# 형



## Mallarme

loox99 said:


> **형 is between men and men.



I heard a woman in a Korean drama call a guy "형".  She was his fiancée and younger than him.  She was also a doctor like him.  

I also saw a woman call another woman "형" in another Korean drama.  They were both a bit older, 아줌마들.

Do you (or anyone) know the reason for these uses?

고맙습니다!


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## Gijoe

When women want to represent themselves less feminine, they use this word to both genders.


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## staryourbabe

i think it's because people feel uncomfortable or inappropriate to be called 오빠 by younger girls, for example, at uni female 후배 called male 선배 '형'. 
I actually came across the similar situation when i was at uni in korea in the late 90s.
I called one male 선배 '오빠', the female 선배s around us got really angry at me. (not the male 선배) I guess 오빠 sounds too friendly and kind of flirting. so specially at uni female students call them 형 or just 선배. 
but I don't think they still do that at uni in korea.


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## Mallarme

Gijoe, staryourbabe, 둘 다 고맙습니다!  지금 알아들을 수 있네요.


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## DefactoAmbassador

My mom used to refer to her female superiors as '형님들' also; I believe it's because they want to sound less girlish.


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## Anais Ninn

형 was a term originally used for both sexes has been used almost exclusively in the modern Korean. But this exclusivity is a relatively recent phenomenon. you would easily see a women in their 50s and above use 형님 to another woman higher in the seniority. 형님 is still  a correct and standard term between the women who married into the same family. (In this case, the seniority is decided not by their age, but their husbands' age. Younger brother's wife would call the older brother's wife 형님, and the latter would refer to the former as 동서.)

Having said that, some women prefer to use 형 instead of 오빠 to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, as the term 오빠 is often used flirtatiously.

Hope it helps.

Anais


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## Mallarme

Anais Ninn said:


> 형 was a term originally used for both sexes has been used almost exclusively in the modern Korean. But this exclusivity is a relatively recent phenomenon. you would easily see a women in their 50s and above use 형님 to another woman higher in the seniority. 형님 is still  a correct and standard term between the women who married into the same family. (In this case, the seniority is decided not by their age, but their husbands' age. Younger brother's wife would call the older brother's wife 형님, and the latter would refer to the former as 동서.)



Oh, very interesting! Thanks for the additional background info!


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