Translations dictionary
gosu
[goh-soo]
What does听gosu mean?
贵谤辞尘听碍辞谤别补苍,听驳辞蝉耻听refers to or describes someone who is highly skilled, used especially in video and computer gaming.
Where does gosu come from?
In the 1980鈥� 90s, the South Korean government heavily invested in low-cost, high-speed internet infrastructure. A special type of 24/7 internet cafe, the PC Bang (“room”),听emerged, birthing an active gaming culture focused on multiplayer online games.
Especially talented players were called gosu, which translates to “expert” or “master.” It became听a common compliment in that culture, used in the same way English speakers might call someone pro听or, in early internet culture,听1337.
In 1998, the developer Blizzard released the game听StarCraft, which was a hit in South Korea. The multiplayer version听pitted players from all over the world against one another. It also听let them talk to one another. The many South Korean players helped Korean words鈥�such as听gosu and chobo, a Korean n00b鈥�spread in gamer culture worldwide. Due to the popularity of StarCraft, some have claimed听gosu stands for听God of StarCraft Universe, but this is just a听clever backronym.
By the early 2000s, gosu had spread to other gaming communities, such as World of Warcraft. By the 2010s, gamers or people familiar with gaming/Korean culture were using gosu for听everything from art skills to dance skills. A popular League of Legends听streamer named Gosu shows, though, that the term remains relevant in gaming.
@FnaticaLive hahaha alive! you are gosu dancer too….sugoyo my friend. =P
— Ryan Cole (@coleyroll_)
Examples of gosu
Who uses gosu?
Gamers are still most likely to use gosu, both in forums and over the headset,听to express their awe at the skills of elite players.
They also use gosu to describe someone or something exceptional outside the universe of gaming.
While often used as an adjective in English,听gosu听can also be used as a noun for the exceptionally skilled person,听like it does in its original Korean.
The term has also inspired the names of many gaming-related enterprises.听Radio Gosu was a streaming station that played 24/7 video game soundtracks, and the GosuCrew is a group of professional e-sports players founded in 2010. Gosu.ai, which bills itself as a “personal e-sports training lab,” is a popular choice for players who want to level up from听chobo to听gosu.
Hey Crew, we are thrilled to announce we have signed our first team. Help us welcome:
Read more here:
— Gosu Crew (@TheGosuCrew)
In 2015,听gosu returned to its roots with听Gosu听(The Master), a Korean-authored manga that听follows a highly-skilled martial artist on his quest to avenge his master.
static.tvtropes.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of gosu like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of gosu that will help our users expand their word mastery.