매튜의 한국어 연습 블로그

Embarrassingly long time since my last post. Place the blame on any number of life events to include but not limited to: having a baby. Go us.

Today's Hanja character is not to be confused with 아버 부 (父) or 아닐 부 (不). Today's character 지아비 부 (夫) means 남편 but is actually pretty archaic. The modern connotation invokes an image of a working man (as most husbands do) but certainly retains it's connection to marriage in other senses. Take a look:

농부 (農夫)
farmer

어부 (漁夫)
fisherman

부부 (夫婦)
married couple, husband and wife

부인 (夫人)
wife

Hanja is a tricky beast ain’t she? She tempts us with her interweaving of Chinese, Japanese and Korean root words and then spits in our face when things start looking like a big mess of spilt spaghetti on the page. When first venturing into the brave world of 한문 I found that a lot of the basic characters looked similar. When I would put pen to paper, I’d find myself mixing up strokes and wondering why three different letters all looked the same. Here are some of the first words that tripped me up:

뜻	한글	한자	영어 뜻
들어가다	입	入	to enter
사람	인	人	person
아홉	구	九	nine
흙	토	土	dirt
왕	왕	王	king
날	생	生	life
해	년	年	year
일천	천	千	one thousand
불	화	火	fire
작은	소	小	small
적은	소	少	few

Take a look at the photo below and tell me what your gut reaction is to the sign on the truck. What do you think it means? "Dangerous Water", right?
   위험 = danger, caution
   물 = water
Put them together and you have something wet that you want to avoid. Right? Not really. This is a different 물 altogether. It's not 물 수 (水). Don't freak out though because it's a common 물 and I know you've seen it before. This 물 is actually 물건 물 (物) which means "thing" as in:
















선물 (膳物)
a present, gift

건물 (建物)
building, structure

식물 (植物)
a plant

동물 (動物)
animal

인물 (人物)
a person, character

물질 (物質)
a material, substance, matter

화학 물질 (化學物質)
chemical substances

발암물질 (發癌物質)
a cancer-causing agent, carcinogen

위험물 (危險物)
dangerous materials, hazardous things

An easy one today, guys. This should be on everyone's mental hanja radar at all times. 물 수 (水) is easily one of the most common hanja based words in Korean. Careful though, because 수 is also a number of other non-water things such as number (數) and protect (守). Although practically limitless, let's take a look at a few water-based 수 words out there. If you can think of any other common ones, feel free to leave them in a comment ^^

수영 (水泳)
swimming

호수 (湖水)
lake

홍수 (洪水)
flood

산수 (山水)
landscape, scenery (think: water and mountains)

수요일 (水曜日)
Wednesday (lit. water day)

성수 (聖水)
holy water

식수 (食水)
drinking water*


*not to be confused with 식수하다 (植樹) which means "to plant trees"

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

병 is a frequent offender. We've seen him in counting of bottles (甁) and in recognizing soldiers (兵士). Today we're taking a look at sickness (病) conveniently known as 병 병. He's a friend to the 통 we looked at earlier.

질병 (疾病)
disease

병원 (病院)
hospital

공주병 (公主病)
princess disease. A slightly derogative but largely cute diagnosis to describe a spoiled girl who thinks she's royalty. The male equivalent is 왕자병 (王子病).

월요일병 (月曜日病)
a case of the Mondays. "Monday disease"

심장병 (心臟病)
heart disease

신장병 (腎臟病)
kidney disease, renal disease

정신병 (精神病)
mental illness

다병 사람 (多病人)
a sickly, frail person. Someone who is sick often.

그렇게 심각한 병은 아니에요.
It's not that serious of an illness.

Next up on our Hanja cavalcade is 통 (痛). 아플 통 to be specific. Next time you feel the need to eek out a complaint of symptoms (증상) to a doctor or loved one about a migraine, chest or muscle pain, remember this little guy and he might just make you feel better. Probably not though.


두통 (頭痛)
headache

편두통 (偏頭痛)
migraine headache

치통 (齒痛)
toothache

복통 (腹痛)
stomachache, bellyache, abdominal pains

생리통 (生理痛)
menstrual pains, cramps

근육통 (筋肉痛)
muscle pains

요통 (腰痛)
backache

흉통 (胸痛)
chest pains

성장통 (成長痛)
growing pains

고통 (苦痛)
pain, distress

Some might have noticed this advertisement for a cure-all that demonstrates this hanja character nicely.



