What does 희망 mean?
희망 (hui-mang) means: Hope, or a bright prospect for the future.
Speakers use this noun when looking ahead with expectation, or when pointing to the potential for success in future events. It frequently combines with verbs of holding, carrying, and abandoning, such as 가지다, 품다, 걸다, and 놓다, as well as verbs describing rising expectations like 부풀다. It also appears in compound expressions like 희망 사항 to refer to desired outcomes. In everyday interaction, it can be used to urge focus or responsibility, as when an elder tells a younger family member that they represent the family's future.
Depending on the context, attaching the word to abstract goals can sometimes sound distant from immediate realities, or carry a heavy sense of expectation for the listener.
Depending on the context, attaching the word to abstract goals can sometimes sound distant from immediate realities, or carry a heavy sense of expectation for the listener.
Other sides of 희망
◆ resume_and_interview — Speakers use this noun to describe expectations, desires, or goals concerning future outcomes, frequently appearing in noun-modifier compounds such as 희망 사항 (wishes or preferences) and 희망 연봉 (desired salary). It combines with verbs like 품다, 가지다, and 걸다 when expressing aspirations for oneself or others, and appears alongside words like 가능성 or 조건 in professional or administrative contexts. In such settings, it functions to state preferences or targets clearly and politely rather than to express deep emotion.
In professional and application contexts, this can function as a neutral, polite modifier rather than an emotional state, carrying a calculated and transactional tone.
◆ fandom_and_concert — Speakers use this word when talking about future expectations or the potential for something to go well, combining it with verbs like 가지다, 품다, 걸다, and 안다. It appears in contexts ranging from personal life goals to family aspirations, often modified by adjectives like 간절한 or 막연한. In dialogue, it is used by speakers discussing personal ambitions or by elders designating someone as the family's future.
Among K-pop fans, this term is sometimes used half-ironically or desperately to describe an idol's bare minimum interaction, shifting from grand hope to tiny slivers of probability.
◆ existential_coping — Speakers use the compound expression 희망 사항 to refer to outcomes they desire but view as unlikely or distant. It frequently appears in casual exchanges where someone names an ideal personal goal, only for another speaker to question its realism. The phrase often combines with statements about personal wishes or parenting ideals, signaling a gap between current circumstances and future aspirations.
When attached to personal plans or traits, it can carry a self-deprecating or resigned tone, separating a naive dream from harsh daily reality.
In professional and application contexts, this can function as a neutral, polite modifier rather than an emotional state, carrying a calculated and transactional tone.
◆ fandom_and_concert — Speakers use this word when talking about future expectations or the potential for something to go well, combining it with verbs like 가지다, 품다, 걸다, and 안다. It appears in contexts ranging from personal life goals to family aspirations, often modified by adjectives like 간절한 or 막연한. In dialogue, it is used by speakers discussing personal ambitions or by elders designating someone as the family's future.
Among K-pop fans, this term is sometimes used half-ironically or desperately to describe an idol's bare minimum interaction, shifting from grand hope to tiny slivers of probability.
◆ existential_coping — Speakers use the compound expression 희망 사항 to refer to outcomes they desire but view as unlikely or distant. It frequently appears in casual exchanges where someone names an ideal personal goal, only for another speaker to question its realism. The phrase often combines with statements about personal wishes or parenting ideals, signaling a gap between current circumstances and future aspirations.
When attached to personal plans or traits, it can carry a self-deprecating or resigned tone, separating a naive dream from harsh daily reality.
How it's actually used
- 지수는 언젠가 가수가 되리라는 희망을 가지고 있다.
ji-sun-neun eon-jen-ga ga-su-ga doe-ri-ra-neun hui-mang-eul gaj-go it-da.
Jisoo has the hope of becoming a singer someday.
💡 Shows the word used with the verb 가지다 to express a future aspiration. - 승규야, 네가 우리 가족의 희망이니 열심히 공부해라.
seung-gyu-ya, ne-ga u-ri ga-jok-ui hui-mang-i-ni yeol-sim-hi gong-bu-hae-ra.
Seunggyu, study hard because you are our family's hope.
💡 Shows an older speaker addressing a younger family member directly. - 그는 수술을 통해 완치될 수 있을 것이라는 마지막 희망의 끈을 놓지 않고 있다.
geu-neun su-sul-eul tong-hae wan-chi-doel su is-eul geot-i-ra-neun ma-ji-mak hui-mang-ui kkeun-eul noh-ji anh-go it-da.
He is not letting go of his last thread of hope that he can be completely cured through surgery.
💡 Shows the word combined with a metaphor of holding on to a final chance.