[영원한 사랑]

It doesn't matter what your race is, but I think its very annoying when people overuse unni and oppa.
Like people who use in every sentence to be "cute" and make themselves appear young or something.
If you're just normally using it as a respect thing then its alright.

[longbong]

ugh a prime reason i tend to avoid fob korean girls even though i am korean, its so frikin annoying. its also very akward for me to hear it because they are not family...although i understand its a loose term.

[InfiniteTime]

I see people who aren't even Korean who uses the term. I find it repulsive.

[Aziraphale]

Um.. the term "OPPA" is not used "LOOSELY" in korea. it's part of their grammar and culture.. its not used because its "CUTE" or because the speaker is a child..

Well, I think its stranger to call your idol (For example Bae Yong Jun) Bae-yong-jun-SSHI.
"SSHI" should be used more on people you actually know.. for example your business associate.

Whereas the term "OPPA" has been used by fans of idols for ages. The term 'oppa' and 'anni' is used for people you don't even know (for example waiters/waitresses or air flight attendants etc) this is part of korean culture-- a sign of unity.. (is what was said in my high school gookguh book long ago)
Also in this case, its a sign of admiration.. general people would find you weird if you screamed BAEYONGJUN-SSHI in a crowd of fans. ^^;...

But you know.. if you don't like to be called that (by general public)- you can be called "_NAMEHERE_ SSHI" but thats only used when the person KNOWS your name..and has been introduced to you.

Otherwise, grammatically its correct to use it in situations where you do not know the name of the person and they do not seem to look like a married lady with kids or a old man.

Hope that helped. ._. I mean It'd be funny if you were on a parttime job in a cafe and someone called you "Excuse me OPPA/ANNI over there, May I have some napkins?" and you said back "Please call me ___Sshi."
You'd be looked at weirdly ._.

i wish i could be like that but im already looking moudly in the age of 18 lol v_o..

I see people who aren't even Korean who uses the term. I find it repulsive.

Name: VIVIANNNNN (=

Everyone seems to have there likes and dislikes. Well as for me I dislike more then I like. I am currently 15 years young, living in San Francisco, California

I doubt you two have turned 20 in the blink of an eye, eh?

INTRUDER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[[HyuNi]]

I have non-korean friends that use Oppa/Nuna all the time and I don't find it disturbing. It might be because they've hung out with koreans all their lives and really understand what they mean when they say it.

You have to admit that those 'ho-chings' are very good at what they do. It rolls easy off the tongue and it could be used in a wide variety of situations. It's no mystery that it's not only caught on to KA's, but to other races and ethnicities as well.

Meanings of words change throughout time, especially if they refer to something personal. I don't think we can say that only under these circumstances, you are allowed to say Unni/Oppa/Nuna.
btw, Brocade, when you say that KA's mis-interpret Oppa, in what fashion? Because in Korea, people call the waitresses Unni/Ee-mo, bar girls call ANY male Oppa regardless if they are younger or 30 years older, and sales people will say 'hak-seng' to anyone that looks young.

I used to have a problem with it, but I don't anymore. It's a general term for general labels. If you want to make it more personal, then include their name (like Changhyun oppa)

[naoto]

This girl I like, she doesn't like me but calls me oppa. Sometimes she does it cute and whines. "Opppaaa...." It makes my heart melt. Any girl other then her, I punch in the face.

[2redJake]

Personally, as a KA, I've never had a problem with it either. Then again, I've never heard a non-Korean use the term. But even if I did, I would think it would be cool. My KA friends and I used to call one another oppa/hyung/unni/noona every once in a while, but we were just having fun with it. It wasn't a part of our regular vocabulary.

On a related note, NEVER, EVER refer to a youngish looking waitress as ajumma. Seriously. I get chills just thinking about the one time I did that. I was a senior in h.s., and thinking back, she was probably only in her late twenties. When I called her that... wow. Daggers, man. Her demeanor completely changed and she never said a word to us the rest of the meal. My friends all thought i was a complete idiot. I probably was. Now, I stick with the very safe "yoboseyo" even if she looks like she invented Korean food.

