What 씹 means
Alone, 씹 is obscene; 씹다 can be an ordinary verb or slang.
On its own, it is a vulgar, derogatory noun for female genitals and, by extension, sex. In an outburst, a lone 씹 can instead be a clipped swear; its force matters more than a literal gloss.
An older form of Korean had 십다, the verb “to chew”; it appears in the Korean text Worin seokbo in 1459. That records an old chewing verb, not the origin date of the vulgar noun or its connection to curses.
Why does someone send just 씹?
A lone 씹 after a mishap can read as a clipped curse.
Spellings such as 씹... and 씨..ㅂ can shorten the curse 씨발. Some usage accounts connect 씨발 with 씹할, but that derivation is disputed; treat them as related curse forms, not interchangeable spellings.
The verb 씹다 also has slang senses: talking badly about someone or ignoring them. 읽씹 means reading a message and not replying; 안읽씹 means leaving it unread. These terms distinguish two ways of ignoring a message.
Why do Korean posts disguise 씹?
Spacing, initials, and punctuation can hide taboo wording from filters.
A 2018 study of Korean news comments records altered taboo spellings, including split forms such as 씹 새 and the initials ㅆㅂ. Writers may use these changes to get around site filters or make a taboo term less direct.
The disguise signals awareness that the wording is taboo. It can make the insult less direct, but does not make it mild.
Sexually vulgar or coarse; avoid it in formal, workplace, and unfamiliar-company messages.
Alone? Read it as profanity before “chew.”
What it means when someone sends it to you
4 readingsDon't confuse it with
1Combination ideas
3Questions people ask
3Is 씹 the same as 씹다?
No. 씹다 is the complete verb form; 씹 is one syllable that appears in different words. The rest of the Korean word or sentence determines the reading.
Can I send 씹 to a coworker?
No. It is sexually vulgar and may land as a strong insult or clipped curse. Keep it out of workplace and unfamiliar-company messages.
Why is 씹 sometimes written as ㅆㅂ?
That link is easy to overread: ㅆㅂ usually abbreviates the separate curse 씨발 by its initial consonants. It is not a direct spelling of 씹; altered profanity may still be used to dodge filters.
How to type 씹
씹\C539Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.