Korean slang profile

유리멘탈

yurimental

A metaphor for a fragile mental state easily shaken or hurt by even a small upset.

Expanded form: Not documented
Other spellings: 유리 멘탈
Earliest source found: Dec 5, 2012
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
발표가 끝난 뒤 작은 실수까지 떠올리니 오늘은 유리멘탈이 된 기분이야.
After the presentation, I kept thinking of tiny mistakes and felt especially fragile today.

02Documented history

December 2012The National Institute of Korean Language’s ‘2012년 신어 자료집’ explained it as a weak mind or state as delicate and breakable as glass.[1]
September 2021A source used it for a fragile mental state that is easily shaken.[2]

03Origin & word formation

The National Institute of Korean Language’s ‘2012년 신어 자료집’ explains it as a weak mind or state as delicate and breakable as glass. The dates of examples requoted in the collection are distinguished from the collection’s publication date; the first usage time could not be established.

Evidence for the origin explanationMedium

The official collection’s explanation was compared with usage in a 2021 article. The collection’s publication date was checked in its colophon, but the original article behind its example was not checked directly.

04Sources

Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.

2012년 신어 자료집 (국립국어원)Published Dec 5, 2012Original source checked Nov 13, 2026
[인터뷰+] 최예빈 "첫 작품 '펜트하우스' 은별이 캐릭터 애정" (한국경제)Published Sep 29, 2021Original source checked Nov 13, 2026