Origins
Sino-Korean words are derived from literary Chinese as well as some from Sino-Japanese.
The formulae of X曜日 in Japanese and Korean stem from an ancient Chinese usage, which is now considered obsolete in Modern Chinese.
| English | Korean in hangul | Korean in hanja | Japanese (Shinjitai/Kyūjitai) | Chinese (Traditional/Simplified) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | 일기 (ilgi) | 日氣 | 天気/天氣 | 天氣 / 天气 |
| Automobile | 자동차 (jadongcha) | 自動車 | 自動車 | 汽車 / 汽车(自動/自动 means auto.) |
| President | 대통령 (daetongnyeong) | 大統領 | 大統領 | 總統 / 总统 |
| Letter | 편지 (pyeonji) | 便紙,片紙 | 手紙 | 信 / 信函(紙/纸 means paper. 函, means "letter" in Classical Chinese. ) |
| Tissue | 휴지 (hyuji) | 休紙 | 塵紙 | 抹手紙 / 抹手纸 (衛生紙 / 卫生纸 refers to toilet paper, not tissue which can be easily bought at a store to wipe your nose in case you sneeze.) |
| Gift | 선물 (seonmul) | 膳物 | 土産/土產 | 禮物 / 礼物(土產 / 土产 means domestic products, often used as gifts.) |
| Newspaper | 신문 (sinmun) | 新聞 | 新聞 | 報紙 / 报纸,報 / 报(新闻 / 新聞 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 | 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 | 支票 |
| Name card, business card | 명함 (myeongham) | 名啣 | 名刺 | 名片 |
| Doctor | 의사 ((eu)isa) | 醫師 | 医師/醫師, 医者/醫者 | 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 (sikmo) / 하녀 (hanyeo) | 食母/下女 | 下女 | 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,取消 | 禁止,阻止,取消 |
| Study | 공부 (gongbu) | 工夫 | 勉強,学習/學習 | 學習 / 学习 |
| Airport | 공항 (gonghang) | 空港 | 空港 | zh|機場/机场,空港 |
| Airplane | 비행기 (bihaenggi) | 飛行機 | 飛行機 | 飛機 / 飞机 |
| Prisoner | 수인 (suin) | 囚人 | 囚人 | 囚犯,犯人 |
| ICBM | 대륙간탄도미사일 (daeryukgan-tando-misail) |
大陸間彈道미사일 | 大陸間弾道ミサイル/大陸間彈道ミサイル | 洲際彈道飛彈 / 洲际弹道导弹(洲際 / 洲际 is a more widely used word but identical to 大陸間 / 大陆间.) |
| Computer | 전산기 (jeonsangi) (←Rarely used) |
電算機 | 電算機 | 電腦 / 电脑,計算機 / 计算机 (only 计算机 is 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 | 介紹 / 介绍 |
| Case, Situation | 경우 (gyeong'u) | 境遇 | 場合,境遇/境遇/状況 | 情形,境遇,場合 / 场合 |
| (One's) Whereabouts | 행방 (haengbang) | 行方 | 行方 | 行踪,去向 |
| Foreign currency | 외환 (oehwan) | 外換 | 為替/爲替 | 兌換 / 兑换 |
| Currency exchange | 환전 (hwanjeon) | 換錢 | 両替/兩替 | 換錢 / 换钱 |
| Promise | 약속 (yaksok)/언약 (eonyak) | 約束/言約 | 約束 | 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 | 轟炸機 / 轰炸机 |
| Company, firm | 회사 (hoesa) | 會社 | 会社/會社 | 公司 |
| faction | 파벌 (pabeol) | 派閥 | 派閥 /派閥 | 派系 |
| Sunday | 일요일 (Ilyoil) | 日曜日 | 日曜日/日曜日 | 星期天, 周日 (星期日, used more in Cantonese, is where the term 周日 is derived. 周天 doesn't make sense: it seems to sound like something from Taoism / Daoism, which the days of the week in Chinese aren't from. 天 means "sky"/ "heaven" in Chinese. 日 means "Sun" in Chinese.) |
| Monday | 월요일 (Wolyoil) | 月曜日 | 月曜日/月曜日 | 星期一, 周一 (月 means "Moon" in Chinese.) |
| Tuesday | 화요일 (Hwayoil) | 火曜日 | 火曜日/火曜日 | 星期二, 周二 (火 means "Fire" in Chinese. 火星, literally translated as "Fire star", is the Chinese/Japanese name of Mars.) |
| Wednesday | 수요일 (Sooyoil) | 水曜日 | 水曜日/水曜日 | 星期三, 周三 (水 means "Water" in Chinese. 水星, literally translated as "Water star", is the Chinese/Japanese name of Mercury.) |
| Thursday | 목요일 (Mokyoil) | 木曜日 | 木曜日/木曜日 | 星期四, 周四 (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/金曜日 | 星期五, 周五 (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/土曜日 | 星期六, 周六 (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/担當者 | 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 | 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(computer term) | 지원 (jiweon) | 支援 | 対応/對應 | 支援,支持 |
| Drive | 운전 (unjeon) | 運轉 | 運転/運轉 | 駕駛 / 驾驶, 運行 / 运行 |
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 | Korean (in hanja) |
Korean (in hangul) |
Chinese term (Cantonese Jyutping / Mandarin Pinyin) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| assemble | 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 | 見積もり | 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 (competition) | 試合 | 試合 | 시합 | 比賽/比赛 |
| shi-ai | si.hap | bei2coi3 / bǐsài | ||
Read more about this topic: Sino-Korean Vocabulary
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