But don't start getting cute and think that 쓰레기통 means "trash pain" It's a different 桶

Not a terribly common Hanja character but an easy one to recognize in Hangul is 聖 (성인 성). It stands for 'Holy'.

성경 (聖經)
the Bible, holy book

구약성경 (舊約聖書)
*the Old Testament

신약성경 (新約聖書)
the New Testament

성가 (聖歌)
church hymns, sacred songs

성수 (聖水)
holy water

성인 (聖人)
saint, holy person

성경 용어 (聖經 用語)
Biblical language

성화 (聖火)
the Olympic torch, holy fire

성단 (聖壇)
a pulpit, altar, shrine

성물
holy item, thing

영성체
holy communion, Eucharist


*Don't be goofy and assume that 신약 means "foot medicine". The correct hanja are 新 (새 신) and 舊 (옛 구)

**There's lots, and I do mean, lots of 성 out there so be careful. One of them is 星 that stands for "star" as in "three stars" 삼성 (三聖) or "star cluster" 성단 (星團). Another is 性 which stands for "sex" as in "gender" 성별 (性別) and "personality" 성격 (性格)

I like a good Hanja. Like a fine wine, I savor a sweet bouquet of Korean prose. 치 is a like really short poem that makes me smile. When you fail at something, stick to a few of these 치 (癡) examples. Be generous with the translations as they really aren't 1:1:

길치 no sense of direction
음치 tone-deaf, can't carry a tune to save one's life
몸치 can't dance; clumsy
박치 have no sense of rhythm, tempo


여기가 어딘 지 모르겠어. 길치니까 여기 못 찾아 올거야.
I have no clue where I am now. Since I have no sense of direction, looks like I can't find my way back here again.

응? 노래 한 곡 해봐라고? 안되요, 저 음치예요.
Huh? You want me to sing a song? No way. I can't carry a tune to save my life.

그는 몸치여서 항상 사람들과 부딪힌다.
He's so clumsy that he's always bumping into people
너 몸치구나. 매튜야, 좀 더 유연하게 춤을 춰야지.
Wow you really can't dance. Matthew, you should dance more smoothly.

박수를 치면서 왜 이렇게 박자를 못 맞추니. 박치도 아니고 말이야.
Why can't you keep the beat while you're clapping? Don't you even have a sense of tempo?

The last two examples are similar. Take a look at how they differ. 몸치 refers to someone who has no sense of 동작 while 박치 refers to someone who can't hold 박자. Think of one of those kids back in junior high that tried to drum on their desk with a pencil but failed miserably but were pleasantly unaware of how bad it sounded. Those kids are 박치. I'm more of a 몸치 kind of guy because I'm both clumsy and can't dance.

동작 movement, gesture, motion
박자 time, beat


*Thanks to 석진 of TTMIK for clarification

Title: Useful Chinese Characters for Learners of Korean
Author: SNU Language Institute
Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: Darakwon (Apr 2007)
ISBN-10: 895995764X
ISBN-13: 9788959957644

Easily one of the best weapons to add to any Korean-language learner's arsenal is a good command of Hanja. This book helps to demystify the structure of Hanja and prompts the Korean language learner to recognize authentic examples in modern Korean. Like Latin and Greek roots to English, Hanja comprises of over an estimated 60% of the Korean language in use today and as such, presents itself as a possible speed bump to effectively learning Korean. While not nearly as prominent as it used to be, Hanja is still known to some degree by all native Korean speakers. If you are a student of Korean and you have even a passing interest in learning Hanja-based vocabulary, this is book to start with.

The text couldn't be easier to approach with its easy to follow baby-steps guide on how a single Hanja character is formed, brush stroke formation and how to recognize the sound and meaning of characters. If you've been looking for someone to hold your hand and show you the ropes but were frustrated that all available explanations are in Korean, this book remedies that nicely. Each chapter is arranged around a theme and therefore arranged slightly differently than the beginner books that native speakers learn by. Although increasingly difficult, the ten characters per chapter pace is not impossible to follow with some practice. Towards the end of the book is a step-by-step guide on how to recognize similarly rooted words by their main radical and how to look up words in a dictionary. I found the English explanation of radicals to be especially helpful.

