This article is about Korean words of Chinese origin. For the Korean use of Chinese characters, see Hanja.
Sino-Koreanvocabulary or Hanja-eo (Korean: 한자어; Hanja: 漢字語) refers to Korean words of Chinese origin. Sino-Korean vocabulary includes words borrowed directly from Chinese, as well as new Korean words created from Chinese characters, and words borrowed from Sino-Japanese vocabulary. Many of these terms were borrowed during the height of Chinese-language literature on Korean culture. Subsequently, many of these words have also been truncated or altered for the Korean language.
The use of Chinese and Chinese characters in Korea dates back to at least 194 BCE. While Sino-Korean words were widely used during the Three Kingdoms period, they became even more popular during the Silla period. During this time, male aristocrats changed their given names to Sino-Korean names. Additionally, the government changed all official titles and place names in the country to Sino-Korean.[4]
Sino-Korean words remained popular during the Goryeo and Joseon periods.[4] Ultimately, the majority of Sino-Korean words were introduced before 1945, including Sino-Japanese words themselves that were introduced to Korea during Japanese Occupation.[5] In the contemporary era, Sino-Korean vocabulary has continued to grow in South Korea, where the meanings of Chinese characters are used to produce new words in Korean that do not exist in Chinese. By contrast, North Korean policy has called for many Sino-Korean words to be replaced by native Korean terms.[6]
Usage
Sino-Korean words constitute a large portion of South Korean vocabulary, the remainder being native Korean words and loanwords from other languages, such as Japanese and English to a lesser extent. Sino-Korean words are typically used in formal or literary contexts,[5] and to express abstract or complex ideas.[7]
Colloquially often used as a form of greeting. For example, annyeonghaseyo (Korean: 안녕하세요; Hanja: 安寧하세요; lit. "hello") from annyeong (Korean: 안녕; Hanja: 安寧; lit. "peace; tranquillity; wellness") + haseyo (Korean: 하세요; lit. "to do (casual polite)").
Colloquially often used to express shame, sorrow or as a form of apology. For example, mianhamnida (Korean: 미안합니다; Hanja: 未安합니다; lit. "I am sorry") from mian (Korean: 미안; Hanja: 未安; lit. "shame") + hamnida (Korean: 합니다; lit. "to do (formal polite)").
The Middle Chinese final consonants were semivowels (or glides) /j/ and /w/, nasals /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/, and stops /p/, /t/ and /k/. Sino-Korean preserves all the distinctions between final nasals and stops. Although Old Korean had a /t/ coda, words with the Middle Chinese coda /t/ have /l/ in Sino-Korean, reflecting a northern variety of Late Middle Chinese in which final /t/ had weakened to /r/.[28][29][full citation needed]
^Kim, Jin-su (2009-09-11). 우리말 70%가 한자말? 일제가 왜곡한 거라네 [Our language is 70% hanja? Japanese Empire distortion]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 2009-09-11. The dictionary mentioned is 우리말 큰 사전. Seoul: Hangul Hakhoe. 1992. OCLC27072560.
^Miyake (2004), pp. 113, 116. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFMiyake2004 (help)
^ abcdefgIn early prescriptive dictionaries, Middle Chinese aspirates always yield Sino-Korean aspirates, but in actual pronunciation aspiration is unpredictable.[27]
^ abIn Modern Sino-Korean, dentals [t]/[tʰ] preceding a palatal approximant [j] become palatalized as [tɕ]/[tɕʰ], respectively, e.g. 田: ttyen > cen, 定: ttyeng > ceng.