Does 뚱뚱하다 mean fat more than it does chubby and does 통통하다 mean chubby more than it does fat? So basically, what is the better word for fat and what is the better word for chubby?

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    No clue 🤷‍♀️

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    I don’t think Korea has a word for “chubby” that is equivalent to the Western’s definition of “endearingly fat”. According to Naver, 통통하다 is supposed to be the rougher sounding of the two, but because 통통하다’s definition also specifically mentions “someone short and fat” it could be closer in meaning to chubby’s definition of “round.” Personally, unless you want to emphasize someone being short and stout, I would just stick with 뚱뚱하다. I think the difference between fat and chubby is determined more by context than the actual word itself.

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      Thx! Yeah, I wanted to make sure I didn’t offend when I meant no harm. Like, your baby is chubby. No, I really meant chubby! lol.

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    I think 뚱뚱하다 is the better one for chubby, it’s usually the word of choice for describing babies and toddlers.

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