9

The Korean reading for "second" (of which there are 60 in a minute) is 초.

Is this a native word unrelated to 秒, or is it somehow a reading of 秒? The expected reading would be 묘 and I don't know of any reflexes of 초 in Chinese or Japanese with the meaning of "second".

1 Answer 1

11

Most of the Korean Hanja readings are directly related to the Middle Chinese pronunciations/Qieyun rimes. But this one is a classical example of a 와음 현상.

秒 should be "묘" by principle, but people misread the character, misrecognizing it as 抄 or 炒, which both have the reading "초", and they did it so much that it stuck and became the standard. Other characters like this are 歐 which should be 우, but read as 구, influenced by 區, and 粘 which should be 념 but is 점 influenced by 占.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.