The only true fault is the text's limited amount of space to practice writing. It does have an summary chapter practice cell sheet but the paper in the book doesn't lend itself well to being written on; it's too pretty. As a beginner, though, you have thousands of options out there. Plenty, and I do mean plenty of cheap low level practice books are geared for Korean children and are well-suited for rote memorization and muscle memory writing practice. Think of this book like a springboard and you're much better off. I used the textbook and wrote side-by-side in a blank notebook. For reinforcement, I ran through a few five dollar variously leveled practice books; 8급 being the most basic, 1급 the most difficult. This book is a good one to start with and it should already be in your collection.

- - -

If you have not clue what Hanja is, take a quick detour and start with a background. I've mentioned this book before and I want to emphasize how valuable it is has been for me. Far from a perfect text, it got me started in what I hope is a goal of lifelong learning. Although I'm not finished with it by any means, I had got a lot out of it and wholeheartedly recommend it.

Oh, and it's crazy hard to find outside of Korea. Heads up.

This is a good one to learn. If you've never taken an interest in 한자 (Hanja) before, make this one your first. It's a doosy and it's everywhere. There are a few 중 out there but this one is the more common one known as:

가운데 중 = 中
가운데, 안, 속, 사이, 진행, 마음, 맞다, 곧다, 바르다, 뚫다, 고르다
It essentially means the middle of center of something (among other meanings)

Common hanja examples:
중국 = 中國 = middle country = China
중학생 = 中學生 = middle learning life = junior high student
중 = 中 = (medium sized (i.e. meal)

What might perplex the most is its substitution for the ~고있다 verb ending. To emphasize or simply express in a shorter way that something is happening now (present progressive) then instead of using ~고있다 use ~는중이다.

Examples:
일하는 중이에요 I'm working
가는 중이야 I'm going
공부하는 중이야 I'm studying
책을 읽는 중이에요 I'm in the middle of reading a book.
통화 중이에요 The line is busy.
수업 중에 자지마세요 Please don't sleep during class.
버스를 기다리는 중이에요 I'm waiting for the bus.
나 영어 공부 열심히 하는 중 I'm diligently studying English
CCTV녹화중 You are being recording on closed circuit television right now.

In my search of helpful hanja, I found a neat little way to express approximation in time, especially in regards to months:

初 = 초 = near the beginning of the month
中 = 중순 = near the middle of the month
末 = 말 = near the end of the month


초 = 初等學校 = 초등학교 = "beginning rank school faith" = Elementary school
중 = 中學校 = 중학교 = "middle school faith" = Junior high school
고 = 高等學校 = 고등학교 = "high rank school faith" = High school
*("high school" uses a different hanja)


Examples:

10월말이나 11월초에 이사할 겁니다.
I'm going to move sometime either in the last part of October or the early part of November

2월초에 취직하기 좀 어려울것같아요.
Finding a job in the beginning of February seems kind of difficult...

5중순은 졸업식 시즌이야.
The middle of May is graduation season.

한국에서는 5월중순이 공휴일이 인가요?
In Korea, isn't there a public holiday in the middle of May?

아니요. 5월초에 어린이날있는데...
No. In the beginning of May is Children's Day...

올해 1월중순 엄청 추웠죠?
Wasn't the middle of January this year cold?

7월말에 보너스를 받을 거에요.
In July, I'm going to get a bonus check.

8월중순이나 말에 미국에 이사 할 겁니다.
I'm going to move to America either int he middle of the end of August.

11월 말에 떠나자
Let's leave in late November

Hanja to the rescue! 불- (한자: 不) is a nice little guy who fills in the prefix role of -un, -dis, -ir, -non, and the like. Slip him in front of many hanja based words and you've got the opposite. Negation at it's easiest. Examples:

가능하다 to be possible
불가능하다 to be impossible
예) 회의가 불가능할 것 같아요
예) 회의를 못 할 것 같아요.
Ex) I can't make it to the meeting.

규칙 (명사) rule, 규칙적인 (형용사) regular
불규칙적인 (adjective) irregular
예) "만들다"는 불규칙 동사이지요?
Ex) Isn't "만들다" an irregular verb?

합격하다 to pass a test
불합격하다 to fail a test
예) 중간고사를 못 봤어요. 불합격할 테니까 이제 수업을그만둘거에요.
Ex) I bombed the midterm. Since I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail, I'm just going to drop (quit) the class.

