ajumma
/əˈd͡ʒʊmə/
ajumma noun: a married middle-aged Korean woman.
Noun
ajumma (plural ajummas)
- A married middle-aged Korean woman.
- We were standing in the heart of the jimjilbang^([sic]), or Korean bathhouse, in a steaming, all-female bathing room where scrubs are administered (as they are across the land) by strict middle-aged women, more than a few of them with potbellies, who wear nothing but sexy black lace bras and...2014 February 9, Jodi Kantor, “A Look at Korea's Culture From the Bathhouse”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022
- Knowing that an ajumma would always be within arm's reach, like a Korean fairy godmother, traveling further afield grew less daunting.2018 December 7, Julia M. Adler, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Seoul’s no-nonsense guardian angels”, in The Seattle Times, Seattle, W.A.: The Seattle Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
Examples of ajumma in a sentence
- Arcadia had whispered to me that the women were ajummas, which means "aunties" and connotes matronly, working-class women known for no-nonsense warmth and authority.2014 February 9, Jodi Kantor, “A Look at Korea's Culture From the Bathhouse”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times...
- I remember watching the Korean church ajummas (married, middle-aged women) spread sticky white rice onto sheets of seaweed, expertly rolling them up before our church members embarked on group hikes.2023 March 9, Dakota Kim, “Gorp is fine, but what about kimbap? Savor some food inspiration for your next hike”, in Los Angeles Times, Los...
- Turns out crocheting these scrubbers is a pastime among certain Korean ajummas, who love to give them away as gifts.2023 September 14, Lauren Ro, “I Can't Stop Buying Sparkly Korean Dish Scrubbers”, in The Strategist, New York, N.Y.: New York Media...
Forms of ajumma
| plural | ajummas |
|---|---|
| alternative form | ahjumma |
| alternative form | ajooma |
| alternative form | ajoomma |
| alternative form | ajuma |
| alternative form | ahjuma |
Origin of ajumma
Borrowed from Korean 아줌마 (ajumma).
Questions about ajumma
- What does ajumma mean?
- Ajumma means a married middle-aged Korean woman.
- How do you use ajumma in a sentence?
- Arcadia had whispered to me that the women were ajummas, which means "aunties" and connotes matronly, working-class women known for no-nonsense warmth and authority.
- What part of speech is ajumma?
- Ajumma is a noun.
- How do you pronounce ajumma?
- Ajumma is pronounced /əˈd͡ʒʊmə/.
- What is the plural of ajumma?
- The plural of ajumma is ajummas.
Words near ajumma in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ajumma (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sapaa-ajumma.wav.
Cite this entry: “ajumma.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ajumma. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.