# Hyung



## shiningstar

Hi,

I know that Hyungnim mean older brother in Korean but what does Hyung mean? Can we take it as younger brother or is it an abbreviation for Hyungnim?


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## Frank06

Hi,


shiningstar said:


> I know that Hyungnim mean older brother in Korean but what does Hyung mean? Can we take it as younger brother or is it an abbreviation for Hyungnim?


Do you have a tad more context? Where did you see/read/hear the word, in which context or situation?

Groetjes,

Frank


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## 경상남도로 오이소

Hyungnim means essentially the same as Hyung.

But by saying Hyungnim instead of Hyung you exude more brotherhood and more respect.  Whether you adopt "Hyungnim" instead of "Hyung" is totally up to you.

My father aged 55, for example, calls his older brother 10 years senior Hyungnim since there's a good rapport between them and the age gap is big enough and he has this utter respect for their "Hyung" usual back in sixties and seventies. The relationship between my uncles is, in my view, a bit stiff. My father even says "Jondaemal" to his senior brothers (my eldest maternal aunt is envious of my paternal family, she wants to be treated like that! haha) But then, it's just my paternal family.

But my cousin aged 15, who's 10 years younger than me, would call me "Hyung" since we are close and we just hang around a lot. God forbid he calls me "Hyungnim", I don't want to be treated like some authority figure. We're like some good friends.


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## shiningstar

경상남도로 오이소 said:


> Hyungnim means essentially the same as Hyung.
> 
> But by saying Hyungnim instead of Hyung you exude more brotherhood and more respect. Whether you adopt "Hyungnim" instead of "Hyung" is totally up to you.
> 
> My father aged 55, for example, calls his older brother 10 years senior Hyungnim since there's a good rapport between them and the age gap is big enough and he has this utter respect for their "Hyung" usual back in sixties and seventies. The relationship between my uncles is, in my view, a bit stiff. My father even says "Jondaemal" to his senior brothers (my eldest maternal aunt is envious of my paternal family, she wants to be treated like that! haha) But then, it's just my paternal family.
> 
> But my cousin aged 15, who's 10 years younger than me, would call me "Hyung" since we are close and we just hang around a lot. God forbid he calls me "Hyungnim", I don't want to be treated like some authority figure. We're like some good friends.


 
Thank you very much for this detailed explanation. I was trying to find a corresponding term for it in Turkish and I think I found one. Thank you very much for your help.


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