편하다 to be comfortable
불편하다 to be uncomfortable
예) 이 옷은 불편해요.
Ex) These clothes are uncomfortable.

법적인 legal
불법적인 illegal
예) 영화나 노래를 인터넷에서 다운로드 하는 것은 불법이에요.
Ex) Downloading movies or music off of the internet is illegal.

I normally don't crosspost but this clearly relates to learning Korean. Check out the writeup on Hanja over at my history blog.

I've been tackling Hanja lately and it's not as bad as I thought...but then again, I just got past numbers. I can now officially write the days of the week, the numbers 1 through 10, 100, 1000, and that's about it. We all have to start somewhere and I started at the 3rd grade book from my school. Hey you gotta use what you can get your hands on. My school produces its own Hanja workbook starting from grade 3 so that's what I'm going through now. I write a little bit each day in between classes to keep up the muscle memory.

I'm also using a great little book that's a bit tricky to find but is extremely useful. I'll give it a proper writeup soon enough. It's called Useful Chinese Characters for Learners of Korean. Here's a short review. UPDATE: full review here.

Like some other students of Korean, I have an interest in 한자 (Hanja, Sino-Korean characters). Not because I like to make life more difficult than it has to be but because I want my Korean vocabulary skills to improve. I want to be able to decode new words. So why would Hanja help me do that?

Not quite Korean, not quite Chinese and certainly not quite Japanese, Hanja used to be the de facto writing system back in the day. The idea behind learning Hanja is that through the combination of a few familiar characters leads to new ideas and expressions. Each character represents an idea or thought instead of a sound. As Koreans eventually embraced Hangul over Hanja, old Hanja words were Hangulized using just their pronunciation. It's still a little tricky but if one were to see "정", without proper context, it could mean lots of things including "鄭", "丁", "定" "正" or "町". This could mean anything between "January" "rights" "decide" "quiet" or "measure" among others. See the possible confusion?

This concept is not exclusive to Hanja or to Korean by any means. In English, to decode a new word, it is quite common to subtly decode via Latin or Greek roots. If I offer you the word "hemophobia" a native English speaker will be quick to recognize that it means "fear of blood" due to knowledge of other words such as "homostat, hemoglobin" and "arachnophobia, claustrophobia"

While this can be helpful, it also can lead to some misinterpretations as I have found out. Below is a sample of some of my real life misinterpretations. Hope it makes you laugh. I actually confidently said these in conversation.

What I thought I heard	What I thought it meant at the time	What it really was in that context	What it really means in proper context
물(이)	water	무리	danger, harmful
이 사	twenty four	이사하다	to move
은행 나무	tree bank	은행 나무	Ginkgo Biloba tree
기타	guitar	기타	other information
산책	mountain book	산책(가다)	take a walk
산오징어	mountain squid	산오징어	live squid (살다+ㄴ)
추어탕	cold stew (춥다)	추어탕	loach (fish) stew
감자탕	potato stew	감자탕	pork on the bone stew
개	dog	게	crab
어른(이)	adults, older people	어린이(가)	young people
안내	guide, information	아내	wife
신정	Swine flu	신정	solar new year, Jan 1st
짜증나	annoying	잘 있나! (사투리)	Okay!, Good!, Nice!
잘 못하다	To not be able to do it	잘못 하다	To make a mistake

* The Potato Stew/ Pork Stew debate is kind of interesting, actually. There's plenty of theories discussed here and here.

** This is my wife's favorite. This past 설날 I introduced myself to her grandfather over the phone. He is from 부산 and speaks a particularly strong dialect (사투리) and when I nervously introduced myself over the phone it went a little like this:

부인: 할어버지~ 바꿔 줄게요!
나: (takes the phone) 할어버지 안녕하세요! 새해 복 많이 받아시고 건강하세요!
외할어버지: (..silence...) 짜증나...
나: 어?.. 제가 잘못했어요? 죄송합니다!

Needless to say that my wife's family is still laughing about it now.

Anyway, can you think of any similar words? I would love to expand this list!

BONUS: A great little joke I saw on the comment section of this blog post made me laugh about the importance of spacing (띄어쓰기):
방 구해야지: (You) Should find a room.
방구 해야지: (You) Should fart.