Yes — very. It rates 4/5 on the Punch-o-Meter (Fighting words). aimed at a person, will start something. Read the usage note before you even think about it.

How do you pronounce "년"?

Say it "nyun" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: njʌn.

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Korean · Insults & Asymmetries

년

nyeon

nyun · /njʌn/

Bitch — the female counterpart of 놈, and far, far harsher.

4/5 Fighting words

aimed at a person, will start something

Literally

"female person (low form)"

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

How to use it

Grammatically 년 mirrors 놈 — the low word for a woman, taking the same prefixes: 미친년 (crazy bitch), 씨발년, 나쁜 년. Socially it does not mirror it at all. Where 놈 can be gruff, joking, even fond, 년 lands as genuinely degrading nearly every time it's aimed at someone — the gender asymmetry is the single most important thing to know about this pair. Fighting-words 4 minimum, and compounds push it to the edge of 5. Women reclaim it among close friends ("이년아~" between best friends can be affectionate), but that is strictly members-only usage. A traveler should file 년 under comprehension and leave it there.

Heard in the wild

[Aimed compounds like 미친년 are genuinely degrading — recognize, don't reuse.]

[Recognize it in an argument; it means things have turned genuinely ugly.]

Where it lands

South Korea (universal); markedly harsher than its male twin

Quick answers

What does "년" mean?: In Korean, "년" means "Bitch — the female counterpart of 놈, and far, far harsher.". Literally it's "female person (low form)". Grammatically 년 mirrors 놈 — the low word for a woman, taking the same prefixes: 미친년 (crazy bitch), 씨발년, 나쁜 년. Socially it does not mirror it at all. Where 놈 can be gruff, joking, even fond, 년 lands as genuinely degrading nearly every time it's aimed at someone — the gender asymmetry is the single most important thing to know about this pair. Fighting-words 4 minimum, and compounds push it to the edge of 5. Women reclaim it among close friends ("이년아~" between best friends can be affectionate), but that is strictly members-only usage. A traveler should file 년 under comprehension and leave it there.
Is "년" offensive?: Yes — very. It rates 4/5 on the Punch-o-Meter (Fighting words). aimed at a person, will start something. Read the usage note before you even think about it.
How do you pronounce "년"?: Say it "nyun" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: njʌn.

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. 새끼 saekki SEH-kkee Punk / little shit — literally a baby animal, and that's the insult. 놈 nom nohm Guy / bastard — the male half of Korean's asymmetric insult pair. 바보 babo bah-BOH Dummy / silly — the soft, safe, often affectionate 'idiot.' 또라이 ttorai ttoh-RAH-ee Nutjob / psycho / total weirdo.

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