This girl I like, she doesn't like me but calls me oppa. Sometimes she does it cute and whines. "Opppaaa...." It makes my heart melt. Any girl other then her, I punch in the face.

very true. This is one of my deep, dark secrets. It is annoying as hell usually when a girl whines like that, but when it's a girl you like, man, that's something else all together.

[Prot]

Anything, overused, can be annoying. IE: Palin and mavericks, people spamming EPIC FAIL on the internet, profanity every skip word, some crappy song on the radio played so much that it is stuck in your mind etc.

[ChimDee]

I personally find the term 'oppa' and 'unnie/nuna' weird and it's not likely I'll ever use those terms myself. Perhaps because I'm not Korean to begin with, I'm not sure (personal preference I guess).

for me, i think that word should be used by koreans. period.

Honestly I don't see the big tiff with non-Koreans who choose to use 'oppa' and 'unnie/nuna'. In my experience I have alot of Asian friends with whom are constantly using references from my own native language. And personally I find it endearing and somewhat of an ego-boost to know that they consider my culture interesting enough to learn my language.

'Different strokes for different folks', I guess.

[josebiwasabi]

for me, overuse of "oppa" falls into the same category as those wapanese that say KAWAIIIIIII etc way too much.

[Kamoku-Ai]

It doesn't matter what your race is, but I think its very annoying when people overuse unni and oppa.
Like people who use in every sentence to be "cute" and make themselves appear young or something.
If you're just normally using it as a respect thing then its alright.

^^Completely agree

for me, overuse of "oppa" falls into the same category as those wapanese that say KAWAIIIIIII etc way too much.

^^ Agree again!

The use of oppa and kawaii annoy the hell out of me on YouTube! It's like a contest of who has the cutest reply, esp when related to celebs!

[melkimx]

well, i don't see why you would find it annoying... UNLESS the person is going overboard and adopting a certain affectation... you know, the whole thing with the whiny high-pitched voice and drawn out syllables. other than that, you know, i never believed those terms were meant to be reserved for only people you know very well. and as for non-koreans using it, i actually find it endearing. it's nice when other people have some interest in your culture.

On a related note, NEVER, EVER refer to a youngish looking waitress as ajumma. Seriously. I get chills just thinking about the one time I did that. I was a senior in h.s., and thinking back, she was probably only in her late twenties. When I called her that... wow. Daggers, man. Her demeanor completely changed and she never said a word to us the rest of the meal. My friends all thought i was a complete idiot. I probably was. Now, I stick with the very safe "yoboseyo" even if she looks like she invented Korean food.

haha hoooo boy. that's a different bag of chips.

[misturrho]

i'm not korean.

i do get annoyed with girls squealing or whining "oppa", and calling celebrities "oppa". i admit i use the term, but only to my very close korean friends that earned my respect or they're old enough for me to call oppa. otherwise, pshhh.

[crayon851]

Along with acting dumb, saying "AWWWWWWwwwwwwwwwwwwww realllllllllllllllly?" "OMG WHY!?" "I dont think its fair" etc. etc.

Why do girls do this? Act dumb and innocent? Guy's act macho and all alpha, girls are supposed to look dumb and beta? Revolting.

Girls are dumb and beta....

That's why men rule this world haha. jk.

[Kiss Me]

I don't think the word limits you to only those you personally know / close with.
Its just out of respect. Kind of like sir & maam.
Its our of respect when talking to them.
However, I don't know what to say for those teeny boppers.
Doing over the internet is not really necessary.

