{"id":1322,"date":"2026-01-06T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2025-12-19T01:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T01:01:00","slug":"how-to-say-father-in-korean-different-ways-to-call-your-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/korean\/how-to-say-father-in-korean-different-ways-to-call-your-dad\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say \u201cFather\u201d in Korean: Different Ways to Call Your Dad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\n        If you&#8217;re learning Korean, one of the first family words you&#8217;ll encounter is \u201cfather.\u201d\n        It may seem simple at first, but Korean actually has several different ways to say it,\n        depending on who is speaking, who they\u2019re talking about, and how formal the situation is.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Some terms are casual and affectionate. Others are polite or formal. And one is the word\n        most people actually use to call their own dad at home.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>Let\u2019s break it down in a clear and practical way.<\/p>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>\uc544\ube60 (appa) \u2013 \u201cDad\u201d (informal and affectionate)<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        <strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong> is the most common and natural word children use to call their father.\n        It\u2019s warm, casual, and used every day in family settings.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>You\u2019ll hear <strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong>:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>At home<\/li>\n        <li>Among family members<\/li>\n        <li>In casual conversation about your own father<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p><strong>Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n      <p lang=\"ko\">\uc544\ube60, \uc624\ub298 \uba87 \uc2dc\uc5d0 \uc640?<\/p>\n      <p>Dad, what time are you coming home today?<\/p>\n      <p>\n        If you\u2019re talking directly to your dad or casually mentioning your own father,\n        <strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong> is usually the right choice.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0 (abeoji) \u2013 \u201cFather\u201d (formal or neutral)<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        <strong>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0<\/strong> is a more formal and neutral term. It\u2019s commonly used in writing,\n        speeches, textbooks, or polite conversation.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>You\u2019ll hear or see <strong>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0<\/strong>:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>In textbooks and formal examples<\/li>\n        <li>In speeches or written language<\/li>\n        <li>When talking politely about someone else\u2019s father<\/li>\n        <li>When speaking formally about your own father<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p><strong>Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n      <p lang=\"ko\">\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0\ub294 \ud68c\uc0ac\uc6d0\uc785\ub2c8\ub2e4.<\/p>\n      <p>My father is an office worker.<\/p>\n      <p>\n        While <strong>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0<\/strong> is respectful, it usually sounds too formal for everyday\n        family conversation. Most people do not call their dad <strong>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0<\/strong> at home.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>\uc544\ubc84\ub2d8 (abeonim) \u2013 someone else\u2019s father (very polite)<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        <strong>\uc544\ubc84\ub2d8<\/strong> is an honorific form used to show extra respect. It is typically\n        used for someone else\u2019s father, not your own.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>You might use <strong>\uc544\ubc84\ub2d8<\/strong>:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>When talking about your spouse\u2019s father<\/li>\n        <li>When speaking to elders<\/li>\n        <li>When referring politely to a friend\u2019s father<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p><strong>Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n      <p lang=\"ko\">\uc544\ubc84\ub2d8\uc740 \uac74\uac15\ud558\uc138\uc694?<\/p>\n      <p>Is your father in good health?<\/p>\n      <p>\n        Using <strong>\uc544\ubc84\ub2d8<\/strong> for your own father would sound unusual unless you\u2019re being\n        intentionally formal or joking.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>\uc544\ube60 vs \uc544\ubc84\uc9c0 \u2013 which one should you use?<\/h2>\n      <p>Here\u2019s the simplest way to think about it:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong> \u2192 what you call your dad<\/li>\n        <li><strong>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0<\/strong> \u2192 how you refer to \u201cfather\u201d in formal or polite situations<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>\n        Many Koreans switch between these terms depending on who they are talking to and the tone\n        of the conversation.\n      <\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>Talking to your dad \u2192 <strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong><\/li>\n        <li>Talking about your dad casually \u2192 <strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong><\/li>\n        <li>Talking about your dad formally \u2192 <strong>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>There are no complicated rules\u2014just context and tone.<\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>Quick summary<\/h2>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong> = Dad (casual, affectionate, most common)<\/li>\n        <li><strong>\uc544\ubc84\uc9c0<\/strong> = Father (formal or neutral)<\/li>\n        <li><strong>\uc544\ubc84\ub2d8<\/strong> = Someone else\u2019s father (very polite)<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>\n        If you remember just one thing, remember this:<br>\n        If you\u2019re calling your own dad, <strong>\uc544\ube60<\/strong> is almost always the right choice.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re learning Korean, one of the first family words you&#8217;ll encounter is \u201cfather.\u201d It may seem simple at first, but Korean actually has several different ways to say it, depending on who is speaking, who they\u2019re talking about, and how formal the situation is. Some terms are casual and affectionate. Others are polite or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-korean"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1324,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322\/revisions\/1324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}