Dictionary — Entry No. 0339
좀
jom · adverb
좀
jom
[johm]
adverbbeginner
Meaning
A softening adverb meaning ‘a little,’ ‘somewhat,’ or ‘please.’ It tones down requests and commands so they sound more polite and less demanding. In everyday Korean speech, 좀 is used constantly to add nuance, urgency, or a pleading quality to almost any sentence.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
In BTS’s Run BTS variety episodes, members pepper their banter with 좀 when making playful requests of each other, showing how natural it sounds in casual speech. K-Drama characters in Crash Landing on You frequently use 좀 to soften urgent asks—Se-ri’s desperate ‘좀 도와주세요’ is a memorable fan-recalled moment. IU’s conversational lyric style in ‘Palette’ mirrors how 좀 flows effortlessly into natural Korean dialogue, making it one of the first adverbs music-based learners pick up.
Example Sentences
좀 도와줄 수 있어?
Jom dowajul su isseo?
Can you help me a little? (softer than without 좀; implies a gentle plea rather than a demand)
조용히 좀 해줘.
Joyonghi jom haejwo.
Please be a little quiet. (좀 transforms a blunt command into a polite request)
잠깐만 좀 기다려.
Jamkkanman jom gidaryeo.
Just wait a moment, please. (stacking 잠깐만 + 좀 adds urgency while keeping the tone soft)
⚠️ Don’t use jom when…
Don’t confuse 좀 (johm, ‘a little/please’) with 좋 (joh-, the root of ‘good’)—they look similar but mean completely different things. Also, 좀 alone does not make a sentence polite; you still need the right speech-level ending like -줘 or -세요 to complete the register.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Crash Landing on You — Se-ri urgently says ‘좀 도와주세요’ when she needs Jeong-hyeok’s help, perfectly showing how 좀 adds emotional weight and desperation to a plea.
- K-Pop: IU — ‘Palette’ (팔레트) — the song’s intimate, conversational lyric style reflects exactly how 좀 softens and humanizes everyday Korean speech.
ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.