Korean Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, teachers and students of the Korean language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I was asking a Korean friend called 단비 what her name meant in Hanja, and she surprised me by explaining that it was a pure Korean name, meaning a rain (비) that has been long-awaited (from naver: 꼭 필요한 때 알맞게 내리는 비 ).
Is there any more general pattern with 단 + noun?
단 = 달다 = taste of sugar
1) 단비 : 가뭄에 내리는 비는 적절하다. 참 달게 느껴진다.
During drought, rain is suitable. The rain is felt to us like a sugar.
2) 단꿈 : 난 백만 장자에 대한 단꿈을 꾼다.
I imagine millionaire but it is just a dream.
3) 단잠=good sleep, 단감=a sweet persimmon, etc.
@ another uses among several meanings of 단 :
1) 단세포 = one cell
2) 단공장 = factory where we make steel hard.
It is technically not a prefix. 단 (← 달다 + -ㄴ) is the 관형어 (modifier) form of 달다, meaning sweet: having the pleasant taste characteristic of sugar or honey; pleasing in general. These words below are compound words (합성어) made with the 단. Note, you should not space them when you write these.
단잠 (단sweet + 잠sleep): a pleasing sleep; a refreshing, deep sleep. The slang for this: 꿀잠 (꿀honey + 잠sleep).단꿈 (단sweet + 꿈dream): a sweet dream; a pleasing dream.단맛 (단sweet + 맛taste): a taste of sweetness; sweetness.단비 (단sweet + 비rain): timely, opportune rain.단것 (단sweet + 것thing): sweets.단물 (단sweet + 물water): sweet water; soft water; fresh water; a part containing the essence.단내 (단sweet + 내smell): sweet smell.단김 (단sweet + 김steam (gas)): a main flavor or carbon dioxide that makes a food or drink taste good; especially, carbon dioxide in soda or beer.단침 (단sweet + 침saliva): the saliva dropped when one is drooling over food.단감 (단sweet + 감persimmon): Diospyros kaki; or, a sweet name for a persimmon.단씨 (단sweet + 씨seed): a sweet corn. (But I have never heard this word ever.)단술 (단sweet + 술alcoholic drink): the sweet alcoholic drink.단밤 (단sweet + 밤chestnut): a sweet, yummy chestnut.단배 (단sweet + 배stomach): one's stomach appetitive for food.단국 (단sweet + 국soup): a soup (especially, not glutinous one.) with a sweet flavor. (You should know what Korean soups look like to use this word.)The other 단 (← 달다 + -ㄴ); it is also the 관형어 (modifier) form of 달다, but here 달다 is a different word, meaning to be red-hot.
단솥 (단heated + 솥pot): a heated pot.Sino-prefixes that sound 단-: 單 (solo), 短 (short), and et cetera.
단술 (단(單)-one + 술spoon)단신 (단(單)-sole + 신(身)body)단신 (단(短)-short + 신(身)body)단벌 (단(單)-sole + 벌clothes)단세포 (단(單)-uni- + 세포cell)단숨에 (단(單)-one + 숨breath + -에with)단박 (단(單)-one + 박(likely 拍)beat)단번 (단(單)-one + 번(番)the number of times)