Nuance Dictionary / Slang & Internet Culture
킹받다 king-bat-da
To playfully rib a friend for being harmlessly smug, cheesy, or trying too hard to look cool.
What does 킹받다 mean?
킹받다 (king-bat-da) means: To playfully rib a friend for being harmlessly smug, cheesy, or trying too hard to look cool.
While 킹받다 can stem from genuine frustration online, among close friends it becomes a weapon of affectionate mockery. You use this when someone posts a slightly too-aesthetic selfie or makes an unearned flex, signaling 'I see right through your ego, you absolute dork.' Learners often treat it like a heavy insult, but in this register, it’s closer to an eye-roll accompanied by a smirk.
Other sides of 킹받다
◆ Cute Aggression in Fandoms — While its base meaning is a Gen-Z slang upgrade of '열받다' (to be pissed off) using the English prefix 'king-', in online fandoms and close friendships it takes on a wildly affectionate twist. Natives use it when someone's visual or behavior is so annoyingly flawless that it triggers a kind of comedic jealousy. If a bias posts a mirror selfie that is just too absurdly gorgeous, fans don't just swoon—they scream that they are 킹받다. Learners often mistake this for actual anger or literal annoyance, missing the secret layer of adoration and dramatic simulation of defeat.
◆ Petty Everyday Absurdities — Natives reach for this when a website freezes at 99%, an umbrella breaks the second it starts raining, or someone sends a text that's just a passive-aggressive period. It fuses 'king' (extremely) with 'batda' (to receive/get pissed), creating a tone of high-drama eye-rolling rather than actual rage. Learners often misuse it as a heavy swear or confuse it with genuine anger, missing the core ingredient: you're laughing at how stupidly annoying the situation is.
◆ Petty Everyday Absurdities — Natives reach for this when a website freezes at 99%, an umbrella breaks the second it starts raining, or someone sends a text that's just a passive-aggressive period. It fuses 'king' (extremely) with 'batda' (to receive/get pissed), creating a tone of high-drama eye-rolling rather than actual rage. Learners often misuse it as a heavy swear or confuse it with genuine anger, missing the core ingredient: you're laughing at how stupidly annoying the situation is.
🎙️ 킹받다는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [킹받따]로 소리나요 (경음화). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 아 또 셀카 폼 잡았네, 진짜 킹받아.
a tto sel-ka pom jap-ass-ne, jin-jja king-bat-a.
Ah, striking that try-hard selfie pose again, you're so cringely annoying.
💡 Exposes the classic playful call-out of a friend's curated self-absorption. - 그 표정 뭐냐? 킹받게 왜 이래.
geu pyo-jeong mwo-nya? king-bat-ge wae i-rae.
What's with that smug face? Why you gotta act like such a troll.
💡 Highlights how the word targets an irritatingly self-satisfied facial expression. - 너 방금 그 대사 은근 킹받았어, 알냐?
neo bang-geum geu dae-sa eun-geun king-bat-ass-eo, al-nya?
That cheesy line you just dropped was low-key infuriating, you know that?
💡 Shows the word being used to roast someone's painfully unoriginal pick-up line or joke.
Related words in Slang & Internet Culture
킹받네 king-bat-ne꾸안꾸 kku-an-kku꾸러기 kku-reo-gi꿀잼 kkul-jaem꿀팁 kkul-tip