매튜의 한국어 연습 블로그

Got an easy one today. Always like it when the difference is either microscopic or exact mirrors like in 요새 vs 요즘. Let's see what we have today:

공짜
free

*무료 (無料)
free, no cost

*Be careful to to confuse this with 무료하다 (無聊) which means to be boring or dull. It most certainly does not mean to "to be free".

공짜 is natively Korean and is used almost exclusively in casual settings. 무료 is hanja-based and can be used in both casual and also formal settings. Otherwise, they're virtually identical. Free is free. Wasn't that easy?

Kudos to the Korean Wiki Project who among countless things has a page dedicated to similar words and nuances. If you're learning Korean and you want to contribute a word or two to help out the greater good, consider editing for them once and awhile.