Sino-Korean vocabulary
Sino-Korean or Hanja-eo (Korean: 한자어, Hanja: 漢字語) refers to the set of words in the Korean language vocabulary that originated from or were influenced by hanja. The Sino-Korean lexicon consists of both words loaned from Chinese and words coined in the Korean language using hanja.
Sino-Korean words are one of the three main types of vocabulary in Korean. The other two are native Korean words and foreign words imported from other languages, mostly from English.[1]
Sino-Korean words today make up about 60% of the Korean vocabulary,[1] though in actual speech (especially informally) native words are more common.[2]
Origins
Sino-Korean words are derived mainly from literary Chinese, and many from modern Sino-Japanese.
English | Korean in hangul | Korean in hanja | Japanese (Shinjitai/Kyūjitai) | Mandarin (Traditional/Simplified) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hello / Goodbye | 안녕 (annyeong) | 安寧 | お早う / 左様なら ohayō / sayōnara | 你好 / 再見 nǐhǎo / zàijiàn |
Gunpowder | 화약 (hwayak) | 火藥 | 火薬 kayaku | 火藥 / 火药 huǒyào |
Tofu | 두부 (dubu) | 豆腐 | 豆腐 tōfu | 豆腐 dòufu |
Milk | 우유 (uyu) | 牛乳 | 牛乳 gyūnyū | 牛奶 niúnăi |
Automobile | 자동차 (jadongcha) | 自動車 | 自動車 jidōsha | 汽車 / 汽车 qìchē (自動/自动 zìdòng means "automatic, moving on its own.") |
President | 대통령 (daetongnyeong) | 大統領 | 大統領 daitōryō | 總統 / 总统 zǒngtǒng |
Letter | 편지 (pyeonji) | 便紙,片紙 | 手紙 tegami | 信 xìn / 信函 xìnhán (紙/纸 means paper. 函, means "letter" in Classical Chinese. ) |
Tissue | 휴지 (hyuji) | 休紙 | 塵紙 chirigami, chirishi | 衛生紙 |
Gift | 선물 (seonmul) | 膳物 | 土産/土產 miyage | 禮物 / 礼物(土產 / 土产 means domestic products, often used as gifts.) |
Newspaper | 신문 (sinmun) | 新聞 | 新聞 shinbun | 報紙 / 报纸,報 / 报(新聞 / 新闻 means simply news in modern Chinese.) |
Tab / bill (in a restaurant or bar) | 외상 (oesang) | 外上 | 勘定 kanjō | 賬單 / 账单 Zhàngdān |
Dining table | 식탁 (siktak) | 食卓 | 食卓 shokutaku | 餐桌 (食 only means "food" in Mandarin, in most other dialects which still retains the meaning from Middle Chinese, it still means "eat". 餐, means "meal(s)" in Modern Chinese. 卓 and 桌 are two different words of different meanings in Modern Chinese. ) |
Check / cheque | 수표 (supyo) | 手票 | 小切手 kogitte | 支票 |
Name card, business card | 명함 (myeongham) | 名銜/名啣 | 名刺 meishi | 名片 |
Doctor | 의사 (uisa) | 醫師 | 医師/醫師 ishi, 医者/醫者 isha | 醫生 / 医生, 西醫 / 西医 (This is an alternate term for "doctor" which literally means "a doctor who practices Western medicine") , 大夫(This is the term used for doctors who practiced Traditional Chinese medicine, and the meaning is transferred into "doctor", for anyone who practices medicine), and 醫師 / 医师 is alternately used in some formal circumstances, stemming from 中醫師 / 中医师, a doctor that practices Traditional Chinese Medicine. |
Maid | 식모 (singmo < sik-mo) / 하녀 (hanyeo) | 食母/下女 | 女中 jochū | 女傭 / 女佣, 女僕 / 女仆(下女 is the word used in Classical Chinese.) |
Prohibit, cancel | 휴지 (hyuji)/해지 (haeji)/취소 (chwiso) | 休止/解止/取消 | 禁止 kinshi, 取消 torikeshi | 禁止,阻止,取消 |
Study | 공부 (Gongbu) | 工夫 | 勉強 benkyō, 学習 gak(u)shuu/學習 | 學習 / 学习 |
Airport | 공항 (gonghang) | 空港 | 空港 kūkō | 機場/机场,空港 |
Airplane | 비행기 (bihaenggi) | 飛行機 | 飛行機 hikōki | 飛機 / 飞机 |
Prisoner | 수인 (suin) | 囚人 | 囚人 shuujin | 囚犯,犯人 |
Computer | 전산기 (jeonsangi) (←Rarely used) | 電算機 | 電算機 densanki | 電腦 / 电脑,計算機 / 计算机 (only 计算机 is only used in Mainland China to mean "computer": 计算 is a direct translation of French "computer" meaning "To calculate", whereas in Hong Kong, Taiwan and all over the world, 電腦 is used to mean "computer":電 means "Electricity"/ "Power" needed to turn on the computer, and 腦, meaning "brain" is used because the way a computer calculates and memorizes is somewhat similar in function to the human brain.) |
Introduction | 소개 (sogae) | 紹介 | 紹介 shōkai | 介紹 / 介绍 |
Case, Situation | 경우 (gyeong-u) | 境遇 | 場合 baai, 境遇 kyōguu/境遇/状況 | 情形,境遇,場合 / 场合 |
(One's) Whereabouts | 행방 (haengbang) | 行方 | 行方 yukue | 行踪,去向 |
Foreign currency | 외환 (oehwan) | 外換 | 為替/爲替 kawase | 兌換 / 兑换 |