[hun_wun_gal]

besides the usual OTT use of "oppa" and "kawaii" from teeny boppers are "wannabe cute" anyway. i find people retarded when they start spelling normal acronyms out "OH EM GEE!!..." as oppose to just "omg"............seriously...... O_o

[Happy_Day]

I used to feel exactly as you until recently. I hate it when the term is used loosely too, but you have to understand that sometimes you are forced to use "Oppa" in certain situations. For example, if there's an older guy you see almost every week for whatever reason (i.e. church) whom you talk to every now and then - but is not a close friend - what do you do when you must say "you" in a conversation? I don't know if that makes sense but you can't say "nuh" to an older person (too disrespectful), nor can you say "geuh jjok eun" (too formal), nor can you refer to him as "ajusshi." It's a bit too awkward/formal to say "[name]-sshi" too.

Thus, the safe alternative is "Oppa.. [insert sentence]." For example, if you're trying to say "What do you think" in Korean, how should you translate "you" to an older male acquaintance? You can't say "Nuhn uttuhkeh senggakheh?"--> No, you have to say "Oppaneun utuhkeh senggakheh?" But you're right, it's freaking annoying when girls call out "OPPPPAAAA" pointlessly unless you're really close that certain person.

Does that make sense? Didn't explain this well. What I mean is, sometimes saying "Oppa" is a form of respect rather than the typical cutesy "OPPAAA." It's a Korean tradition. I don't think you should judge people by this, unless it's the kind of girls who just say Oppa to any handsome guy they see; then they're abusing Korean tradition. I agree with a poster here saying you have to experience Korea to understand. It's pointless trying to explain this point by point.

[asianpanthers]

so...i dont know how many people who are posting here...are korean...or are familiar with korean language...

once you pass the first (sometimes second) meeting with someone older but not TOO much older, it's always "oppa"/"noona"/"unni"/"hyung". it's just how it is. it's rude to call someone older or someone you don't know/aren't familiar with by their name regardless of their age. sometimes people add "ssi" or "nim" depending on their age or title, but basically they mean mr. or...i dont know how to describe nim in english...hahahaha lord? =P just high...er...title...eh? if that makes sense. i was pretty touchy about saying noona/hyung and all that when i was younger unless i was close with these people and even then =P i didn't make a habit of calling older girls "noona" just because i thought it would keep me out of the running as a bf candidate, but really, it turns out when i started dating them even they said that i sounded rude not calling people "hyung" or "noona"

so...it's...not really a big deal. some people care...some people don't care...i tell my younger friends to just call me "albert" but they insist on calling me "hyung" or "oppa" anyways. even from the first/second meeting...their explanation being that it's rude to call me by my name even if it IS my english name.

so...i dont know. be annoyed with it all you like, but it's how it's used. if you don't want to use it...call them by their name and add "ssi" which is how i got over the "noona" deal =P


but as far as it annoying me...it DOES annoy me when it's used out of place...like...instead of saying "i went with some friends to a restaurant" people saying "i went with some unnis and oppas to a restaurant" maybe if you said "i went to a shikdang with a few unnis and oppas/hyungs and noonas" my urge to kill would subside SLIGHTLY but it bugs me when people who don't know anything besides "sarang hae yo" and "anyonghasaeyo" say a life time's worth every freaking day. BLEH annoying as heck.

[Happy_Day]

^ I agree with you, the term "Oppa" shouldn't be thought of as intimate as people are making it seem. Like you said, once you've had 2 or 3 meetings with an older guy, you should call him "Oppa" because "[name]sshi" is just too weird in the U.S. unless it's like a co-worker in a formal setting. For me, most of the older guys at my church whom I've met a couple times are "Oppa" to me, and that's just how it is because - What else would I call them without being rude or just ridiculously weird?

But definitely calling celebrities "Oppa" or "Unni" or "Noona" or "Hyung" is just a no-no.

[asianpanthers]

but if you really want to be affectionate, you can say "jagiyah"...but most of the girls that i play with call me..."ddorai sekki" or "jungshinbyungjah" which roughly translate to "crazy sob" and "mental patient" respectively. hm. i'm assuming it's korean slang for "baby" or "darling"