9 Ways to Say "Very" in Korean: 진짜, 정말, 너무, 완전

Every beginner textbook teaches 아주 for "very." Then you talk to an actual Korean person and hear 진짜, 정말, 너무, 완전, 되게, 엄청 — and almost never 아주.

Here's the one idea to take away: Korean intensifiers are not synonyms that differ in strength. They differ in register — how casual you sound — and in what they can attach to. Pick the wrong one and you're still understood, but you sound like a textbook, or like a teenager talking to a boss. Below are nine, each one usable on its own.

1. 진짜 — the everyday "really"

이 집 김치찌개 진짜 맛있어요. — The kimchi stew here is really good.

진짜 is the workhorse. It's casual but not rude, so it's safe with friends, coworkers and shopkeepers alike. Literally it means "real thing," and it still works as a noun — 이거 진짜예요? (Is this genuine?) — which is why 진짜 carries a faint flavor of "I'm not exaggerating." On its own, 진짜요? is the standard polite "Really?" when someone tells you news.

2. 정말 — the same meaning, one step more polite

정말 감사합니다. — Thank you so much.

정말 and 진짜 overlap almost completely, but 정말 sounds a touch more sincere and more formal. It's what you want in writing, in apologies and in thanks: 정말 죄송합니다 (I'm truly sorry) lands better than 진짜 죄송합니다, which can sound a bit breezy for a real apology. If you're texting a professor or leaving a review, reach for 정말.

3. 너무 — "too" that became "so"

오늘 너무 피곤해요. — I'm so tired today.

너무 originally meant excessively, and it still does when the context is negative: 커피가 너무 뜨거워요 (The coffee is too hot). But in daily speech it long ago became the default "so," including with good things — 너무 좋아요, 너무 예뻐요. Older teachers used to correct that; today it's simply how people talk. One thing to watch: the verb 너무하다 keeps the old meaning. 너무해요 means That's too much / that's unfair — a complaint, not a compliment.

4. 완전 — "totally," and only with people you're relaxed around

그 영화 완전 재미있었어요. — That movie was totally fun.

완전 in front of an adjective is casual spoken Korean — fine with friends, classmates and in messages, out of place in a work email or a presentation. It pairs naturally with big reactions like 완전 대박! (That's amazing!), one of the exclamations you'll hear constantly in K-dramas. The neutral, written form is 완전히: 완전히 잊어버렸어요 (I completely forgot).

5. 아주 — the textbook "very" (and that's fine)

날씨가 아주 좋습니다. — The weather is very nice.

아주 isn't wrong, it's just formal. It belongs in 합쇼체 speech, news, presentations and written Korean. Said to a friend over coffee, 아주 맛있어요 sounds oddly stiff, like saying "this is most agreeable" in English. Use it when you're being careful; use 진짜 when you're being human.

6. 되게 — "super," quietly one of the most common

이 카페 되게 조용하네요. — This café is super quiet.

되게 is casual spoken Korean that almost never appears in textbooks, yet Koreans use it constantly. It feels a little softer and more offhand than 진짜 — an observation rather than an exclamation. Spell it 되게, not 대게 (which means snow crab); that mix-up is common even among natives online.

7. 엄청 — "a ton," best with size and quantity

주말이라 사람이 엄청 많아요. — It's the weekend, so there are tons of people.

엄청 is casual and physical — it suggests scale. It shines with 많다, 크다, 비싸다, 멀다: 엄청 비싸요 (It's crazy expensive). You can also use it with feelings (엄청 놀랐어요, I was hugely surprised), but its home turf is amount and size.

8. Stacking two intensifiers — 진짜 너무, 완전 진짜

이거 진짜 너무 맛있어요. — This is seriously so good.

Koreans double up when a single intensifier isn't enough. 진짜 너무 is the most common pairing, and repetition works too: 너무너무 보고 싶어요 (I miss you so, so much). Keep it to two — stacking three sounds childish, which is sometimes exactly the effect you want in cute, 반말 messages to a close friend.

9. 하나도 / 전혀 — intensifying a negative

하나도 안 매워요. — It's not spicy at all.

English says "not at all" with the same word order; Korean uses a dedicated pair. 하나도 (literally "not even one") is the casual one and must be followed by a negative: 하나도 안 어려워요 (It's not hard at all). 전혀 is its more formal twin: 전혀 몰랐어요 (I had no idea). And 별로 softens instead of denying — 별로 안 좋아해요 means I don't really like it, which in Korean is a polite way of saying you don't like it. That understatement is close cousin to the other gentle ways of refusing in Korean.

Quick register chart

One last habit worth building: intensifiers are the easiest words to overuse. If every sentence has 진짜 in it, the word stops carrying weight — exactly as "literally" does in English. Native speakers drop them constantly and let the adjective do the work: 맛있어요 on its own is already a compliment.

These are also perfect words for talking to yourself out loud. React to your own coffee. React to the weather. Five seconds a day and 되게 stops feeling foreign.

Practice

1. You're emailing a professor to thank her. 진짜 감사합니다 or 정말 감사합니다?
2. Your friend sends you a photo of her new puppy. React in casual 반말 using 완전.
3. Say "It's not spicy at all" in 해요체.
4. Which sounds like a textbook if you say it to a close friend at a café — 아주 좋아요 or 되게 좋아요?
5. Translate: "There were so many people at the market." (Use 엄청.)