진짜 (jinjja) in Korean — what it means and how idols actually say it
· 2 min read
진짜 (jinjja) means really / seriously. It is an intensifier that also works alone as "seriously?" — the single most common word in idol speech. In the 102 idol clips we have scripted, it appears 1291 times — here is how it sounds in real speech, not a textbook.
What jinjja means
진짜 = really / seriously. The forms you will hear most: 진짜?, 진짜 맛있어, 진짜 끝장나.
진짜 in real lines
정말 맛있는데 - 야 진짜 맛있다 jeongmal masinneunde - ya jinjja masitda It's so nice. - It's so good. — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — eating cuts (EP.3) · hear this line
아니 너 진짜 이런식으로 할거야? ani neo jinjja ireonsigeuro halgeoya? Listen, are you really gonna do that? — Running Man, Zombie special — legend cuts · hear this line
진짜 미칠 거 같아. - 알았어. jinjja michil geo gata. - arasseo. I'm seriously going to lose it. — Okay. — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — top 30 most-viewed cuts (EP.9) · hear this line
첫 판은 이렇게 -나 진짜 아니야 cheot paneun ireoke -na jinjja aniya The first round -It's really not me — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — mafia game cuts (EP.2) · hear this line
How to say it
ㅉ is a tense "jj": no puff of air, tongue pressed firmly, a sharper sound than the English j. Stress the first syllable, jin-jja; stretched 진~짜 means "seriously!". Check any line with the pronunciation tool.
Casual or polite?
An adverb with no polite form of its own. 진짜요? is the polite "really?", and 정말 is the slightly more formal synonym.
What it pairs with in our clips
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