Korean slang profile
아싸
assa
An outsider to the group
Someone who does not mix much with a group, abbreviated from 아웃사이더, meaning “outsider.”
- Expanded form
- 아웃사이더(outsider)An outsider to the group
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- May 16, 2019
- Documented trend period
- Before 2019~
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
나는 동아리에서 아싸였어.
I was an outsider in the club.
- Quoted from a source
‘무리에 어울리지 못하고 혼자 지내는 사람’을 뜻하는 아싸는 ‘아웃사이더(outsider)’를 줄인 말이다.[1]
아싸, which means ‘a person who cannot fit in with a group and lives alone,’ is an abbreviation for ‘outsider.’
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- May 2019The policy briefing column said, ‘At first, there was only 아싸,’ and introduced the opposite, ‘인싸,’ and the intermediate ones, ‘Bansa,’ ‘Geussa,’ and then ‘Massa.’ ‘아싸’ is said to have already been listed in Naver Open Korean Dictionary.[1]
- May 2019In a survey (422 office workers) quoted in the same column, half responded that they were ‘voluntary 아싸’.[1]
03Origin & word formation
Short for 아웃사이더, from “outsider.” A Korea Policy Briefing column describes someone who does not fit into a group and spends time alone, distinguishing this from being excluded by others. Who first used it and when have not been verified.
Evidence for the origin explanationHigh
The column explicitly derives it from “outsider.” When it was first used is unknown.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- 인싸, 아싸, 반싸, 마싸 (대한민국 정책브리핑)Published May 16, 2019Original source checked Nov 5, 2026