야

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ja̠(ː)]
• Phonetic hangul: [야(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Imitative. Compare Arabic يَا (yā).

야 • (ya)

1. (colloquial, only to social equals or inferiors) hey!

   야! 니 전화번호 까먹었단 말이야! ― Ya! Ni jeonhwabeonho kkameogeotdan mar-iya! ― Hey! I forgot your phone number!

   야! 너 일로 와봐. ― Ya! Neo illo wa-bwa. ― Hey! You, come here.

2. whoa; used to convey excitement.

• It is rude to use this to people of greater social status, or in formal contexts even to social inferiors. For example, an older sibling can use this to call a younger sibling, but the reverse is not possible.

Sino-Korean word from 冶 (“(of a woman's look) seductive”).

야 • (ya) (hanja 冶)

1. Root of 야하다 (yahada, “to be lewd, to be NSFW, to be erotic”). Rarely used alone.

야— • (ya-) (hanja 冶)

1. (colloquial) lewd, NSFW, porn, sexy

   ‎야 (ya) + ‎짤 (jjal, “(Internet slang) pic, photo”) → ‎야짤 (yajjal, “porn photo”)

   ‎야 (ya) + ‎겜 (gem, “(Internet slang) video game”) → ‎야겜 (yagem, “porn game”)

• See the hanja entry at 冶 for Sino-Korean compounds of 야 (冶, ya).

Sino-Korean word from 野 (“countryside; out of office”).

야 • (ya) (hanja 野)

1. (politics) opposition party

   Synonyms: 야당(野黨) (yadang), 야권(野圈) (yagwon)

   Antonym: 여(與) (yeo, “ruling party”)

   Coordinate term: 여야(與野) (yeoya)

• Usually written in hanja form in news headlines, even in contemporary text otherwise devoid of Chinese characters.

• See the hanja entry at 野 for Sino-Korean compounds of 야 (野, ya).

Clipping of 야구 갤러리 (yagu gaelleori, “baseball subforum/'gallery' on the Korean internet forum DC Inside”).

야 • (ya)

1. (Internet slang, humorous) (originally) blending element showing endearment.

   Antonym: 코 (ko)

2. (Internet slang, humorous) (more generally) semantically light blending element for humor or emphasis.
3. (Internet slang, humorous) (more generally) word representing some other monosyllabic noun

Originally, this was used in the DC Inside baseball gallery alongside its antonym 코 (ko), representing the rivaling comedy program gallery (코미디 프로그램 갤러리 (komidi peurogeuraem gaelleori)), as a blending element replacing the first syllable of two-or-more-syllable words to show endearment.

Eventually, the usage expanded such that this word became a semantically light blending element for a humorous or emphatic effect. It is sometimes even used for monosyllablic nouns, completely replacing the original word and leaving its meaning to be guessed from context. It is also commonly used to censor profanity or vulgarities.

Modern Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

야 (ya)