Namja chingu (남자 친구) vs. Aein (애인)

[Boidster]

In one of the early episodes (from 2007), there is a dialog between two men and a woman where the concepts of "boyfriend" and "ex-boyfriend" are discussed. The dialog clearly meant to imply the American English connotation of "boyfriend" - that is, a man the woman is in a dating relationship - somewhat serious, probably exclusive (not also dating other people), but not necessarily intimate (certainly not in Korean culture!). Maybe they hold hands occasionally.

Contrast with the concept of a "friend who is male" - just a generic friend, with no implication of a relationship.

OK, when I played that lesson for my native-Korean girlfriend (who is definitely 애인/연인!), she said that namga chingu (남자 친구), while literally meaning "man friend" or "boy friend", did not have the connotation of "boyfriend" that we have in American English. According to her, 남자 친구 is used for any male friend and does not imply any relationship. And therefore the idea of "ex-남자 친구" is somewhat odd, perhaps just meaning a man who you aren't friendly with any more, but not a "breakup" as was clearly implied in the lesson. She thought that 애인 (aein - sweetheart/lover) was maybe more correct, though I'm not sure the intimacy implied with "lover" was what the lesson was trying to portray.

To get a 3rd opinion, we called her 오빠 (oppa - older brother) in Korea and asked him. He agreed with my girlfriend that 남자 친구 does not imply a relationship, just a generic male friend, and that 애인 might be closer.

I don't doubt the knowledge of the hosts, so my theory - which my girlfriend and her 오빠 think is plausible - is that the younger generation has adopted the American connotation of "boyfriend" when using 남자 친구, since the translation is exact. So if a girl says that a guy is her 남자 친구, they are "dating" more or less in the American sense. We are all in our 40s, and her brother's son is too young to ask about these concepts. So maybe we're just a bit out of touch with the evolution of the meaning of 남자 친구?

[Boidster]

It seems these forums are pretty quiet, so I will post what I found out for any others who might follow.

We talked to my girlfriend's 15-year-old niece, and she confirmed that 남자 친구 is now used both to mean "generic male friend" and "boyfriend". As with all Korean conversation, context is critical. She said that people will become confused if the term is used without sufficient supporting context.

Based on other conversations with 30 to 40-year-old Koreans, I think the reason for this evolution is due in part to the fact that the idea of "dating" is relatively recent, say, within the last couple of decades. It seems that in the 80's, for example, young men and women of high-school age up to say the early 20s didn't publicly "date" each other in the way Americans understand "dating". No going out to a movie with your girlfriend (only), no "you better be home by 10PM" when you go out with a boy. Friends might hang out together, and you might have a crush on one of them, but obvious boyfriend-girlfriend pairs were just not common at all. The idea of "confession" in Korean social interaction is mixed up in this, too. Or so I've heard.

I guess each generation has become successivly more Westernized (or Americanized?), for better or worse, and "dating" as Americans understand it is a bit more common and publicly accepted, at least by younger folks. And so the word 남자 친구 evolved to adopt its more American meaning of "the [one] guy I'm going out with."

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. If a young Korean native happens by these forums and wants to comment, I'd love to read it!

[hadiyyahsulaiman2122]

Hi
I'm not a native korean,but because I have a strong interest in the Korean language and culture, I have been studying the language for a while.According to what I have read and seen in movies,I can definately agree with your conclusion.These days some words like' 남자 친구' have their meanings americanized.In the recent korean movies I have watched,they use the word to mean boyfriend not a guy that is just your friend.Even in some of the lessons here,they say some sentences like'여자 친구 밌어요.'From the context,it actually ment 'he has a girl friend'(intimate relationship)..

[korea.innovative]

Very good comments folks!


It is very true that thesedays, when you say 남자친구 or 여자친구, it generally calls for 애인 rather than friends who are male or female.

In the case to more differentiat the two, you could say as 남자인 친구, 여자인 친구!

Such specification will certainly not confuse you or others to understand you wrong




Thank you
Madison
Team KoreanClass101.com