Got a strange one for you today. 服 (옷 복)
Yesterday was the last day of the three hottest days of the year; affectionately known in English as the dog days of summer. These three days are known by many names in Korean one of which is 삼복 (三伏). That got me thinking of swimming in a pool which requires a swim suit, or 수영복 which uses a whole different 복 character. The dog days of summer 복 is 엎드리다 which is "to lie down" while the swimsuit 복 is the "clothing" 복. Still with me? Hope so. The hanja character is arguably not as important as knowing the uses of it in hangul. Loosely, it can be interpreted as either "clothing" or "uniform" (제복) such as:
수영복 (水泳服)
swimming suit
군복 (軍服)
army uniform
양복 (洋服)
Western suit
교복 (校服)
school uniform
경찰복 (警察服)
police officer's uniform
소방관 (消防官服)
firefighter's uniform
간호사(看護師服)
nurse's uniform
임부복 (妊婦服)
maternity clothes
사냥복
hunting clothes
신사복 (紳士服)
menswear, a man's suit
숙녀복 (淑女服)
womenswear, a lady' suit
*정장 (正裝)
*nice clothes, gender neutral term for a suit
2 Responses to “복 (服)”
I'm not sure how useful this one is, but there is also 임부복 - maternity clothes. I can't remember how I found this word, but I learned it at about the same time as I picked up 임신하다.
What a great suggestion! You know, with my wife being pregnant, there's really no reason that I left this off the list. Adding it now. Thanks again!
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