North Korean→English

Translate North Korean to English the way locals mean it.

North Korean speakers often soften reassurance, acknowledgement, and social judgments with expressions that a textbook reader may take literally.

Going the other way? English to North Korean

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Korean varieties

What locals actually say

기래, 알겠소. 내일 꼭 보내겠소.

Okay, I understand. I’ll definitely send it tomorrow.

기래 is a colloquial northern form of 그래, used here as an easy acknowledgement rather than meaning literally “so.”

일없소, 그럴 수도 있지.

No worries, it happens.

일없다 literally suggests that there is no work or matter, but in North Korean usage it commonly means that something is fine or not a problem.

그 동무는 말이 좀 세오.

That person can be a bit harsh.

동무 is an everyday DPRK form of address for a person or colleague, not necessarily a close friend or ideological comrade, while 말이 세다 describes a harsh tone rather than physical strength.

내화로 내겠소.

I’ll pay in local currency.

내화 means domestic currency and is standard DPRK financial vocabulary, contrasted with 외화 for foreign currency.

동무, 우편국이 어느 쪽에 있소?

Excuse me, which way is the post office?

우편국 is the DPRK-standard word for post office, while South Korean usage generally prefers 우체국. 동무 is also a characteristic public form of address.

감자농마국수 한 그릇 주시오.

Could I have a bowl of potato-starch noodles?

농마 means starch in DPRK usage, where South Korean standard usage generally has 녹말. 주시오 is a formal polite request ending common in North Korean dialogue.

맏아들이 군사복무를 잘하고 있소.

My eldest son is doing his military service well.

군사복무 is the formal DPRK term for military service and reflects official socialist vocabulary.

오늘 작업반에서 새 과업을 받았소.

I was given a new assignment by my work team today.

작업반 means a work team, and 과업 means an assigned task. Together they signal the formal workplace vocabulary of North Korean society.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How North Korean differs

North Korean standard (문화어). Avoid South Korean anglicisms; use DPRK-standard vocabulary where it differs; formal register default.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way