im not korean, but my friend who is korean told me that ssi means when you are talking to people about your age but not too close in a formal way. For people that seem close to you, you then call them by name such as hyun joong or hyun joongna( if very close or bf or gf)...im not sure but that what i learned from my friend.
Shii is just to had formality to how you address someone. You might be close to that person, or you might not, but it's respectful to add -shii in public. I'll give you a quick example using SS501. Jungmin is younger than both Yongseang, Kyujong and Hyunjoong, so he should call them "hyung" (older brother), but he just calls them by their given name because they are close. When he speaks publicly about them, lets say in an interview, he refers to the as Yongseang-shii, Kyujong-shii, and Hyunjoong-shii. He can add the "hyung" instead of "shii", but he is iffy about that so he doesn't. HyungJun (the youngest of the group) prefers to just say their name with "hyung". If you just say someone's name, then you are really close to them. Add and "-ah" at the end of the name is enduring. In one of the BTW, the staff remember that got icing thrown on his face by MM called her "Somin-ah". MM here says "Hyunjoong oppa", she said oppa really quickly so you couldn't really hear her, but she said it. She usually refers to him in public as "Hyunjoong-shii", but in private we already know he is "oppa". Hyunjoong usually calls her "Somin-shii" but once in the Tokyo FM I heard him call her just "Somin". If they are close, I'm sure he calls her by her given name, "Yoonji". Sorry for the long post, hopefully the confusion is cleared :)
Thanks Anon 2:55, for the detailed explanation -- really appreciate it. But someone told me that oppa is used to refer to a brother or boyfriend. And I've heard it in kdramas too so, that's confusing sometimes.
Oppa is not exclusive to just brother or boyfriend, it can be to any older male that a woman is close to. So Min calls both Kim Hyun Joong and Lee Tae Sung oppa;,and she also calls her manager and cousin Oppa.
Korean have a very strict culture. One will be reprimand by the public for not being respectful. In fan meetings like this Korean stars are very respectful in addressing one another. Even here in the US my Korean officemates call each other with "SSI" after each name even calling them to come to eat. It means in American way calling someone as Miss Jane or Mr John. If they have the same age they can call each other with "ah" but they don't do that in an office setting. They will call only Unni or Oppa outside the office. I work in a Korean owned corporation in Korean town in LA and have asked my officmates regarding this things.
I agree, Anon 2:03. It's still best to travel to a particular country to learn their language and culture but blogs/forums and books are good alternative.
Anon 2:45 p.m., it's good that Korean have maintain their strict culture as I know some countries have lost it. I have a korean friend at work too but she was raised here in the US so, she's more americanized.
i like that she calls huyn joong instead of huyn joongssii in which dedicated their close friendship....
ReplyDeleteindicating my bad....
ReplyDeletewhat does ssi means anyway? i know it's hyung or sunbae to refer to your older brother right? how does an older brother refer to his younger sister?
ReplyDeleteim not korean, but my friend who is korean told me that ssi means when you are talking to people about your age but not too close in a formal way. For people that seem close to you, you then call them by name such as hyun joong or hyun joongna( if very close or bf or gf)...im not sure but that what i learned from my friend.
ReplyDeleteShii is just to had formality to how you address someone. You might be close to that person, or you might not, but it's respectful to add -shii in public. I'll give you a quick example using SS501. Jungmin is younger than both Yongseang, Kyujong and Hyunjoong, so he should call them "hyung" (older brother), but he just calls them by their given name because they are close. When he speaks publicly about them, lets say in an interview, he refers to the as Yongseang-shii, Kyujong-shii, and Hyunjoong-shii. He can add the "hyung" instead of "shii", but he is iffy about that so he doesn't. HyungJun (the youngest of the group) prefers to just say their name with "hyung".
ReplyDeleteIf you just say someone's name, then you are really close to them. Add and "-ah" at the end of the name is enduring. In one of the BTW, the staff remember that got icing thrown on his face by MM called her "Somin-ah".
MM here says "Hyunjoong oppa", she said oppa really quickly so you couldn't really hear her, but she said it. She usually refers to him in public as "Hyunjoong-shii", but in private we already know he is "oppa". Hyunjoong usually calls her "Somin-shii" but once in the Tokyo FM I heard him call her just "Somin". If they are close, I'm sure he calls her by her given name, "Yoonji".
Sorry for the long post, hopefully the confusion is cleared :)
Thanks Anon 2:55, for the detailed explanation -- really appreciate it. But someone told me that oppa is used to refer to a brother or boyfriend. And I've heard it in kdramas too so, that's confusing sometimes.
ReplyDeleteOppa is not exclusive to just brother or boyfriend, it can be to any older male that a woman is close to. So Min calls both Kim Hyun Joong and Lee Tae Sung oppa;,and she also calls her manager and cousin Oppa.
ReplyDeletealthough they are really close、i dont think he will call her yoon jii infront of the camera or in the public though。
ReplyDeleteThank you Anon 4:19 and 2:55 for the clarification.
ReplyDeleteI'd be nice to hear them call each other's name w/out the formality (just hjun joong and yoon ji). hehehe
its a good thing u could learn a lot of terms from this blog aside of spazzing..hehehe
ReplyDeleteKorean have a very strict culture. One will be reprimand by the public for not being respectful. In fan meetings like this Korean stars are very respectful in addressing one another. Even here in the US my Korean officemates call each other with "SSI" after each name even calling them to come to eat. It means in American way calling someone as Miss Jane or Mr John. If they have the same age they can call each other with "ah" but they don't do that in an office setting. They will call only Unni or Oppa outside the office. I work in a Korean owned corporation in Korean town in LA and have asked my officmates regarding this things.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Anon 2:03. It's still best to travel to a particular country to learn their language and culture but blogs/forums and books are good alternative.
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:45 p.m., it's good that Korean have maintain their strict culture as I know some countries have lost it. I have a korean friend at work too but she was raised here in the US so, she's more americanized.