Standard Lemma guide

oppa

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɒpə/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈəʊpə/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɒpɑː/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈəʊpɑː/
  • General-American: /ˈoʊpə/
  • General-American: /ˈoʊpɑ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒpə
  • rhymes with -əʊpə
  • rhymes with -ɒpɑː
  • rhymes with -əʊpɑː

1

noun

Meaning 1

An affectionate term of address for an older brother or somewhat older man.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: women's speech

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A male idol revered by a younger female fan.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: South Korean idol fandom

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Korean 오빠 (oppa, “elder brother or close elder male friend (of a female)”).

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 歐巴 /欧巴 (ōubā) — term of address
  • Chinese Mandarin: 偶巴 (ǒubā) — term of address
  • Indonesian: oppa — term of address
  • Japanese: オッパ (oppa) — term of address
  • Kazakh: оппа (oppa) — term of address
  • Korean: 오빠 (oppa) — term of address
  • Russian: о́ппа (óppa) — term of address