Questions tagged [vocabulary]
General questions about word meanings, or finding an appropriate word.
15
questions
9
votes
2
answers
6k
views
필요하다, 필요 있다, 필요로 하다 : what's the difference in meaning and usage?
I was aware of '필요하다' '필요 있다' both meaning 'to be necessary', and on Naver Dictionary saw that the first translation of 'need' is '필요로 하다'.
What is the difference in meaning and usage, if any, ...
- 13.5k
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
two subjects in 당신은 이름이 뭐예요?
I have just studied Korean for a short time. I am having problem with the sentence below.
당신은 이름이 뭐예요? = What is your name?
My friend told me that there are two subjects in that sentence (당신 marked ...
- 1,893
6
votes
1
answer
768
views
Besides endic.naver.com, any other good Korean-to-English dictionary site for (hangul) super-newbie learners?
Wiktionary is great for super-newbie learners of Hangul.
For example, see this question re: 기계 (gigye) : 기계 (gigye) ==> 機械, 器械, 奇計 (what else?)
What's another good Korean-to-English dictionary ...
- 346
13
votes
5
answers
11k
views
What is the difference between 방금 and 금방?
As far as I know, one of them means "a short while ago", the other "in a short time". Sometimes they are used interchangeably. I'm looking for an explanation of the two words, how they differ, and a ...
- 969
11
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What is the politest way in Korean to say that someone is 'old'?
I am aware of 낡은 and 오래 된, but I'm not sure that these are suitable for saying that an (esteemed) person is old. (I'm sure 헌 probably isn't either!)
What is the politest way to say that someone is ...
- 13.5k
11
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Is there a Korean word for 'Syllable Block'?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul#Morpho-syllabic_blocks
The combinations of 2, 3, 4 (or more?) 자모 are often called 'blocks' in English. As they are an important concept in the way Korean is ...
- 13.5k
9
votes
3
answers
403
views
How to spot English loanwords and Hanja words in a text?
While studying Japanese, it's very helpful that nearly all words of foreign origin are marked by using katakana (a syllabary separate from the usual mix of hiragana and Chinese characters) and words ...
- 233
8
votes
1
answer
222
views
Which Korean country names originate from Japanese?
According to this answer,
[Some country names] are borrowed from other languages, like 브라질 (Brazil) is borrowed from the English variant of Brasil, or 독일 is borrowed from the Japanese name for ...
- 13.5k
7
votes
1
answer
308
views
기계 (gigye) ==> 機械, 器械, 奇計 (what else?)
en.wiktionary.org is great for Hangul Super- Newbie learners.
For example,
en.wiktionary.org 기계
gives me 3 Kanji (Hanja) meanings/readings for 기계 (gigye) ==> 機械, 器械, 奇計
( btw, in Jp ( Japanese ),...
- 346
7
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What does '여보세요' mean in the middle of a conversation?
I learned '여보세요' as a way of saying 'Hello?' at the start of a conversation on the phone. However, I have heard it said in the middle of conversations too - sometimes when it seemed like people were ...
- 13.5k
6
votes
2
answers
293
views
Reference request: Chinese root of Korean
I have been a user of StackExchange for more than a year, but am a new user of Korean Language SE. If my post does not meet the requirements of this site, please kindly offer me an opportunity to edit ...
- 245
4
votes
1
answer
529
views
How do we use "면에서"?
Can '면에서' be used as a direct translation and be used in all contexts? 'In terms of..' is quite flexible and can be used in a lot of different contexts. But is it the same for '면에서'? When and how do ...
user1831
4
votes
2
answers
108
views
What does 키재기식의 상식 대결 mean?
기실 세번이나 모임에 나오면서도 나는 이들이 어쩌면 통신에 존재하는 허다한 마니아 집단들처럼, 도토리 [[키재기식의]] 상식 대결이나 벌이는, 할 일 없는 속물들은 아닐까 하는 생각을 하고 있었던 것이다.
So I get that it literally means acorn height measurement but I don't understand ...
- 501
4
votes
2
answers
8k
views
What's the origin and meaning of '썸타다'?
Naver defines '썸타다' as:
have a fling
The action of pushing and pulling when a man and a woman who are attracted to but haven't started seeing each other.
These seem to be different meanings. The ...
- 13.5k
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
If a wife works and her husband stays at home, are 집사람 and 바깥분 still appropriate for "wife" and "husband" respectively?
Have the 'inside-person' and 'outside-person' meanings of 집사람 and 바깥분 faded sufficiently that they still mean 'wife' and 'husband' in all cases?
If someone is a house husband, might it seem like ...
- 13.5k