What does sseom (썸) mean?
Sseom (썸) is the stage before an official relationship, when two people are more than friends but have not said they are a couple. It comes from the English word “something”.
- Korean
- 썸
- Romanized
- sseom
- Sounds like
- ssuhm
- In English
- the “talking stage” before dating
What it means
People say they are “in a sseom” when they text every day, meet often and feel something, but have not named it. It is the Korean version of the “talking stage”.
Because Korean couples often count the days from the moment they officially start dating, the end of the sseom, when one of them finally says it, is a milestone.
When couples use it
You use it to describe your situation to a friend (“we are in a sseom”) or to tease someone who is clearly in one. It is not a word you say to the person.
K-dramas are full of it: the lingering glances, the late texts, and the question of who will say something first.
Example
are we in a sseom, or am I imagining this?
A text that is nervous and hopeful at once.
Last updated 2026-11-12