Korean · Reactions & Noises
대박
daebak
DEH-bahk · /tɛ.bak̚/
Amazing! / jackpot! / no way! — awe in both directions, good and terrible.
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"great gourd / jackpot"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Literally a "big gourd" — a windfall, a jackpot — 대박 is the exclamation for anything that exceeds expectations in either direction: the concert tickets you scored (대박!), the plot twist (대박…), the friend's disaster story (대박, 진짜?). "대박 나세요!" (may you strike it big) is even a blessing for someone's new shop. Grandma-safe, K-drama-famous, and probably the first Korean exclamation you already know. If you learn exactly two reaction words, take 헐 for shock and 대박 for awe.
Heard in the wild
대박! 그 콘서트 티켓 구했다고?
No way! You actually got tickets to that concert?
Where it lands
South Korea (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "대박" mean?
- In Korean, "대박" means "Amazing! / jackpot! / no way! — awe in both directions, good and terrible.". Literally it's "great gourd / jackpot". Literally a "big gourd" — a windfall, a jackpot — 대박 is the exclamation for anything that exceeds expectations in either direction: the concert tickets you scored (대박!), the plot twist (대박…), the friend's disaster story (대박, 진짜?). "대박 나세요!" (may you strike it big) is even a blessing for someone's new shop. Grandma-safe, K-drama-famous, and probably the first Korean exclamation you already know. If you learn exactly two reaction words, take 헐 for shock and 대박 for awe.
- Is "대박" 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 "대박"?
- Say it "DEH-bahk" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: tɛ.bak̚.
Related in Korean
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's awesome".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ρε μαλάκα Hey man / dude / bro — the affectionate-insult greeting between friends.
- Italian Figo! Cool! / Awesome! / Sick!
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Do caralho Fucking awesome — OR, with 'casa do', the middle of nowhere
- Russian Класс! Awesome! / Great! / Cool!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.