Korean · 8 phrases
Joy & Jackpots
Enthusiasm in Korean comes pre-intensified: honey (꿀잼), jackpot gourds (대박), and the dog prefix doing celebratory work its ancestors never imagined (개맛있어 — insanely delicious). Register is the only trap — half these words delight your peers and make your host's grandmother reach for her heart.
아싸! assa AH-ssah Yes! / score! — the fist-pump syllables. 최고 choego CHWEH-goh The best! — clean, all-ages, thumbs-up enthusiasm. 대박 daebak DEH-bahk Amazing! / jackpot! / no way! — awe in both directions, good and terrible. 짱 jjang jjahng The best / awesome — thumbs-up in word form. 꿀잼 kkuljaem KKOOL-jem So much fun / hilarious — honey-grade entertainment. 개― gae- geh Dog- as a prefix: 'insanely / totally' — and slang-positive as often as negative. 개이득 gaeideuk geh-EE-deuk Massive win / total steal — profit so good it needs the dog prefix. 개맛있어 gaemasisseo geh-mah-SHEE-ssuh Insanely delicious — the dog prefix doing its finest work.