Currency exchange | 환전 (hwanjeon) | 換錢 | 両替/兩替 ryōgae | 換錢 / 换钱 |
Promise | 약속 (yaksok)/언약 (eonyak) | 約束/言約 | 約束 yakusoku | 約定 / 约定,承諾 / 承诺 (約束 in modern Chinese means "restriction" and when used carries a negative connotation.) |
Bomber (aircraft) | 폭격기 (pokgyeokki) | 爆擊機 | 爆撃機/爆擊機 bakugek(i)ki | 轟炸機 / 轰炸机 |
Company, firm | 회사 (hoesa) | 會社 | 会社 kaisha/會社 | 公司 |
faction | 파벌 (pabeol) | 派閥 | 派閥 habatsu /社閥 | 派系 |
The formulae of (日/月/火/水/木/金/土)+曜日 in Korean and Japanese stem from an ancient Chinese usage in its horoscope, which is now considered obsolete in Modern Chinese. | ||||
Sunday | 일요일 (iryoil) | 日曜日 | 日曜日 nichiyōbi/日曜日 | 星期日,週日(日 means "Day" in Chinese. 太陽, literally translated as "Sun", is the Chinese/Japanese name of Sun.) |
Monday | 월요일 (woryoil) | 月曜日 | 月曜日 getsuyōbi/月曜日 | 星期一, 週一 (月 means "Moon" in Chinese.) |
Tuesday | 화요일 (hwayoil) | 火曜日 | 火曜日 kayōbi/火曜日 | 星期二, 週二 (火 means "Fire" in Chinese. 火星, literally translated as "Fire star", is the Chinese/Japanese name of Mars.) |
Wednesday | 수요일 (suyoil) | 水曜日 | 水曜日 suiyōbi/水曜日 | 星期三, 週三 (水 means "Water" in Chinese. 水星, literally translated as "Water star", is the Chinese/Japanese name of Mercury.) |
Thursday | 목요일 (mogyoil) | 木曜日 | 木曜日 mokuyōbi/木曜日 | 星期四, 週四 (木 means "Wood" in Chinese. 木星, literally translated as "Wood star", is the Chinese/Japanese name of Jupiter.) |
Friday | 금요일 (geumyoil) | 金曜日 | 金曜日 kin'yōbi/金曜日 | 星期五,週五 (金 means "Gold" in Chinese. 金星, literally translated as "Gold star", is the Chinese name of Venus. As a last name, 金 is romanized as "Kim" from 김 in Korean pronunciation via whereas 金 for Friday undergoes vowel centralization, as is the case in Cantonese.) |
Saturday | 토요일 (toyoil) | 土曜日 | 土曜日 doyōbi/土曜日 | 星期六, 週六 (土 means "earth" or "soil" in Chinese. 土星, literally translated as "Soil star", is the Chinese name of Saturn.) |
The person in charge (of) | 담당자 (damdangja) | 担當者 | 担当者 tantōsha/担當者者 | 負責人 / 负责人(担當/担当 is a synonym to 負責 / 负责 in modern Chinese.) |
Movie, film, cinema | 영화 (yeonghwa) | 映畵 | 映画/映畵 eiga | 電影 / 电影 (Movie in Chinese used to be called 映畵戲 / 映画戏, probably a borrowing from the Japanese term + 戲 / 戏 meaning "theater / theatre" ) |
Support | 지원 (jiweon) | 支援 | 支援 shien | 支援,支持 |
Drive | 운전 (unjeon) | 運轉 | 運転 unten/運轉 | 駕駛 / 驾驶, 運行 / 运行 |
Constitution | 헌법 (heonpeop) | 憲法 | 憲法 kenpō/ | 憲法 / 宪法 |
Pacific Ocean | 태평양 (taepyungyang) | 太平洋 | 太平洋 taihēyō/ | 太平洋 |
Some Sino-Korean words derive from Japanese kun'yomi words, that is, native Japanese words written in Chinese characters. When borrowed into Korean, the characters are given Sino-Korean pronunciations. (Note that in Japanese, these words are not considered to belong to the Sino-Japanese part of the vocabulary as they are native Japanese words.)
English | Japanese (in kanji) |
Korean (in hanja) |
Korean (in hangul) |
Chinese term (Cantonese Jyutping / Mandarin Pinyin) |
---|---|---|---|---|
assemble | 組立,組み立て | 組立 | 조립 | 組合/组合 |
kumi-tate | jo.rip | zou2hap6 / zǔhé | ||
building | 建物 | 建物 | 건물 | 建築物/建筑物,樓宇/楼宇 |
tate-mono | geon.mul | gin3zuk1mat6 / jiànzhùwù,lau4jyu5 / lóuyǔ | ||
estimate | 見積,見積り | 見積 | 견적 | 估計/估计 |
mi-tsumori | gyeon.jeok | gu2gai3 / gūjì | ||
share of stock | 株式 | 株式 | 주식 | 股份 |
kabu-shiki | ju.sik | gu2fan6 / gǔfèn | ||
match | 試合 | 試合 | 시합 | 同樣/同样 |
shi-ai | si.hap | tong2yong2 / tong2yang4 |
See also
Korean mixed script test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator |
- Sino-Japanese vocabulary
- List of Korea-related topics
- Thousand Character Classic
- Hanja
- Korean mixed script
- Sinoxenic
- Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary
References
- 1 2 Sohn, Ho-Min. The Korean Language (Section 1.5.3 "Korean vocabulary", p.12-13), Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-521-36943-6
- ↑ Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese; Insup Taylor, Martin M. Taylor, Maurice Martin Taylor; 1995; John Benjamins Publishing; p.195
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