Double Your Korean Vocab | Compound Korean Words

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Did you know there are a lot of words in Korean that combine to create bigger words? Today, I have compiled a list of the most common ones.

Vocabulary List:

• 손목 – wrist (손 hand + 목 neck/wrist)

• 발목 – ankle (발 foot + 목 joint)

• 머리카락 – hair (머리 head + 카락 strand)

• 눈썹 – eyebrow (눈 eye + 썹 brow)

• 코끝 – tip of nose (코 nose + 끝 tip)

• 입술 – lips (입 mouth + 술 lip)

• 물고기 – fish (물 water + 고기 meat)

• 장갑 – gloves (장 arm + 갑 cover)

• 신발 – shoes (신 wear + 발 foot)

• 손가락 – finger (손 hand + 가락 finger)

• 발가락 – toe (발 foot + 가락 toe)

• 귀밑 – under the ear (귀 ear + 밑 below)

• 손바닥 – palm (손 hand + 바닥 sole)

• 발바닥 – sole (발 foot + 바닥 sole)

• 머리띠 – headband (머리 head + 띠 band)

• 눈물 – tears (눈 eye + 물 water)

• 얼굴 – face (얼 face + 굴 feature)

• 손톱 – fingernail (손 hand + 톱 nail)

• 발톱 – toenail (발 foot + 톱 nail)

• 손길 – touch/gesture (손 hand + 길 path/way)

• 물병 – water bottle (물 water + 병 bottle)

• 바닷물 – seawater (바다 sea + 물 water)

• 눈길 – gaze (눈 eye + 길 way/path)

• 손길 – touch/helping hand (손 hand + 길 path)

• 머릿속 – in one’s head/mind (머리 head + 속 inside)

• 발자국 – footprint (발 foot + 자국 mark)

• 손전등 – flashlight (손 hand + 전등 light)

• 물컵 – water cup (물 water + 컵 cup)

• 눈빛 – expression in eyes (눈 eye + 빛 light)

• 손수건 – handkerchief (손 hand + 수건 towel)

• 눈사람 – snowman (눈 snow + 사람 person)

• 손수건 – handkerchief (손 hand + 수건 towel)

• 책가방 – school bag (책 book + 가방 bag)

• 물고기 – fish (물 water + 고기 meat)

• 자동차 – car (자동 automatic + 차 vehicle)

• 비행기 – airplane (비행 flight + 기 machine)

• 소방차 – fire truck (소방 firefighting + 차 vehicle)

• 경찰관 – police officer (경찰 police + 관 officer)

• 주머니칼 – pocketknife (주머니 pocket + 칼 knife)

• 바닷가 – seaside (바다 sea + 가 edge)

• 고속도로 – highway (고속 high-speed + 도로 road)

• 지하철 – subway (지하 underground + 철 iron/rail)

• 핸드폰 – cellphone (hand + phone → Koreanized)

• 노트북 – laptop (note + book → Koreanized, now compound use)

• 소나무 – pine tree (소 small + 나무 tree → original compound)

• 강아지풀 – green foxtail (강아지 puppy + 풀 grass)

• 달빛 – moonlight (달 moon + 빛 light)

• 햇빛 – sunlight (해 sun + 빛 light)

• 눈물 – tear (눈 eye + 물 water)

• 심장박동 – heartbeat (심장 heart + 박동 beating)

• 입구 – entrance (입 enter + 구 mouth/opening)

• 출구 – exit (출 exit + 구 opening)

• 화장실 – bathroom (화장 makeup + 실 room)

• 도서관 – library (도서 books + 관 hall/building)

• 식당 – restaurant (식 eat + 당 hall)

• 음악가 – musician (음악 music + 가 person/artist)

• 노래방 – karaoke room (노래 song + 방 room)

• 운동화 – sneakers (운동 exercise + 화 shoes)

• 백화점 – department store (백 hundred/all + 화 goods + 점 store)

• 생활비 – living expenses (생활 life + 비 cost/expense)

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EXAMPLE SENTENCES:

not every word has an example sentence

• 손목 – 제 손목이 아파요.

(My wrist hurts.)

발목 – 그는 발목을 삐었어요.

(He sprained his ankle.)

머리카락 – 머리카락이 많이 길었어요.

(My hair has grown a lot.)

눈썹 – 그녀는 눈썹을 다듬었어요.

(She shaped her eyebrows.)

• 코끝 – 코끝이 시원해요.

(The tip of my nose feels cold.)

입술 – 입술이 많이 트었어요.

(My lips are very chapped.)

• 물고기 – 저녁에 물고기를 구워 먹었어요.

(I grilled fish for dinner.)

장갑 – 추워서 장갑을 껴야 해요.

(It’s cold, so I need to wear gloves.)

• 신발 – 새 신발이 편해요.

(My new shoes are comfortable.)

손가락 – 손가락에 반지를 끼었어요.

(I put a ring on my finger.)

발가락 – 발가락이 시려워요.

(My toes are cold.)

귀밑 – 머리를 자르면서 귀밑을 다듬었어요.

(I trimmed under my ears while cutting my hair.)

손바닥 – 손바닥에 땀이 나요.

(My palms are sweaty.)

발바닥 – 발바닥이 아파서 걷기 힘들어요.

(My soles hurt, so it’s hard to walk.)

머리띠 – 운동할 때 머리띠를 해요.

(I wear a headband when I exercise.)

눈물 – 영화 보다가 눈물이 났어요.

(I cried while watching the movie.)

얼굴 – 얼굴이 빨개졌어요.

(My face turned red.)

손톱 – 손톱을 깎아야 해요.

(I need to cut my fingernails.)

발톱 – 발톱에 매니큐어를 발랐어요.

(I painted my toenails.)

손수건 – 코를 풀 때 손수건을 사용해요.

(I use a handkerchief when I blow my nose.)

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