Nuance Dictionary / People & Relationships
뒷담화 Dwit-dam-hwa
A moral disqualifier used to frame backstabbing as a sign of character deficiency and social immaturity.
What does 뒷담화 mean?
뒷담화 (Dwit-dam-hwa) means: A moral disqualifier used to frame backstabbing as a sign of character deficiency and social immaturity.
Speakers use this term to describe talking behind someone's back and criticizing them while they are not present. It is found in formal contexts, parental warnings, and moral discussions where the behavior itself is condemned as wrong. Teachers and parents often use it to caution others against speaking ill of peers.
Depending on the context, using this term can carry a strong moral judgment, framing the person spoken about as a victim of unfair treatment and the speaker as immature or untrustworthy.
Depending on the context, using this term can carry a strong moral judgment, framing the person spoken about as a victim of unfair treatment and the speaker as immature or untrustworthy.
Other sides of 뒷담화
◆ The Fandom/Internet Echo Chamber — Speakers reach for this word when referring to remarks made about a person who is not present to hear them. It typically appears in informal contexts where individuals discuss others negatively out of their sight. The term functions as a standard noun to describe this specific conversational behavior.
In online fan spaces and digital echo chambers, this act can be stripped of its private, secretive nature and performed publicly to build collective agreement against public figures. Rather than hiding a grievance, participants project it into open forums to validate shared complaints.
In online fan spaces and digital echo chambers, this act can be stripped of its private, secretive nature and performed publicly to build collective agreement against public figures. Rather than hiding a grievance, participants project it into open forums to validate shared complaints.
🎙️ 뒷담화는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [뒫땀화]로 소리나요 (경음화, 받침규칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 당사자가 없는 자리에서 그 사람을 헐뜯음. 또는 그런 말.
dangsajaga eomneun jarieseo geu saram-eul heol-tteum. ttoneun geureon mal.
Speaking ill of someone in their absence, or such words.
💡 Defining the core act of speaking behind someone's back. - 친구의 뒷담화를 하는 것은 바람직하지 않다.
chingu-ui dwit-dam-hwa-reul haneun geos-eun baramjik-haji anta.
Doing backbiting about a friend is not desirable.
💡 A parental or instructional warning against the behavior. - 다른 사람의 뒷담화를 쉽게 하면 신뢰를 잃게 된다.
dareun saram-ui dwit-dam-hwa-reul swipge hamyeon sinloe-reul ilk-ge doenda.
If you easily speak behind other people's backs, you lose trust.
💡 Connecting the act to a loss of moral trustworthiness.
Related words in People & Relationships
인맥 inmaek입이 무겁다 Ip-i mugeopda마음이 통하다 Ma-eum-i tong-ha-da맺다 maetda말을 놓다 Mal-eul no-ta