What does hyung mean? Korean honorifics explained

If you follow BTS, you have heard Jungkook call the older members hyung (형) more times than you can count. But what does it mean, and when do you use it?

The basic meaning

Hyung means "older brother" when used by a male speaker. It is the male equivalent of oppa. Just like oppa, it extends beyond biological brothers to close older male friends, mentors, and seniors.

The key difference from oppa is simple: hyung is used by men. A woman would say oppa to the same person.

Hyung in K-pop

Korean boy groups are a good example of how this works in practice. In BTS, Jungkook (born 1997) calls Jin (born 1992) "Jin-hyung." The five-year age gap makes this mandatory, not optional. Even in casual behind-the-scenes videos, the younger members consistently use hyung for the older ones.

Jungkook's Korean age in 2026 is 30세, while Jin's is 35세. That gap matters. In Korean social rules, five years is big enough that dropping the honorific would feel disrespectful.

When to use hyung

• You are male and the other person is also male and older.
• You are close enough to use informal titles. Acquaintances or strangers would use 선배님 (senior) or full names instead.
• The age gap is not so large that a more formal title is expected. Calling your 60-year-old professor "hyung" would not go over well.

Hyung vs. oppa

The difference is your own gender. A woman calls an older male oppa. A man calls an older male hyung. The older male is the same person. The word changes based on who is speaking.

The 동갑 exception

If two males are born in the same year, they are 동갑 (dong-gap), meaning same age. Neither one uses hyung for the other. They speak casually as equals. Jimin and V are both born in 1995, which is partly why they talk to each other without honorifics. They are 동갑, so formality is not required.

Want to check if you are 동갑 with your favorite idol? Try the calculator.