🎵 K-Culture A1

진짜

jinjja

Really / for real

Share on X

What it means

진짜 means real, really, or for real. Used as an adjective (진짜 친구 = real friend) and as an adverb meaning truly. Extremely common in spoken Korean.

Nuance & when to use

진짜요? = Really? / 진짜야 = It's true / 진짜 맛있어 = It's really delicious. Close synonym: 정말 (jeongmal), slightly more formal. Use 진짜 in casual conversation.

⚠ Common mistake

Overusing 진짜 in formal settings — 정말 is more appropriate for presentations or formal speech. Save 진짜 for casual conversation.

Example sentences

진짜요? 믿을 수가 없어요! Jinjjayo? Mideul suga eopseoyo! Really? I can't believe it!
이 라면이 진짜 맛있어요. I ramyeoni jinjja massisseoyo. This ramen is really delicious.
진짜 친구는 힘들 때 도와줘요. Jinjja chinguneun himdeul ttae dowajwoyo. A real friend helps when things are hard.
지금 진짜 피곤해요. 일찍 자고 싶어요. Jigeum jinjja pigonhaeyo. Iljjik jago sipeoyo. I'm really tired right now. I want to sleep early.

See also

정말 사실 진짜로 짱
References Naver Korean Dictionary ↗ 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Next lesson →

More A1 lessons

-지 않다 -ji anta Negation: does not / is not 겨울 gyeoul winter -은/는 -eun/-neun Topic marker particle
← 죄송합니다 집 →

FAQ

When is this used?

진짜요? = Really? / 진짜야 = It's true / 진짜 맛있어 = It's really delicious. Close synonym: 정말 (jeongmal), slightly more formal. Use 진짜 in casual conversation.

What's a common mistake?

Overusing 진짜 in formal settings — 정말 is more appropriate for presentations or formal speech. Save 진짜 for casual conversation.

Ready to learn more Korean?

Get one free Korean lesson every day — straight to your inbox.

Get Daily Korean Free →

Free forever · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime