Unnie And Noona Meaning

In this lesson, you’ll learn the meaning of Unnie (언니) and the meaning of Noona (누나), and how to use these words in everyday situations. If you’re short on time, here are the direct translations of Unnie (언니) and (누나):

• Unnie Meaning (언니) = older sister
• Noona Meaning (누나) = older sister

As you can see, both Unnie and Noona mean ‘older sister’, however, they are not interchangeable. Just like Oppa and Hyung (older brother), when calling a woman Unnie or Noona, the correct one to use depends on whether the speaker is male or female. Let’s look at the meaning and usages of these words one by one.

Unnie Meaning (언니)

Unnie (언니) means ‘older sister’ in Korean. If you are female, you can use 언니 [eon-ni] to call another older woman. This woman doesn’t need to be related to you. You can use 언니 [eon-ni] to call your older female friend, older female family member, or your real older sister.

Unnie Pronunciation (언니)

Unnie (언니) is pronounced as [eon-ni] and sounds like the English words ‘On Knee’.

Unnie In Korean Characters

To write Unnie in Korean, the following Korean characters are used: 언니. In romanized letters, this would be ‘eonni’ but this word is often written as ‘Unnie’, ‘Oni’, or ‘Uni’.

Noona Meaning (누나)

Noona (누나) means ‘older sister’ in Korean. If you are male, you can use 누나 [nu-na] to call another older woman. Again, this woman doesn’t need to be your real older sister. You can use 누나 [nu-na] to call your real sibling, an older female family member, or to an older female friend.

Noona Pronunciation (누나)

Noona (누나) is pronounced exactly as it is spelled. It is pronounced as ‘noo-na’.

Noona In Korean Characters

To write Noona in Korean, the following Korean characters are used: 누나. In romanized letters, this would be ‘nuna’ but this word is often written as ‘Noona’, or ‘Nuna’.

Related Expressions

Now that you know the meaning of Noona and Unnie, check out these related lessons:
Meaning Of Oppa
Meaning Of Hyung
Meaning Of Seonbae
Meaning Of Maknae