Korean · The Essential Kit
미친
michin
mee-CHEEN · /mi.tɕʰin/
Crazy — from 'that's insane(ly good)!' to 'you lunatic' to a genuine slur on someone's sanity.
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"crazed / gone mad"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The whole 미친 spectrum in one word. Alone as an exclamation — "미친!" at a plot twist or a price tag — it's shocked admiration, barely a 2. "미쳤어?" (are you crazy?) between friends is standard banter. But attach it to a person — 미친놈, 미친년 (crazy bastard / crazy bitch) — and you've built a genuine insult that escalates hard with the gendered second half. Rated 3 for the spectrum's midpoint; the aimed versions play at 4. Note the K-drama favorite "미쳤나 봐" (I must be crazy) as fond self-deprecation. Calibrate by what you weld onto it.
Heard in the wild
미친, 이게 한 그릇에 이만 원이라고?
Insane — this is twenty thousand won a bowl?
Where it lands
South Korea (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "미친" mean?
- In Korean, "미친" means "Crazy — from 'that's insane(ly good)!' to 'you lunatic' to a genuine slur on someone's sanity.". Literally it's "crazed / gone mad". The whole 미친 spectrum in one word. Alone as an exclamation — "미친!" at a plot twist or a price tag — it's shocked admiration, barely a 2. "미쳤어?" (are you crazy?) between friends is standard banter. But attach it to a person — 미친놈, 미친년 (crazy bastard / crazy bitch) — and you've built a genuine insult that escalates hard with the gendered second half. Rated 3 for the spectrum's midpoint; the aimed versions play at 4. Note the K-drama favorite "미쳤나 봐" (I must be crazy) as fond self-deprecation. Calibrate by what you weld onto it.
- Is "미친" offensive?
- It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
- How do you pronounce "미친"?
- Say it "mee-CHEEN" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: mi.tɕʰin.
Related in Korean
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's crazy".
- French C'est ouf ! That's insane! / Crazy! (good or bad)
- German einen Vogel zeigen You've got a screw loose / you're insane
- Greek τρελάθηκες; Are you crazy?! / Have you lost your mind?
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Polish masakra A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.'
- Portuguese Sinistro Sick! / Insane! (both awesome and scary)
- Russian Псих! Psycho / nutcase
- Turkish Deli oluyorum! I'm losing my mind / this is driving me crazy
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.