K-pop

UK/ˈkeɪˌpɒp/US/ˈkeɪˌpɑp/

noun

South Korean pop music influenced by Western styles.

OriginEnglish J-popinflu. ← Middle English populer ← Latin populāris →
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Meanings

K-pop1

nounK-pop (uncountable)

alternative K-Pop · alternative Kpop · alternative KPop

  1. uncountableentertainmentSouth Korean pop music influenced by Western styles.

    The K-pop septet BTS will return in spring 2026 with a new album and world tour.

    2025 July 1, Maria Sherman, “BTS will return in spring 2026 with a new album and world tour”, in Associated Press, archived from the original on 03 Jan 2026
    1 more example

    Somehow, even I got sucked into this strange K-pop universe. Sure, the quality of the music is sometimes debatable.

    2018 December 11, Kevin Liao, “At First I Was a K-Pop Skeptic. Not Anymore.”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2018

K-pop2

nounK-pop (plural K-pops)

plural K-pops

  1. slangA lollipop containing the drug ketamine.

K-Pop3

nounK-Pop (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of K-pop.

Origin

K-pop · noun

  1. EnglishKoreanclip.
  2. EnglishK-
  3. Proto-Italic*poplos
  4. Old Latinpopulus
  5. Latinpopulus
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  8. Latinpopulāri
  9. Old Frenchpopulaire
  10. Latinpopulāris
  11. Middle Englishpopuler
  12. Englishpopularclip.
  13. Englishpop
  14. EnglishJ-popinflu.
  15. EnglishK-pop

From K- (“Korean”) + pop, by analogy with J-pop.

Full word history & related roots →

K-pop · noun

From the first letter of ketamine + pop (“lollipop”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic كِي بُوب, بُوبْ كُورِيّ
  • كِي بُوب (kē būb)South Korean pop music
  • بُوبْ كُورِيّ (būb kūriyy)South Korean pop music
Bulgarian ке́й-поп
  • ке́й-поп (kéj-pop)South Korean pop music
Catalan K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
Chinese Mandarin 韓國流行音樂 /韩国流行音乐
  • 韓國流行音樂 /韩国流行音乐 (Hánguó liúxíng yīnyuè)South Korean pop music
Dutch K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
French K-pop, pop coréenne
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
  • pop coréenneSouth Korean pop music
German K-Pop
  • K-PopSouth Korean pop music
Hungarian K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
Indonesian K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
Italian K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
Japanese K-POP (kē-poppu), Kポップ
  • K-POP (kē-poppu)South Korean pop music
  • Kポップ (kē-poppu)South Korean pop music
  • ケー・ポップ (kē-poppu)South Korean pop music
Korean K-pop (kei-pap), K팝
  • K-pop (kei-pap)South Korean pop music
  • K팝 (keipap)South Korean pop music
  • 케이팝 (keipap)South Korean pop music
  • 한국 팝 음악 (han'guk pap eumak)South Korean pop music
Norwegian K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
Polish K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
Portuguese K-pop
  • K-popSouth Korean pop music
Russian кей-по́п, коре́йский поп
  • кей-по́п (kej-póp)South Korean pop music
  • коре́йский поп (koréjskij pop)South Korean pop music
  • коре́йская поп-му́зыка (koréjskaja pop-múzyka)South Korean pop music
Spanish k-pop, pop coreano
  • k-popSouth Korean pop music
  • pop coreanoSouth Korean pop music
  • keipopSouth Korean pop music
Thai เคป็อป
  • เคป็อปSouth Korean pop music
Vietnamese K-Pop
  • K-PopSouth Korean pop music
Cite this entry
APA

K-pop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/K-pop

MLA

“K-pop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/K-pop. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “K-pop,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/K-pop.

Source: K-pop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.