Data Firmware

Facebook Pokes in Korean

Facebook Pokes in Korean

I think Koreans utilize the "Poke" feature of Facebook more than most Westerners do*. The "poke" was always a sort of cute, shy, flirty, ?? sort of feature anyway. But let "Pokes" be a lesson in never quite trusting online translators.

In Korean, a Facebook "poke" is called ? ???, a literal translation of "to be poked", from ??? (to poke, prick, prod, jab) and ? (the sound/feeling/action of a light poke, like ??? Ramen, named for the holes youre meant to poke in the lid).

Heres an example of when someone "pokes" you on Facebook when your language is set to Korean:

ABC?? ???? ???? 5? ? ?????!
(??)
?? ? ????

ABC poked you 5 times in a row!
(just now)
Poke them back

Heres the funny part. If you saw someone on Facebook talking about this, and you didnt know exactly what this meant, and you tried to translate it online, youd see this, and perhaps have a very different idea of what is going on here:


Yes, Google translates ? ????? as "pierced cock". And it gets worse if you try translating the whole chunk at once:

ABC?? ???? ???? 5? ? ?????!
?? ? ????

ABCs This cock was stabbed five times in succession you!
I view stabbing cock

Im not a big fan of stabs in the cock. Google is probably translating ? in one of two ways:

1. the sound itself, spoken "cock/coke" in Korean. Recall this unfortunate instructor. Or
2. cock as in a badminton shuttlecock. I always chuckle when walking through the sporting goods aisle.

So feel free to "poke" your Korean friends with abandon. Just dont get any weird ideas if they respond that they want to ?? your ?.

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* The screenshot is from a coworker, who didnt have any "single" poke notifications. He had exchanged pokes with people 5-, 12-, 23-, and 67- times in-a-row. Now thats dedication.

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