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Korean · Insults & Asymmetries

닥쳐

dakchyeo

dahk-CHYUH · /tak.tɕʰʌ/

Shut up! — blunt, banmal, and aimed.

3/5 Watch your audience

genuinely rude; friends only, never at work

Literally

"shut (your mouth)"

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

How to use it

The hard "shut up." 닥쳐 is banmal (informal speech) plus an imperative plus contempt — a triple violation if the target outranks you, which in Korea is nearly everyone you haven't befriended. Between close friends mid-banter it's routine ("닥쳐 ㅋㅋ" = "shut UP, lol"); at anyone else it's a 3 climbing toward a fight. The theatrical upgrade 입 닥쳐 (ip dakchyeo, "shut your mouth") is pure K-drama villain. The polite-company alternative is 조용히 해 주세요 (please be quiet) — which, delivered coldly, cuts deeper anyway.

Heard in the wild

닥쳐, 스포하지 마! 아직 안 봤단 말이야.

Shut up, no spoilers! I haven't watched it yet.

Where it lands

South Korea (universal)

Quick answers

What does "닥쳐" mean?
In Korean, "닥쳐" means "Shut up! — blunt, banmal, and aimed.". Literally it's "shut (your mouth)". The hard "shut up." 닥쳐 is banmal (informal speech) plus an imperative plus contempt — a triple violation if the target outranks you, which in Korea is nearly everyone you haven't befriended. Between close friends mid-banter it's routine ("닥쳐 ㅋㅋ" = "shut UP, lol"); at anyone else it's a 3 climbing toward a fight. The theatrical upgrade 입 닥쳐 (ip dakchyeo, "shut your mouth") is pure K-drama villain. The polite-company alternative is 조용히 해 주세요 (please be quiet) — which, delivered coldly, cuts deeper anyway.
Is "닥쳐" 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 "닥쳐"?
Say it "dahk-CHYUH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: tak.tɕʰʌ.

Related in Korean

씨발 ssibal sshee-BAHL Fuck / fucking hell — the load-bearing Korean curse. 개새끼 gaesaekki geh-SEH-kkee Son of a bitch / bastard — a real insult with no soft reading. 놈 nom nohm Guy / bastard — the male half of Korean's asymmetric insult pair. 년 nyeon nyun Bitch — the female counterpart of 놈, and far, far harsher. 지랄 jiral jee-RAHL Bullshit / drama / throwing a fit — 'quit your nonsense.' 꺼져 kkeojyeo kkuh-JYUH Get lost / piss off — you're telling a human to power down.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Shut up".

how to say "Shut up" →

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