What does 머가여~ mean?

Question

I told a friend of mine that he looks good and he answered:

머가여~

What does this mean?

Answer 1

They replied in text slang. The proper text would be 뭐가요 which means "What"

Often in informal text conversations words are shortened or spelled incorrectly to imply familiarity, cuteness, or aegyo

머 is slang for 뭐 which means "What"

가 is a particle which indicates what 'object' is being talked about in a sentence.

여 is internet and text slang for the polite 요, and denotes aegyo.

~ is another form of text aegyo which denotes the last vowel is lengthened if spoken.

So the direct translation of the above is "What" but it implies them asking you to expound on 'what' looks good with a playful tone or 'cuteness'

Answer 2

It's "뭐가요?" in Korean. However, it can mean a lot of different things NOT because of the language, BUT becuase of the human nature.

1. He understood you, and he might have been just being polite. (He liked it that you thought he looked good, but felt a little awkward to say it himself.)

2. He understood you, and he liked it, so he was being friendly to you. (You know, the friend stuff. Something that can develop into a more serious relationship.)

3. He understood you, and he might have tried to ignore it (maybe because he has a girl friend already? or the gf was right next to him at that moment? or you were not his type?)

4. He just didn't understand what you actually meant. (This one seriously depends on what you actually said to him exactly)

Answer 3

Another possibility is that your friend was being humble and trying to say "not at all, my friend", in a polite but still friendly way. A similar example is:

• 옷이 예쁘네요. Your wearing looks so good.
• 뭐가요~ No way!

A direct translation of the last sentence will be "What does! (What looks so good!)", and by this the speaker tries to be humble and claims that their wearing does not look good. Another example:

• 와주셔서 감사합니다. Thank you so much for coming!
• 에이 뭘요, 당연히 와야죠. No worries! It's my pleasure!

In the last sentence, "뭘요" (shortened from "무엇을요") literally means "for what! (Thank me for what!)" and it denies that you have done something to be thanked for. The sentence "당연히 와야죠" means "I should definitely have come", in other words, you have done what you should (e.g. considering your relationship with the listener, etc.)

Yes, these are normally a very polite wording, but the way your friend says this (as "머가여~", not "뭐가요~") is cute and friendly and it avoids being too formal or distant.