Dyu-A-A-A (Ganadi)

Origin

"Duaaaa" is the sound the puppy character Ganadi makes when crying its heart out, and an onomatopoeic meme used when you feel sad, upset or moved. It became widely known through the framing that while older generations cry "eong-eong" or "heuk-heuk," today's teens and twentysomethings cry "duaaaaa." It is sometimes varied as "ddyueoeoeo," and "du" is also tacked onto the ends of sentences for no particular meaning.

Ganadi is a character created by emoji artist Jjalsseulsaram (@bdemgmr), who is active on X (formerly Twitter); the name is a cutesy pronunciation of gangaji, "puppy." It became a meme as images spread of the round, perpetually on-the-verge-of-tears puppy crying "Du... duaaaa." Careet introduced "Du.. Ganadi" as a character that climbs to the top of the popularity rankings every time it's released as an emoji set, explaining that duaaaa became an expression for being sad or moved.

Spread

Ganadi grew hugely popular from 2024, especially among women in their teens and twenties. One crying image turned it into a social media meme, and its KakaoTalk emoji set reached No. 1 among users in their teens and twenties. In a June 2025 analysis, Consumer Evaluation cited "harmlessness" and "cuteness" as the keys to its appeal, noting that it fit a consumer trend toward simple, intuitive content that doesn't require deep interpretation.

The popularity carried into offline collaborations. Clothing brand SPAO and convenience store chain CU released Ganadi collaboration products, and in December 2024 the Maple Store Christmas pop-up featured a "Little Match Girl Ganadi" theme. A cooking-class-themed pop-up also drew buzz. An X post about a mother who lined up from 5:30 a.m. at a pop-up for her high school child was reposted more than 23,000 times, more than the official announcement, and became a talked-about example of warm, family-level fandom.

Usage

• "Duaaaa" in place of crying when you bomb a test or something upsetting happens
• Expressing overwhelming feelings with "duaaaa" at moving news or a photo of your favorite idol
• A cute way of speaking by adding "du" to the end of sentences or varying it as "ddyueoeoeo"

Sources

• Careet, "Cry 'eong-eong' and you're older; cry 'duaaaa' and you're Gen Z? The meme trending now" — artist @bdemgmr's "Du.. Ganadi," top rankings with every emoji release, the meaning of being sad or moved, the generational comparison with eong-eong and heuk-heuk, the "ddyueoeoeo" variation and use of "du"
• Consumer Evaluation, "An analysis of how MZ consumers use the 'Du Ganadi' meme" (June 8, 2025) — popularity among women in their teens and twenties from 2024, the crying image turning into a meme, No. 1 KakaoTalk emoji among teens and twentysomethings, harmlessness and cuteness, SPAO and CU collaborations, the December 2024 Maple Store pop-up, the cooking-class pop-up, the X post reposted 23,000 times