Friends and Acquaintances

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TL;DR — Today's 5 words:

친구 (friend — typically someone your own age)

지인 (acquaintance — someone you know, but not closely)

동료 (colleague / coworker)

선배 (senior — someone ahead of you in school or work)

후배 (junior — someone behind you in school or work)

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Iru's Note 🦋

This is our last new-vocabulary stop before the big milestone review! 친구, 지인, 동료, 선배, 후배 — these words map out the social world: how close you are to someone, and where you stand relative to them. Korean relationships are often shaped by relative rank (선배/후배) as much as by closeness (친구/지인), so these five words will come up constantly in real conversations. Once you've got them down, head over to <mention-page url="

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Milestone: 100/100 Basic Vocabulary"> to celebrate everything you've learned!

Here's all five words in one story: 처음엔 그냥 지인이었던 사람이 이제는 가장 친한 친구가 됐어요. 회사에서 만난 선배와 후배도 이제 모두 제 동료예요. (Someone who was just an acquaintance at first has become my closest friend. The seniors and juniors I met at work are all my colleagues now too.)

🎯 Big Picture

Korean has a rich vocabulary for describing exactly how you relate to someone — not just whether you know them, but how close you are (친구 vs. 지인) and where you stand relative to them (선배 vs. 후배). 친구 (friend) is a word with a cultural rule attached: it's generally reserved for people your own age, since Korean social relationships are heavily organized around age and seniority. 지인 is the word for someone you know but aren't close to — a much more neutral, distant term. 동료 describes a coworker or peer at work, regardless of how close you are personally. And 선배/후배 — "senior" and "junior" — describe relative rank based on who came first (in school, at a job, in a club), independent of age.

Together, these five words will let you describe your entire social and professional circle — and they wrap up our Basic Vocabulary journey perfectly, since "people" vocabulary is something you'll use in literally every conversation.

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 친구 (friend)

A friend — but culturally, this word usually implies someone close to your own age.

제 친구는 노래를 정말 잘해요. (My friend sings really well.)

우리는 어릴 때부터 친구예요. (We've been friends since we were little.)

Grammar note: In Korean, calling someone older than you 친구 can sound disrespectful — 친구 implies a peer relationship. For people of different ages, Korean uses other words (형/오빠/언니/누나, or 선배/후배) instead.

2. 지인 (acquaintance)

Someone you know, but not closely — more distant and neutral than 친구.

그 사람은 그냥 지인이에요. (That person is just an acquaintance.)

지인을 통해 그 식당을 소개받았어요. (I was introduced to that restaurant through an acquaintance.)

Grammar note: 지인 (知人, "known person") is common in slightly formal or written contexts — describing someone in your broader network without implying friendship.

3. 동료 (colleague / coworker)

A peer-level coworker — someone you work alongside, regardless of personal closeness.

제 동료는 정말 똑똑해요. (My colleague is really smart.)

동료들과 점심을 같이 먹었어요. (I had lunch with my colleagues.)

Grammar note: 동료 (同僚, "same-colleague") can combine with a field: 직장 동료 (work colleague), 학교 동료 (school colleague — less common, usually 동기 is used instead). 동료 doesn't require friendship — you can have a 동료 you don't get along with.

4. 선배 (senior)

Someone who came before you — joined the school, company, or group earlier than you did. A core concept in Korean social hierarchy.

그분은 제 대학 선배예요. (That person is my senior from university.)

선배님께 조언을 구했어요. (I asked my senior for advice.)

Grammar note: 선배 (先輩, "before-generation") often takes the honorific 선배님 when addressing someone directly. 선배/후배 status is relative — it depends on when each person joined, not age.

5. 후배 (junior)

The mirror image of 선배 — someone who joined after you.

후배들이 저를 잘 따라요. (My juniors look up to me / follow my lead well.)

그는 제 회사 후배예요. (He's my junior at work.)

Grammar note: 후배 (後輩, "after-generation") rarely takes 님 — you wouldn't call someone "후배님" the way you'd say "선배님." The same person can be your 선배 in one context (e.g., at your old job) and your 후배 in another (e.g., at a new shared hobby club).

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

제 친구는 직장에서 제 선배예요. (My friend is my senior at work.)

그 지인은 알고 보니 제 후배의 동료였어요. (That acquaintance turned out to be my junior's colleague.)

학교에서는 제가 후배였지만, 지금 회사에서는 제가 선배예요. (I was the junior at school, but now I'm the senior at work.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

친구 is a native Korean word (고유어) and culturally implies a same-age peer relationship.

지인 (知人), 동료 (同僚), 선배 (先輩), and 후배 (後輩) are all Sino-Korean (한자어) words, which tend to sound more neutral or formal.

선배/후배 are relative terms — they describe rank based on order of joining, not absolute status. The same person can be both, depending on which group you're talking about.

님 can be added to 선배 (선배님) as an honorific when addressing someone directly, but is rarely added to 친구, 지인, 동료, or 후배.

These words combine with context words to get specific: 직장 동료 (work colleague), 대학 선배 (university senior), 학교 후배 (school junior).

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Cross-check it yourself: Search 친구, 지인, 동료, 선배, and 후배 on the 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 (Standard Korean Dictionary) to see their full range of meanings and usage examples.

🔁 Synonym Alert

친구 vs. 동료: 친구 is a personal relationship based on closeness (and usually similar age). 동료 is a professional relationship based on working together — you can be 동료 without being 친구, and 친구 without being 동료.

선배/후배 vs. 형·오빠·언니·누나: 선배/후배 are based on relative rank within a shared group (school year, company tenure), while 형/오빠/언니/누나 are based on actual age and feel more like family terms. The same older person could be addressed as 형 (if close) or 선배님 (if more formal/work-related).

