Korean slang profile
깜놀
kkamnol
That startled me!
An expression meaning that something gave you a sudden surprise.
- Expanded form
- 깜짝 놀람That startled me!
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- 2011
- Documented trend period
- Not verified
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
갑자기 전화 와서 깜놀했어.
The phone rang out of nowhere and startled me.
- Quoted from a source
부사와 동사(깜놀: 깜짝 놀라다)[1]
Adverbs and verbs: 깜놀, short for 깜짝 놀라다, to be startled.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- 2011The National Institute of the Korean Language’s report on the ‘National Survey on Youth Language Status and Language Awareness’ cited ‘깜놀 (surprised)’ as an example of a non-syntactic abbreviation combining an adverb and a verb.[1]
03Origin & word formation
Short for 깜짝 놀라다, meaning to be startled. A National Institute of Korean Language report explicitly gives this explanation. Who first used it and when have not been verified.
Evidence for the origin explanationHigh
A government agency report explicitly explains the term. When it began is unknown.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- 청소년 언어실태·언어의식 전국 조사 (국립국어원·한양대학교 산학협력단)Published 2011Original source checked Nov 5, 2026