Korean Dictionary – 한국어 사전 « Daily Dose of Hangul (한글)

Korean Dictionary – 한국어 사전

In learning any language it is essential to have a reliable dictionary to reference with. When I decided that I will learn Korean the linguistics way, I stopped on buying phrase books and began looking for reference materials that would help me in my objective.

I initially bought a thin English-Korean / Korean-English Dictionary just for the heck of getting one for my basics. It really felt short with my needs as it contains limited words. Then I invested to a relatively pricey one although its just around 11USD or Php 498, I bought Berlitz Korean Compact Dictionary (한국어 사전 – Hankugeo Sajeon) in a local bookstore, PowerBooks.

berlitz-compact-sajon1

Unlike the English dictionary, one should be cautious in using an English-Korean / Korean-English Dictionary. Korean has this dictionary form for words specifically on verbs and this is not the form used in a conversation. This is also something that you will miss learning when you dwell too much on phrasebooks. It is also important to note that in a sentence Korean normally uses particles or marker for subject, topic or object. These particles form part of the word and is pronounced without any pause. So the word 나 (Na – which mean I or me) can be heard as:

내가 or 내 (Naega or nae) – I as subject in a sentence
나는 or 난 (Naneun or Nan) – I as topic in a sentence the second one in contracted form
나의 (Naui) – possessive form as in mine or my
나도 (Nado) – Me too or I too

I find this dictionary comprehensive enough for my needs. It even contains some modern words and notation if the word is vulgar, colloquial or humble. Notation if word is related to computer, financial, biology, anatomy or which specific part of speed (noun, verb, adjective) is likewise available.

The featured word is printed bold and in color blue so it’s easy to spot what you are looking for. I guess this is a better dictionary compared to the rest I saw while searching for one. There are bigger versions but so far this handy sajon is good enough for me.

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Sillyehamnida
kamus ini di jakarta ada ga yah?
untuk mendapatkan buku asing terutama bahasa korea itu sangat sulit..

Comment by Dwi Retno Wulandari — February 22, 2009 #

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- i am sorry i don’t understand bahasa (i am guessing based on words). Mianhaeyo.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — February 22, 2009 #
  
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what does “hagoshipo” mean in english.
Please reply, I just started learning korean two months ago and i keep hearing this word but i dont know what it means

Comment by DeAnna — March 18, 2009 #

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- thanks for dropping by…
  하 (ha) means to do
  고 싶어 (-go shipo) is an auxiliary verb which means want to or wish to it cannot stand on its own so it needs a verb before it in the base form.
  so, 하고 싶어 (hago shipo) means wanting to or wishing to do something
  
  Comment by janey_bei — March 18, 2009 #
  
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isn’t it suppose to be i miss you?? hago shipo

Comment by JBK — March 28, 2009 #

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- @JBK I miss you is bogo shipo. hago shipo means want to do.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — April 7, 2009 #
  
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Can you tell me what “obgetchiman” means?

Comment by Leanne — March 29, 2009 #

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- is 없겠지만 what she’s asking? cause it’s kinda missing something if it is ^_^
  
  Comment by yeon_ni — June 10, 2009 #
  
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- 없겠지만 literally means will no longer exists but…
  없다 + -겠 = verb which mean not existing and future marker
  지만 means but or however.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — July 7, 2009 #
  
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i had this too~!!
it’s really useful..
sometimes i slept with this books xP xP

Comment by baLmickY ^^ — April 1, 2009 #

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,can i ask what sunbae means?ty

Comment by xycingko — May 1, 2009 #

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- that is how you address someone senior to you like your a senior class friend when you are still junior. Or someone who is ahead of you in the office.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — May 12, 2009 #
  
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hey can I ask what “Sarangheo” means?
and the “I Love You” in korean? thanks!

Comment by daadaaa — May 23, 2009 #

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- hmm i think its saranghaeyo instead of sarangheo it actually means i love you but youc an also say saranghamnida which is a bit formal. the intimate one would be saranghae. the word it self is just a verb for ‘love’, as Korean can drop subject and object of the sentence thus counterpart for i and you cannot be found on that phrase but it means the same. you can also say ‘Na noreul saranghae’ Na meaning I and noreul meaning you with object particle on it. its a bit confusing since korean have a diffirent word order compared to English.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — May 27, 2009 #
  
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hi, i would like to get a copy of this book…
i’m staying in Malaysia and where can i get it?

