Dictionary — Entry No. 0704
미소
miso · noun
미소
miso
[mee-SO]
nounbeginner
Meaning
미소 means ‘smile’ — specifically a gentle, soft smile that conveys warmth and affection. Unlike 웃음 (uteum), which broadly covers laughter and smiling, 미소 implies a quiet, tender expression. It is one of the most romanticized words in Korean, appearing constantly in love songs, poetry, and drama dialogue.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
In K-Drama culture, a character’s 미소 is often the precise moment a love interest falls for them — this trope appears memorably in ‘Crash Landing on You’ when Hyun Bin’s stoic Ri Jeong-hyeok breaks into a rare smile. BTS’s Jimin is celebrated by ARMY for his signature eye-smile (눈웃음), which fans describe using 미소. TWICE’s cheerful image is closely tied to the word, with fan chants and fan-made content celebrating each member’s bright, distinctive 미소.
Example Sentences
그녀의 미소가 너무 아름다워요.
Geunyeoui misoga neomu areumdawoyo.
Her smile is so beautiful. (polite speech level — used when sincerely complimenting someone’s expression to a third party)
미소 지어봐, 카메라 봐.
Miso jieobwa, kamera bwa.
Give me a smile, look at the camera. (casual — 미소 짓다 is the verb phrase ‘to smile gently’)
네 미소가 나를 행복하게 해.
Ne misoga nareul haengbokhage hae.
Your smile makes me happy. (romantic/affectionate — extremely common in K-Pop love song lyrics)
⚠️ Don’t use miso when…
Fans constantly confuse Korean 미소 (smile) with Japanese 味噌 (miso soup) — they are phonetically identical but completely unrelated. Second, 미소 refers only to a gentle, soft smile; when someone is laughing loudly or grinning broadly, Koreans use 웃음 (uteum) or 크게 웃다 (laugh loudly) — substituting 미소 in those contexts sounds unnatural.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Crash Landing on You — Ri Jeong-hyeok’s rare, quiet 미소 becomes the pivotal emotional moment that signals his falling in love with Yoon Se-ri
- K-Pop: BTS — ‘Boy With Luv’ (작은 것들을 위한 시) celebrates the simple joy of a loved one’s smile as the most meaningful thing in the world
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.