Work in progress! Native speakers are still checking every phrase. Spot something off? Tell us.
cursing.in curse like a local

Korean · The Essential Kit

어떡해

eotteokae

uh-TTUH-keh · /ʌ.t͈ʌ.kʰɛ/

Oh no / what do I do?! — the national noise of small panic.

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"how shall (I) do"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

Not a curse at all, but you will hear it fifty times a day and need it by day two. 어떡해 is the sound Korea makes when something goes sideways — the dropped phone, the missed bus, the friend's bad news (where it doubles as sympathy: "어떡해…" = oh no, you poor thing). Stretch it — 어떡해애애 — to scale the crisis. Fully Grandma-safe. Pairs with 큰일 났다 (keunil natda, "big trouble has arrived") when the panic is justified, and with 헐 when it's merely theatrical.

Heard in the wild

어떡해, 여권을 호텔에 두고 왔어!

Oh no, I left my passport at the hotel!

Where it lands

South Korea (universal)

Quick answers

What does "어떡해" mean?
In Korean, "어떡해" means "Oh no / what do I do?! — the national noise of small panic.". Literally it's "how shall (I) do". Not a curse at all, but you will hear it fifty times a day and need it by day two. 어떡해 is the sound Korea makes when something goes sideways — the dropped phone, the missed bus, the friend's bad news (where it doubles as sympathy: "어떡해…" = oh no, you poor thing). Stretch it — 어떡해애애 — to scale the crisis. Fully Grandma-safe. Pairs with 큰일 났다 (keunil natda, "big trouble has arrived") when the panic is justified, and with 헐 when it's merely theatrical.
Is "어떡해" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "어떡해"?
Say it "uh-TTUH-keh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʌ.t͈ʌ.kʰɛ.

Related in Korean

헐 heol hul Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise. 대박 daebak DEH-bahk Amazing! / jackpot! / no way! — awe in both directions, good and terrible. 진짜? jinjja jeen-JJAH Really?! / seriously — the conversational heartbeat. 뭐야 mwoya MWUH-yah What the— / what is this?! — indignant bafflement. 어머나 eomeona UH-muh-nah Oh my goodness! — the gasp, feminine-coded and fully wholesome. 소름 soreum soh-REUM Chills! / that gave me goosebumps — for the uncanny and the incredible.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "What a mess".

how to say "What a mess" →

Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.