매튜의 한국어 연습 블로그

I like Korean cell phones for a number of reasons. One of which is that almost all have an easily accessible Eng-Kor and Kor-Eng dictionary available. While never quite as detailed as Naver's dictionary, when I need to find a quick answer it gets the job done. One of my favorite features is the ability to add a word to a saved list to remember for later. The following is what is left after a year in Korea and also after deleting plenty of words that I have since learned and was too embarrassed that I ever didn't know them. What remains are words that I am either vaguely aware of or not confident yet to use on my own. Hopefully, a year later I can look at these and laugh. I'll spare you some of the words that I'm omitting from the list but suffice it is to say that it used to include words like 장갑, 열쉬, 이틀, 부장 and 전문가답지 못하다. Enjoy!

구파 - the old school, conservative

구토하다 - to vomit

처방전 - prescription

배려 - consideration, care, concern

기침 - cough

전립선 - prostate

예술가 - artist

원자력 - nuclear power

계약 - contract

독립 - independence

자유로운 상태 - freedom

논어 - Analects of Confucius

병따개 - bottle opener

자녀 - sons and daughters

침 뱉다 - to spit

보물 - treasure, highly prized item

통근하다 - to commute

비단 - silk

신용 사기 - scam

공룡 - dinosaur

추천 - recommendation

명령 - order (someone to do something)

질질 끌다 - procrastinate

훈련 - training

부적당한 - inappropriate

무사히 - safely

완전하다, 완벽하다 - perfect

간접적 - indirect

직접적 - direct

암에 걸리다 - to get cancer

선입관 - preconception

확인하다 - to check, verify

종교 - religion

합창단 - choir

세례 - baptism

보육 - childcare

낙태 - abortion

공연 - public performance

자루 걸레 - a mop

건축학 - architecture

품질 - quality

수량 - quantity

여정 - itinerary

지원자 - volunteer

미신 - superstition

면접 - interview

일반적 - universal, general

정확 - accuracy, precision

식물 - plant

결심 - determination, resolution

셜합 - a union

경헙 - an experience

편집병의 - paranoid

나누다 - to divide, share

합격 - success in examination

안심 - peace of mind

무덥다 - sweltering, steaming

환영 - a welcome, ovation

성과 - a result, product, fruit of labor

과연 - as was expected, just as one thought

멍 - bruise

독후감 - one's impression after reading a book or poem

I've had this question asked a lot and I figured i should write a small post. The original review was in the KC101 forums and there is still a lot of good discussion about dictionaries there but I will just repost my review of the dictionary I actually use. I wrote this review almost two years ago and I;m still happy with this model. Great product that I whole-heartedly recommend. I'll only edit my post a little, but I must say that it looks like iRiver has discontinued the model but is still keeping the product line.

I would like to have a post about personal opinions on electronic dictionaries. I went through a lengthy trial-and-error process when I was shopping for one mainly because there was not a big wealth of knowledge on the subject (at least, knowledge that was written in English). I hope this post can be a beacon for other potential shoppers.

IRiver D30 (iRiver product page) (review in Korean)
Summary:
- A PMP (Portable Media Player) that has multiple dictionaries and phrasebooks
Pros:
- Korean - English
- English - Korean
- Korean - Japanese
- Korean - Chinese
- DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting)
- mp3 player, FM radio
- 2GB built in SSD
- .pdf and CSD reader
- small, lightweight (same dimensions as Nintendo DS Lite)
- high quality voice acting for phrasebook
- Korean and English keyboard
- Easy to use GUI
- long life battery
- very quick on and off function
- customizable desktop with your own photo
- good sized keyboard and layout - not too small
Cons:
- written for a Korean audience, so menu is in Korean (a con for beginners)
- phrasebooks are not as useful for native English speakers (geared for those learning English)
- DMB not available in America (too bad too, free TV is always a good thing)
- Price (roughly 450 USD) (at time of purchase almost two years ago)
- must charge battery via USB if not in Korea
- Only available in Korea (bought mine on US ebay though - at a slight premium)
- Support is pretty much only in Korean
- Almost too many features (intimidating for non-techies)
- cannot go from English - Japanese
- cannot go from English - Chinese
Overall:
- Fantastic little thing with over 80 different dictionaries that has served me well
- Two years later, still making classmates jealous