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

Don't call someone older than you 친구 — it implies you see them as a peer, which can come across as disrespectful.

선배/후배 are relative, not fixed — the same person can be your 선배 in one group and your 후배 in another.

지인 is more distant than 친구 — don't use it to describe your close friends, or it'll sound like you're downplaying the relationship.

동료 doesn't guarantee friendship — it's a workplace/professional term, separate from how close you actually feel to someone.

선배님 (with 님) is common and polite; "후배님" is unusual — 후배 typically doesn't take the honorific suffix.

친구, 지인, 동료, 선배, 후배 — 이제 여러분의 사회 생활을 한국어로 그릴 수 있어요! 🤝

Try this exercise

제 ___는 노래를 정말 잘해요. (My friend sings really well.)

그 사람은 그냥 ___이에요. (That person is just an acquaintance.)

제 ___는 정말 똑똑해요. (My colleague is really smart.)

그분은 제 대학 ___예요. (That person is my senior from university.)

___들이 저를 잘 따라요. (My juniors look up to me.)

우리는 어릴 때부터 ___예요. (We've been friends since we were little.)

___을 통해 그 식당을 소개받았어요. (I was introduced to that restaurant through an acquaintance.)

___들과 점심을 같이 먹었어요. (I had lunch with my colleagues.)

___님께 조언을 구했어요. (I asked my senior for advice.)

그는 제 회사 ___예요. (He's my junior at work.)

Answer Key

친구

지인

동료

선배

후배

친구

지인

동료

선배

후배

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Vocabulary Box: 친구 (friend) · 지인 (acquaintance) · 동료 (colleague) · 선배 (senior) · 후배 (junior)

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Pitfalls Recap: 친구 = peer/same-age only · 선배/후배 = relative, not fixed · 지인 ≠ close friend · 동료 ≠ guaranteed friendship · 선배님 yes, "후배님" unusual

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Want more reps? Head down to the Practice Hub below for 10 bonus words and 5 more exercises!

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Practice Hub 📦 — Ready for more? Here are 10 bonus relationship words (단짝, 절친, 동기, 이웃, 짝꿍, 멘토, 멘티, 라이벌, 동창, 팬) plus 5 exercises to lock everything in.

Exercise 1 — Translate It 🔤

단짝 (translate to English)

절친 (translate to English)

동기 (translate to English)

이웃 (translate to English)

짝꿍 (translate to English)

멘토 (translate to English)

멘티 (translate to English)

라이벌 (translate to English)

동창 (translate to English)

팬 (translate to English)

Answer Key

단짝 — best friend/bosom buddy

절친 — close friend (short for 절친한 친구)

동기 — person from the same entry year (classmate/cohort)

이웃 — neighbor

짝꿍 — desk-mate/partner (paired-up buddy)

멘토 — mentor

멘티 — mentee

라이벌 — rival

동창 — alumni/schoolmate (graduated together)

팬 — fan

Exercise 2 — Match the Meaning 🔗

멘토

멘티

라이벌

동창

이웃

A. person being mentored

B. someone who lives nearby

C. person you graduated with

D. person who gives guidance

E. competitor/rival

Answer Key

1 → D (멘토 = mentor)

2 → A (멘티 = mentee)

3 → E (라이벌 = rival)

4 → C (동창 = schoolmate/alumni)

5 → B (이웃 = neighbor)

Exercise 3 — Spot the Shared Root 🧱

동(同) means "same," and 선(先)/후(後) mean "before/after." Match each word to the root it contains.

동료

동기

동창

선배

후배

선생님

Answer Key

동료 — 동(同) = "same workplace"

동기 — 동(同) = "same entry year"

동창 — 동(同) = "same school, graduated together"

선배 — 선(先) = "came before"

후배 — 후(後) = "came after"

선생님 — 선(先) appears here too, in 선생(先生, "born/started before" → teacher)

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Quick Reference — Relationship Roots: 동(同) = "same" (동료=same workplace, 동기=same entry year, 동창=same school graduation); 선(先) = "before" (선배=senior, 선생님=teacher); 후(後) = "after" (후배=junior). Recognizing these roots helps you guess new relationship words on sight!

Exercise 4 — Sort by Closeness 📋

Sort these words into Close (친한 관계) vs. Distant/Neutral (먼/중립적 관계): 친구, 지인, 단짝, 절친, 동료, 라이벌, 이웃, 동창

Answer Key

Close: 친구, 단짝, 절친

Distant/Neutral: 지인, 동료, 라이벌, 이웃, 동창

Exercise 5 — Fill in the Story 📖

Complete the short story with words from today's lesson and the bonus list: 친구, 지인, 동료, 선배, 후배, 단짝, 동창, 이웃

어릴 때부터 함께 자란 ___예요. (best friend)

대학교를 같이 졸업한 ___을 만났어요. (schoolmate/alumni)

회사에서 새로 들어온 ___에게 점심을 사 줬어요. (junior)

옆집에 사는 ___와 인사를 나눴어요. (neighbor)

입사 첫날, ___님께 도움을 많이 받았어요. (senior)

파티에서 새로운 ___을 많이 만났어요. (acquaintances)

같은 팀 ___들과 회의를 했어요. (colleagues)

제일 친한 ___와 여행을 갔어요. (friend)

Answer Key

단짝

동창

후배

이웃

선배

지인

동료

친구

친구부터 후배까지 — 여러분의 사회적 관계를 모두 한국어로 표현할 수 있어요! 이제 마일스톤으로 가볼까요? 🎉