Nuance Dictionary / Culture & Language
텃세 teot-se
The territorial bullying, exclusion, and hazing established group members inflict on a newcomer to assert their dominance.
What does 텃세 mean?
텃세 (teot-se) means: The territorial bullying, exclusion, and hazing established group members inflict on a newcomer to assert their dominance.
Speakers reach for this word when established members of a group act high-handedly toward someone who joins later. It appears in situations involving newcomers entering existing social circles, schools, or workplaces where seniority shapes daily interactions. The word frequently combines with verbs meaning to wield or exert power, and adjectives describing intensity such as 'severe' or 'strong'.
This can signal an unspoken social hierarchy within a group, where newcomers are expected to navigate subtle tests before gaining acceptance.
This can signal an unspoken social hierarchy within a group, where newcomers are expected to navigate subtle tests before gaining acceptance.
Other sides of 텃세
◆ Regional and neighborhood gatekeeping — Speakers use this when long-term residents of a specific area or hometown display hostility, exclusion, or a sense of superiority toward outsiders moving in. It appears in contexts involving local commerce and long-standing communities. It commonly combines with verbs like 부리다 and adjectives like 심하다 and 세다.
This can carry a strong sense of entrenched local insularity, framing newcomers as unwelcome intruders into an established social order.
◆ Industry and professional monopoly — Speakers use this to describe established merchants or workers in a specific market or trade who use their prior footing to block newcomers from successfully operating. It turns up in discussions of commercial spaces like traditional markets as well as established trades like shining shoes. It frequently combines with modifiers indicating intensity, such as 세다 or 심하다, and verbs like 부리다.
This can evoke a strong sense of entrenched unfairness, painting older market participants as protective gatekeepers who treat outsiders as unwelcome competitors.
This can carry a strong sense of entrenched local insularity, framing newcomers as unwelcome intruders into an established social order.
◆ Industry and professional monopoly — Speakers use this to describe established merchants or workers in a specific market or trade who use their prior footing to block newcomers from successfully operating. It turns up in discussions of commercial spaces like traditional markets as well as established trades like shining shoes. It frequently combines with modifiers indicating intensity, such as 세다 or 심하다, and verbs like 부리다.
This can evoke a strong sense of entrenched unfairness, painting older market participants as protective gatekeepers who treat outsiders as unwelcome competitors.
🎙️ 텃세는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [턷쎄]로 소리나요 (경음화, 받침규칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 처음 전학을 왔을 때 텃세를 부리는 친구들 때문에 학교생활이 힘들었다.
cheoe-eum jeon-hag-eul wat-eul ttae teot-se-reul bu-ri-neun chin-gu-deul ttae-mun-e hak-gyo-saenghwal-i him-deul-eot-da.
School life was difficult when I first transferred because of classmates showing newcomer hazing.
💡 A speaker describing a difficult adjustment period after transferring schools. - 너 신입생들에게 너무 텃세를 부리는 거 아니야? 왜 그렇게 퉁명스럽게 굴어?
neo sin-ip-saeng-deul-ege neomu teot-se-reul bu-ri-neun geo an-i-ya? wae geureohge tung-myeong-seureop-ge gul-eo?
Aren't you hazing the freshmen too much? Why are you being so blunt?
💡 One person confronting another about treating newcomers harshly. - 구두 닦기도 텃세가 있어서 무턱대고 구두 통을 메고 쏘다닐 수 없다는 것을 종세는 잘 알고 있었다.
gudu dak-gi-do teot-se-ga isseoseo muteokdae-go gudu tong-eul me-go ssodan-il su eobs-da-neun geoseul jong-se-neun jal algo isseot-da.
Jong-se knew well that even shoe shining had its own territorial hazing, so he could not simply shoulder his box and walk around anywhere.
💡 A narrative description of established practitioners restricting entry into a trade.
Related words in Culture & Language
트민남 teu-min-nam뚜벅이 ttu-beog-i예의 바르다 Ye-ui-ba-reu-da예의 yeui눈치 nun-chi