What does “motae-sollo” mean in Korean?

모태솔로 (motae-sollo) literally means womb solo, formed from 모태 (motae, “mother’s womb”) plus the English loanword solo. It is Korean dating slang for someone who has never had a romantic relationship in their life. The shorter form 모쏠 (mossol) is what you’ll see in chatrooms, dating-show edits, and YouTube thumbnails. Korean dating culture treats motae-sollo status with a mix of teasing sympathy and protective humor: support groups, makeover shows, and friend-introductions for mossol are all common content formats. The word sits next to other K-dating slang like some (flirting stage) and 어장관리 (eojang gwalli, “fishpond management”).

In this clip, a Korean dating-show host asks about her single friend: “제 옆에 있는 친구도 지금 모쏠이거든요.”