Dictionary — Entry No. 0645
울었어
ureosseo · verb
울었어
ureosseo
[oo-ruh-SUH]
verbbeginner
Meaning
The informal past tense of 울다 (ulda), meaning ‘cried.’ Used casually to describe past crying. In Korean culture, emotional expression carries no stigma, so saying 울었어 is open and vulnerable rather than embarrassing.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
K-Drama fans are famous for crying along with characters, and ‘나 울었어’ (I cried) is almost a badge of honor in online fan communities. BLACKPINK’s emotionally charged concert film Light Up the Sky and BTS’s tearful Grammy speech both triggered waves of 울었어 posts from fans sharing their catharsis.
Example Sentences
나 그 장면에서 울었어.
Na geu janmyeoneseo ureosseo.
I cried at that scene. (the ultimate relatable K-Drama fan confession)
왜 울었어?
Wae ureosseo?
Why did you cry? (gentle concern from a friend who notices you’ve been upset)
콘서트에서 진짜로 울었어.
Konseuteu-eseo jinjalro ureosseo.
I actually cried at the concert. (진짜로 = really/honestly — validating a big emotional experience)
⚠️ Don’t use ureosseo when…
Don’t confuse 울었어 (ureosseo, ‘cried’) with 웃었어 (useosseo, ‘laughed’) — the vowel after the first consonant is the key: 울 (ul) = cry, 웃 (ut) = laugh. Mixing these up in a drama discussion completely reverses the emotional meaning of a scene.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Our Beloved Summer — Choi Ung quietly admits 울었어 while watching old videos of him and Yeon-su, cracking the stoic exterior he maintains for most of the series in one devastating moment.
- K-Pop: BLACKPINK — ‘Stay’ — the emotional ballad regularly makes fans cry at concerts, and 울었어 fills comment sections when fans share personal connections to the song in fancam threads.
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.