[Korean Culture & Language] Adorkable

Hello, this is Uptempo!

A guy with ‘너드미’ and ‘찐따미’ has become popular among Korean girls lately. 

‘너드’ means ‘a nerd,’
‘찐따’ means ‘a loser’ or ‘a dork’
‘미’ means ‘beauty’ or ‘charm’

Both ‘너드’ and ‘찐따’ are quirky and socially awkward people who seem to be out of touch with modern trends, but ‘너드’ usually are recognized for their intellectual prowess. ‘찐따’ doesn’t usually have the same level of intelligence as ‘너드’.
While words like ‘너드’ and ‘찐따’ can be used in both positive and negative contexts, ‘너드미’ and ‘찐따미’ are always used positively. The closest English translation would be ‘adorkable.’ It implies that one’s ‘너드’ or ‘찐따’ characteristics are part of what makes them charming.

It is interesting how the word ‘찐따미/너드미’ is defined differently by men and women.

The following video illustrates an average woman’s definition of the word ‘너드남/찐따남’:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fXyjP2qKj0g

The girl defines a ‘너드남(nerdy man)’ as “옷 대충 입고 다니고, 안경 쓰고, 착하고, 감수성 풍부한데, 주변엔 친구 없고, SNS도 잘 안 하고”. It translates to: “A nerd wouldn’t care about fashion, wears glasses, is gentle, is highly sensitive, doesn’t have many friends, and doesn’t use social media.”
While a man next to her thinks that he could be the ‘너드남,’ while the other man claims there are many guys around him who are like that. However, she ends the description with “그런데, 잘생겨야해요. (But he must be good-looking).”

Do you consider yourself to be a ‘너드’ or ‘찐따?’
It isn’t hard to be a ‘너드’ or ‘찐따’. However, one must put forth some effort to have ‘너드미’ or ‘찐따미’.