How to learn Korean vocabulary faster | Korean Radicals
WHAT ARE RADICALS?
In Korean, there is a different writing system called “Hanja”. These are Chinese characters. Only Korean words of Chinese origin have a corresponding Hanja character(s). Each Hanja character is composed of one of 214 radicals! Radicals are small pieces that can help you deduce the meaning of many vocabulary words.
Example:
The Hanja: 中
The Korean Word: 중
Definition: Middle
중-학교 = Middle school
중-급 = Intermediate/mid level
LIST OF RADICALS:
Hanja:上 = 상 = Above/High
Hanja: 下 = 하 = Underneath/Below
Hanja: 初 = 초 = Beginning
Hanja: 中 = 중 = Middle
Hanja: 日 = 일 = Day
Hanja: 月 = 월 = Month
Hanja: 年 = 년 = Year
Hanja: 口 = 구 = Mouth/Opening
VOCABULARY LIST:
Hanja:上 = 상 = Above/High
인상하다 = raise, increase
천상 = heaven, celestial
지상 = top (the highest)
상체 = upper body
상반기 = first half of a year, first half
상원 = upper house, the senate
상공 = high sky, midair
상기 = the above, being aforementioned
상단 = top, upper end, upper part
상승 = rise, increase
상하 = top and bottom, upper and
lower classes, high and low
Hanja: 下 = 하 = Underneath/Below
인하하다 = reduce, cut, decrease
천하 = being second to none
지하 = basement, afterlife, underground
지하철 = subway
하체 = lower body
하반기 = second half of a year, second half
하반기 영화 = second half of movie
Hanja: 初 = 초 = Beginning
초등학교 = elementary school
초등학생 = elementary students
초면 = stranger, first meeting
초보 = beginner level, first step
초보자 = beginner
초반 = early stage, initial phase
초봄 = early spring
초연 = premiere, debut
초로 = early old age
초안 = first draft, draft, rough plan
Hanja: 中 = 중 = Middle
중학교 = middle school
중급 = Intermediate level
중앙= middle, capital, being central
한밤중 = midnight, middle of the night
중순 = being mid
오월 중순 = mid May, middle of May
도중 = being on the way, being in the middle
중거리 = being mid distance, mid range
중심 = cente, confidence
중도 = being in the middle, being on the way
중립 = neutrality, being neutral, indifferent
중반 = middle stage, middle phase
중서부 = the mid west, the middle west
중세 시대 =the middle ages, medieval
중년 = middle aged, middle age
Hanja: 日 = 일 = Day
내일 = tomorrow
매일 = everyday
일상 = daily
하루종일 = all day long
생일 = birthday
기념일 = anniversary
발매일 = date of issue, release date
사망일 = date of death, death day
완공일 = time of completion
출시일 = release date, launch date
당일 = that day, within the same day
월요일= Monday
화요일= Tuesday
수요일 = Wednesday
etc,
Hanja: 月 = 월 = Month
월급 = salary, monthly wage
월세 = monthly rent, rental fee
매월 = every month
월요일 = Monday
월간 = being monthly;
monthly publication , monthly issue
월경 = menstruation, flow
월초 =beginning of the month
월말 = end of the month
정월 = January
1월 = January
2월 = February
3월 = March
etc,
Hanja: 年 = 년 = Year
작년 = last year
내년 = next year
매년 = every year
금년 = this year
학년 = school year, grade
생년 = year of birth
생년월일 = date of birth
Hanja: 口 = 구 = Mouth/Opening
입구 = entrance
출구 = exit
입출구 = entrance and exit
구내 = inside of a building
That's all for this lesson! Of course there are way more radicals a d way more vocabulary than I mentioned in this post.
Here’s a tip to get more words like this:
Google one of these radicals, type “Korean words that start/end with [Insert radical]”. For example, I searched Korean words that start with 초 and was able to find a lot of words. Not every word that is listed will be a radical, but you can use a translator/dictionary to figure it out. I recommend this website: ezglot (It worked pretty well for me, but there are probably better sites).
HowtostudyKorean also has done a lot of good lessons on Hanja. You can see the hanja and stroke order plus a few example words.