🔥 Emphasis in Korean: 정말, 아주, 진짜, 되게

Want to sound more natural and expressive in Korean? Using the right words for emphasis is a great way to boost your fluency. Let’s explore how native speakers use 정말, 아주, 진짜, 되게 in daily conversations.

📘 Table of Contents

1. What Do These Words Mean?
2. Differences Between Them
3. Usage Examples
4. Tips for Learners
5. Did You Know?
6. Want to Learn More Korean?

💬 1. What Do These Words Mean?

All four words add emphasis, meaning "really," "very," or "super." But they differ in tone and context.

정말 (jeongmal) – really (neutral and polite)
아주 (aju) – very (formal or written style)
진짜 (jinjja) – really / truly (casual and strong)
되게 (doege) – super / extremely (slang and casual)

🧭 2. Differences Between Them

정말 and 진짜 are often interchangeable, but:

정말 is better for polite conversations or writing.
진짜 is common in casual talk, especially among friends.

아주 sounds a bit old-fashioned or formal and is more common in textbooks.

되게 is popular in spoken Korean and especially among younger people.

📝 3. Usage Examples

Let’s look at some sentences using these words:

정말 맛있어요!
jeongmal masisseoyo!
It’s really delicious!

아주 친절하신 분이에요.
aju chinjeolhasin bun-ieyo.
She is a very kind person.

진짜 예뻐요!
jinjja yeppeoyo!
She’s really pretty!

그 영화 되게 재미있었어.
geu yeonghwa doege jaemiisseosseo.
That movie was super fun.

🧠 4. Tips for Learners

Use 정말 in formal settings like interviews or presentations.
Use 진짜 or 되게 when chatting with friends or online.
Mix and match to sound more natural: "정말 예뻐요" vs. "진짜 예뻐요"
Listen to K-dramas or YouTube vlogs to catch real-life usage!

💡 5. Did You Know?

The Korean language often emphasizes emotions through doubling expressions. For example, “너무 너무 좋아요!” means “I really, really like it!” Repeating words is a cute and powerful way to express feelings in Korean.

🎓 6. Want to Learn More Korean?

👉 Book a Korean lesson with me on italki to practice your speaking and sound more like a native!

I hope you found this post helpful and fun! Learning Korean becomes much easier when you focus on real expressions used by real people. Feel free to explore more posts on my blog — I’d love to help you grow. 😊