eolma dwaetji?

   How long has it been since I started going out with him?

Usage notes

This term is used as a de facto second-person pronoun by women to address both older brothers and unrelated men of somewhat older age. This is because Korean does not permit the use of true second-person pronouns towards a social superior. See 너#Usage notes for more.

Synonyms

Historical and regional synonyms of 오빠 (oppa, “older brother of a female”)
view map; edit data
Group	Region	Location	Words
Standardised forms	South Korean Standard Language		오빠 (oppa), 오라버니 (orabeoni) (hon.), 오라비 (orabi) (also y.)
	North Korean Cultured Language		오빠 (oppa), 오라버니 (orabeoni) (hon.), 오래비 (oraebi) (also y.)
Historical forms	Middle Korean		오〮라비〮 (wólàpí) (also y.)
	Early Modern Seoul Korean		오라비 (orabi) (also y.), 오래비 (oraebi) (also y.)
Central Korean	Gyeonggi	Modern colloquial Seoul	오빠 (oppa) (other traditional Seoul forms are not used)
		Traditional Seoul	오빠 (oppa), 오라버니 (orabeoni) (hon.), 오라비 (orabi) (also y.), 오래비 (oraebi) (also y.)
	Yeongdong	Samcheok	오빠 (óppà), 오라버니 (órábèonì), 오라바이 (órábàì)
		Jeongseon	오빠 (oppa), 오라버니 (orabeoni), 오라버이 (orabeoi)
	North Chungcheong	Cheongju	오빠 (oppa), 오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Goesan	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Boeun	오빠 (oppa), 오라버이 (orabeoi)
		Okcheon	오빠 (oppa), 오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Yeongdong	오빠 (oppa), 오라버니 (orabeoni)
	South Chungcheong	Cheonan	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Cheongyang	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Buyeo	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Seocheon	오빠 (oppa)
		Nonsan	오라버니 (orabeoni)
	South Hwanghae	Anak	오빠 (oppa)
	North Hwanghae	Pongsan	오라바이 (orabai)
Gyeongsang Korean	North Gyeongsang	Daegu	올배 (ólbè)
		Mungyeong	'오빠 ( oppa)
		Andong	오라배 (órábè)
		Pohang	'오'라바시 ( o rabasi)
	South Gyeongsang	Busan	오라배 (órábè), '오'라부이 ( o rabu'i) (hon.), 오래비 (órébì) (deprec.), '오'라바이 ( o rabai) (deprec.)
		Ulsan	오라배 (órábè)
		Geochang	오라배 (órábè), 오라버니 (órábèunì), '오'라바이 ( o rabai)
		Hamyang	'오'라바이 ( o rabai)
		Jinju	'오'라배 ( o rabae)
		Yangsan	오래배 (órébè)
		Goseong	'오'라배 ( o rabae)
		Geoje	오랍세 (órápsè)
Jeolla Korean	North Jeolla	Gunsan	오라바니 (orabani)
		Iksan	오라바니 (orabani)
		Wanju	오랍씨 (orapssi), 오라바니 (orabani) (hon.)
		Gimje	오라바니 (orabani)
		Jeongeup	오래비 (oraebi)
		Imsil	오래비 (oraebi), 오라바이 (orabai) (hon.), 오라바니 (orabani) (hon.)
	South Jeolla	Yeonggwang	오빠 (oppa), 오랍씨 (orapssi)
		Jangseong	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Gokseong	오빠 (oppa), 오라부니 (orabuni), 오라부지 (orabuji)
		Sinan	오랍씨 (orapssi), 오람 (oram)
		Muan	오빠 (oppa), 오라비 (orabi), 오라부 (orabu) (voc.), 오라부님 (orabunim) (voc.)
		Naju	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Hwasun	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Suncheon	오랍씨 (orapssi)
		Gwangyang	오랍씨 (orapssi), 오래비 (oraebi)
		Yeongam	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Jindo	오빠 (oppa), 오라부 (orabu), 오라부님 (orabunim), 오람씨 (oramssi)
		Haenam	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Gangjin	오라버니 (orabeoni)
		Wando	오랍씨 (orapssi), 오람 (oram)
		Boseong	오라부니 (orabuni)
		Goheung	오라비 (orabi)
		Yeosu	오랍쎄 (orapsse)
Pyongan Korean	South Pyongan	Ryonggang	오래비 (oraebi) (if unmarried), 오라바니 (orabani) (if married), 오라반 (oraban) (if married)
		Songchon	오래비 (oraebi)
		Mundok	오래비 (oraebi), 오라버니 (orabeoni) (if brother is over 50 years old), 오라버님 (orabeonim) (if brother is over 50 years old)
	North Pyongan	Ryongchon	오래비 (oraebi) (children use personal names to address older brothers)
	Diaspora	Dandong	오르바니 (oreubani)
Hamgyong Korean	South Hamgyong	Tanchon	'오래비 ( oraebi)
Yukjin Korean	Diaspora	Hunchun	오래비 (óràebì) (as children), 오라바니 (óràbànì) (as adults)
Jeju		Jeju City	오라방 (orabang) (also y.), 오라바님 (orabanim), 오라뱀 (orabaem)
		Seogwipo	오라방 (orabang) (also y.), 오라바님 (orabanim), 오라뱀 (orabaem)
hon.: honorific / deprec.: deprecatory / voc.: vocative also y.: refers to any brother of a female, regardless of relative age
This table is an amalgamation of surveys of speakers mostly born before 1950 and may not reflect the language of younger speakers, which has lexically converged towards the standard Seoul dialect in both North and South Koreas.

Derived terms

(kinship terms)

• 작은오빠 (jageunoppa)
• 친오빠 (chinoppa)
• 맏오빠 (madoppa)
• 오빠부대 (oppabudae)
• 사촌오빠 (sachonoppa)
• 큰오빠 (keunoppa)

(other)

• 빠 (ppa, “stan (obsessive fan”)

Descendants

• → English: oppa
• → Chinese: 歐巴／欧巴 (ōubā)
• → Japanese: オッパ (oppa)
• → Indonesian: oppa

See also

• 형 (hyeong, “older brother of a male”)
• 누나 (nuna, “older sister of a male”)
• 동생 (dongsaeng, “younger sibling”)