What 킁 means
A sniff, snort, or dismissive “hmph,” depending on context.
Think nose, not mouth: 킁 imitates a sharp breath through the nostrils. Doubled as 킁킁 it acts out a person or animal sniffing around for a smell; a lone 킁 is the short, punchy version.
As of 2026, no source checked here establishes the exact form's earliest written attestation or a one-off inventor. Read it functionally: a native Korean sound-symbolic syllable, recycled in chats and comics for attitude.
What does 킁 mean when someone sends it?
Read the nearby words before choosing between sniff and “hmph.”
After a complaint or disagreement, bare 킁 is usually a playful nose-huff: yeah, right. In a food, pet, or smell scene, it is literal sniffing — and 킁킁 points strongly to repeated sniffing.
흥 is the closest meaning-neighbor, not a twin: it is the clearer mocking “bah” or “humph.” With only 킁 on screen, treat it as tone first, information second.
Casual and sound-effect-like; playful with friends, but a bare 킁 can land as a dismissive nasal “hmph.”
Bare 킁 after disagreement can sound contemptuous; if you mean sniffing, write 킁킁.
Part of the collection
Who writes 킁
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What it means when someone sends it to you
3 readingsA nasal huff: playful disbelief, annoyance, or “hmph.”
Don't confuse it with
3
킁킁 The repeated form, normally pointing to sniffing around or smelling something.
훌쩍훌쩍 Usually repeated sniffling, sobbing, or drinking in sips; it is not the same sound effect.
Combination ideas
1Questions people ask
2킁 vs 킁킁: what's the difference?
One sniff versus sniffing around. 킁 is a single short nasal sound; 킁킁 repeats it and normally means following or checking a smell.
Can 킁 sound rude?
It can. After disagreement, a bare 킁 may read as a dismissive “hmph,” so keep it for playful or familiar chats.
More like this
13
How to type or find 킁
- Search it as
- sniff · snort · huff · hmph · keung · keungkeung · 킁킁 · 콧방귀
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
킁\D081Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.