Korean slang profile
노바이
no buy
A no-buy period
A practice of avoiding unnecessary purchases of new items for a set period.
- Expanded form
- Not documented
- Other spellings
- 노 바이, 노바이 챌린지, No Buy
- Earliest source found
- Feb 4, 2025
- Documented trend period
- Widespread coverage on US social media in 2025
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
가지고 있는 화장품을 다 쓸 때까지 노바이에 도전할래.
I'm trying a no-buy period until I've used up the cosmetics I already have.
- Quoted from a source
1년 동안 불필요한 구매를 모두 없애는 것이다.[1]
Eliminate all unnecessary purchases for one year.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- 2025-02-04I won't buy it... The meaning of this expression was explained in the No Buy 2025 challenge spreading in the United States in the new year.[1]
03Origin & word formation
The article introduces the challenge as “No Buy 2025,” an effort to reduce unnecessary purchases. It describes a challenge that existed earlier; the first organizer has not been verified.
Evidence for the origin explanationMedium
The explanation is explicit but rests on a single source. Who first used the term has not been verified.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- 사지 않겠다… 새해 미국서 확산되는 No Buy 2025 챌린지 (파이낸셜뉴스)Published Feb 4, 2025Original source checked Nov 6, 2026