ㅋㅋㅋ

Korean

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. Compare e.g. Portuguese kkk and Japanese けけけ (kekeke).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kxɯkxɯkxɯ]
• Phonetic hangul: [크크크]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	keukeukeu
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	keukeukeu
McCune–Reischauer?	k'ŭk'ŭk'ŭ
Yale Romanization?	khu.khu.khu

Interjection

ㅋㅋㅋ • (kkk)

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) haha, lol, kek (non-dismissive)

   Synonym: ㅎㅎ (hh)

Usage notes

• ㅋㅋㅋ has a somewhat more blunt tone than ㅎㅎ.
• ㅎㅎ is more likely to be included "just for the sake of it" or to make the tone more friendly, whereas ㅋㅋㅋ is more likely to represent actual laughter.
• A single ㅋ is usually dismissive.
• The more ㅋ is repeated (e.g. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ), the more likely it is to represent actual laughter rather than simply being added for the sake of it.

Related terms

• ㅋ (k) (dismissive)
• ㅋㅋ (kk)

Descendants

• → English: kek