Korean word

얘

Pronunciation

Romanizationyae

Meaning

  • pronounthis kid

Example

얘가 왜 그래?yae ga wae keu rae

What's wrong with this kid?

Illustration for 얘 (this kid)

More examples

얘 좀 도와줄래?yae chom to wa jul lae

Would you help this kid?

Core concept

A speaker points out a child or someone close to the speaker in a relaxed, familiar way.

Common phrases

  • 얘 좀 봐yae chom pwa

    a look at this kid

  • 얘가 울어yae ga u reo

    This kid is crying

  • 얘한테 말 걸어yae han te mal keo reo

    speaking to this kid

Similar words

걔kyae: A casual way to refer to a known third person, often someone of similar age or younger.
그 사람keu saram: A neutral conversational term for referring to a particular person.
이 사람i saram: A conversational term for referring to a person nearby or directly present.

Definition in Korean

대개 어린이거나 친한 사람을 가리킬 때 구어에서 자주 쓰이는 축약형 대명사로 문어체에서는 거의 쓰이지 않음.tae gae eo ri ni geo na chin han sa ra meul ka ri kil ttae ku eo e seo cha ju sseu i neun chu gya kyeong tae myeong sa ro mu neo che e seo neun keo ui sseu i ji a neum

Word origin

The form comes from the contraction of an older expression meaning this child in everyday speech.

Usage tips

  • When it refers to an adult, warmth depends on the relationship, and it can sound too familiar with strangers.

Other meanings

  • this guypronoun
  • this personpronoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word