Becoming a fan of BTS can be a bit overwhelming at first. While bopping along to their music and obsessing over how cute they look is fun, you also have to juggle all the lingo the BTS ARMY and the members themselves use.What is a maknae? Why does everyone love the color purple so much? I thought there were only seven members, so who the heck is Agust D?Don't despair, though — I've compiled a glossary of BTS words every ARMY should know.
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook have dominated the globe since their debut in 2013. As you can imagine, amassing a fanbase over the past decade has led to some inside jokes only ARMY understand. Beyond the BTS-specific terms, though, anyone unfamiliar with the K-pop industry or South Korean culture might find themselves tripped up by cultural references or Korean words they've never heard before.
That's where this glossary comes in handy; it contains everything from some of the members' nicknames to the terminology they use in their music. Read on to find out what BTS actually stands for, why so many fans call Jimin "mochi," and more.
Maknae is a Korean term used to refer to the youngest person in a group. BTS' maknae is Jungkook, who was born in 1997. He's also often called the "golden maknae," because he's good at almost everything he tries, whether it's singing, dancing, rapping, video editing, or making everyone fall in love with him.
As the maknae, Jungkook gets the privilege of being looked after and doted on by his hyungs, as he joined the group at only 15 and they watched him grow up.
So there you have it — the vocabulary used by ARMYs is robust and complex, but it doesn't have to be inaccessible. And if there's ever a new ARMY phrase you come across that you don't understand, just ask a fellow ARMY. There's always someone willing to spread the BTS wealth.
Additional reporting by Noelle Devoe.