Korean syllable 웃

웃 appears in Korean laugh words, and the full word gives it its sense. As a prefix, 웃- means “upper” or “outer,” as in 웃옷.

Text symbol

What 웃 means

The full Korean word decides the meaning. 웃다 means laugh, smile, or laugh at someone; 웃기다 can mean make someone laugh or be absurd. 웃음 is “laughter.”

A Chinese transcription from 1103 records an earlier spoken form of the word. Hangul, created in 1443 to write Korean, groups letters into syllable blocks; its first recorded Hangul spelling is in the 1447 book Seokbo sangjeol.

The prefix 웃- means “upper” or “outer” when no above/below contrast applies. Korean uses 윗- when that contrast matters: 웃옷 is outerwear; 윗옷 is an upper-body garment.

Part of the collection

가

Korean Syllables (Hangul Characters)

Who writes 웃

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Don't confuse it with

윗

Hangul Syllable Wis

웃 vs 윗: The vowels differ. 웃- means “upper/outer” without an above/below contrast; 윗- is used when that contrast matters.

Questions people ask

Why does 웃 show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.