Korean · Insults & Asymmetries
꺼져
kkeojyeo
kkuh-JYUH · /k͈ʌ.dʑʌ/
Get lost / piss off — you're telling a human to power down.
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"be extinguished / switch off"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Literally the verb for a light going out — "turn yourself off and leave." 꺼져 is the standard hard brush-off: for the drunk stranger who won't take a hint, the ex who showed up uninvited, the tout who followed you down the street. Watch-your-audience 3: among friends it's mock-outrage ("꺼져 ㅋㅋ"), at a stranger it's a genuine escalation that invites one back. For unwanted attention that hasn't yet earned the nuclear brush-off, start with 관심 없어요 (not interested) and save 꺼져 for when politeness has demonstrably failed.
Heard in the wild
안 산다고 했잖아. 꺼져.
I told you I'm not buying. Get lost.
Where it lands
South Korea (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "꺼져" mean?
- In Korean, "꺼져" means "Get lost / piss off — you're telling a human to power down.". Literally it's "be extinguished / switch off". Literally the verb for a light going out — "turn yourself off and leave." 꺼져 is the standard hard brush-off: for the drunk stranger who won't take a hint, the ex who showed up uninvited, the tout who followed you down the street. Watch-your-audience 3: among friends it's mock-outrage ("꺼져 ㅋㅋ"), at a stranger it's a genuine escalation that invites one back. For unwanted attention that hasn't yet earned the nuclear brush-off, start with 관심 없어요 (not interested) and save 꺼져 for when politeness has demonstrably failed.
- Is "꺼져" 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 "꺼져"?
- Say it "kkuh-JYUH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: k͈ʌ.dʑʌ.
Related in Korean
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Get lost".
- French Casse-toi, pauvre con ! Get lost, you pathetic idiot
- German Hau ab! Get lost! / Clear off! / Beat it!
- Greek άντε γαμήσου Go fuck yourself / get lost / piss off.
- Italian Vaffanculo! Fuck off! / Go to hell!
- Japanese 死ね Drop dead / go die
- Polish spierdalaj Fuck off / piss off.
- Portuguese Vagabundo Bum / lowlife / good-for-nothing (f. 'vagabunda' = slut)
- Russian Иди в баню! Get lost! / Buzz off! (gentle)
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