바보 – How To Say Stupid in Korean
Stupid in Korean
In this lesson we will learn how to say ‘stupid’ in Korean. There are a few ways to say this and they range from kind of cute to outright offesnive. Of course, the last thing you want to do when trying to be funny is to offend someone. So let’s start with the cutest, most common and probably the expression you should use in almost all cases. So, without further ado, you say:
babo
In Hangul: 바보
= Stupid
‘Babo’ (바보) is the nicest and most playful way to say stupid in Korean. You might have heard this before. It’s a very common expression and probably one of the first Korean words people who watch K-dramas, or people who have a genuine interest in Korean culture, learn. You can use it with your friends when you want to tease them in a friendly manner and don’t feel bad if they do the same. However, please note that, even though it is a cute, playful and non-offensive word, you should not use this with your professors or people you aren’t close with. Further more, if for whatever reason you would want to insult someone, ‘babo’ (바보) is not a good expression to use. In those cases, you want to use one of the following:
hogu
In Hangul: 호구
Hogu (호구) is a slightly more offensive word than babo (바보) to express stupid in Korean and, while you can still use it playfully, make sure you say it to you your very close friends.
byeong-shin
In Hangul: 병신
‘byeong-shin’ (병신) is the most offensive way to say stupid in Korean out of these three and a ‘good’ word to use when you really want to insult someone. Of course, the best thing is to just don’t say it even if you are angry, but you might still want to know what it means in the event that you hear someone else say this. You can use it playfully with your really close friends but you must make really sure that you say it in a way that they know you’re kidding.
Examples
Ex. 1
바보야.
[ba-bo-ya]
= You are stupid.
This is all you need to know in order to call someone stupid in Korean. Remember not to use any of these with people such as professors, parents-in-law and people you don’t really know. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below and we will do our best to help you out. If you found this lesson useful or helpful, please considering sharing or liking. We would also greatly appreciate it if you would like our Facebook page. Thank you! ^^
By: Kimchi Cloud
