''Paiting!'' (, ) or ''Hwaiting!'' (, ) is a Korean word of support or encouragement. It is frequently used in sports or whenever a challenge such as a difficult test or unpleasant assignment is met. It derives from a Konglish borrowing of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

word "Fighting!" __NOTOC__ In

, "fighting" is a

verb A verb () is a word (part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descri ...

(specifically, a

present participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...

) whereas cheers and exclamations of support usually take the form of imperative

s. ''Paiting!''’s Japanese equivalent, for example, is the more grammatically standard ''Faito!'' (). For that reason, ''paiting!'' is often translated in English as "Come on!" or "Let's go!" ''Daehan Minguk Paiting!'' () might be glossed as "Go, Korea!" English does sometimes use adjectives and nouns as words of support ("Good!" "Good job!") but the original meaning of fighting simply implies some conflict exists; it doesn't imply either side will be victorious and offers no support. Within Korean, ''paiting!'' serves as an encouragement to release one's inhibitions and draw on inner power. ''Paiting!'' is often accompanied by the expression ''Aja aja!'' (), which has a similar meaning. The pronunciation ''Hwaiting'', despite often being used colloquially, is not included in important Korean dictionaries such as ''

Standard Korean Language Dictionary ''Standard Korean Language Dictionary'' () is a dictionary of the Korean language, published by the National Institute of Korean Language. History The compilation of Standard Korean Language Dictionary was commenced on 1 January 1992, by The ...

''.

Related terms

In addition to ''Faito!'', terms used similarly in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

are the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

'' Jiayou!'' (, "

add oil "Add oil" is a Hong Kong English expression used as an encouragement and support to a person. Derived from the Chinese phrase '' Gayau'' (or ''Jiayou''; ), the expression is literally translated from the Cantonese phrase. It is originated in Hon ...

!") and Japanese '' Ganbatte!'' (). The growing importance of Korean pop culture means that "Fighting!" is now sometimes used in Chinese-to-English and Japanese-to-English translations as well to convey these native phrases.

References

{{Reflist South Korean popular culture Korean words and phrases Chants