By the way, how much does it cost?

kamsahamnida……

Comment by sun-ah — June 28, 2009 #

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- you can order online via amazon. i have not been to malaysia so i don’ tknow where to get it from there have you checked the biggest bookstore there? in Singapore most bookstore have this dictionary.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — June 29, 2009 #
  
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- I bought this dictionary on Monday (29 June 09) at Orchard Kinokuniya, the price is S$31.99.
  
  Comment by Jenny — July 1, 2009 #
  
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  - Sorry, my dictionary is Berlitz, Korean “Concise” Dictionary (Korean-English) . (English-Korean), there is another Korean Dictionary that cost about S$50.00 but I prefer this one.
    
    Comment by Jenny — July 1, 2009 #
I’m going to start my korean lesson another 2 weeks later, any advice that I can do my homework before I start?

It looks very difference from Japanese, I find it is difficult to read the hangul, any good learning website can recommend me?

Example :

I’m sorry
미안하다 is Mianhaeyo (which character is which one?)

Thanks

Jenny

Comment by Jenny — July 1, 2009 #

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- study the hangul characters first. there is a post here about it.
  미 – mi
  안 an
  하 – ha
  다 – da
  you have to learn how to read the hangul characters first, it’s important and it’s easy if you take a look at it. then how word is formed using these characters is the next thing to learn. if you notice it forms a block so one block is actually one syllable. in most cases the composition of block is Consonant-Vowel-Consonant or Consonant-Vowel. However, you will find patterns like C-V-C-C.
  
  Try buying Elementary Korean, I also posted it in this site. It wil lhelp you a lot in the introduction to hangul. It’s available in Kinokuniya, I in fact bought mine there.
  
  i also use berlitz compact dictionary. it’s good enough for beginners like us.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — July 1, 2009 #
  
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  - I’ve downloaded some youtube korean language (hangul) introduction from “busyatom” and exploring on “Koreanclass101″.
    
    I’m trying to memorize as much characters as possible before I start my class on mid July.
    
    Thanks for your advise and will visit here to “steal” information.
    
    Comment by Jenny — July 2, 2009 #
  - Thanks.
    
    I’m doing some self-study on hangul now, and can recognise the basic one already, I hope my korean lessons will be fruitfull and keep me continue study korean.
    
    ありがとう　ございます (Thank you)
    
    Jenny
    
    Comment by Jenny — July 9, 2009 #
like this..
hehe

i want to learn korean too,
hmmm..
but it rather difficult..
so i decided just to know the “daily use sentences”..hehe

and ure post really help..
thanks^^

Comment by Si Icha — July 7, 2009 #

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hi, I’m from Phil. Where can I buy this book? This is really helpful. Is it available here in the Philippines?. if you would mind? you’ve done a great help! thanks!

Comment by sj — August 25, 2009 #

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- The dictionary is available in Powerbooks and Fully Booked. I also some National Bookstores selling the Berlitz compact English-Korean/Korean-English Dictionary. Btw, I am also Filipino.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — August 26, 2009 #
  
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hmmm, I am also learning korea’s language. I find it easy when it comes to hangul writing but when it is about particles i find it a little bit hard ~

Comment by sj — August 25, 2009 #

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hi.. i wanna ask something.. what does marya means?

Comment by seunghyun_luvee — September 19, 2009 #

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- it’s hard to say the meaning when you write it romanized… if this is actually 말야 then it means must or need to speak or say or tell.
  말 (mal) is a verb that means to say or to tell while 야 (-ya) is actually a post-position which denotes obligation. you might wonder it should have been malya but as you know ㄹ when sandwiched with 2 vowel becomes more of an ‘r’ sound than ‘l’ in Korean. I hope i was able to answer this question.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — September 23, 2009 #
  
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.hello..:) i’m a student. filipina here..:) i know how to read hangul and write [just a little like names and familiar words] but i get confused when there are “particles” which i don’t even understand..if i buy the book that you suggested then will there be any lessons [in that dictionary] on how to write korean sentences? and i also find it hard writing in hangeul because some letters are added [letters like ss at the end of a syllable] i don’t know when to use that when writing..:) i’m sorry for the long post..i’ve been self-studying hangeul for a year now..so i’m planning to learn it the best way i can..:) i’m self-studying because i can’t find a language school where i can learn and my mom disapproves of me being addicted to korean stuffs..please reply..:)

Comment by iane.09 — November 8, 2009 #

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- hi i am from the same country. i have been doing self study too but i took Korean I language course in UP. You can try studying there it’s pretty cheap compared to other language school that teaches just phrases.
  
  Comment by janey_bei — November 12, 2009 #
  
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Annyeong Haseyo.
Je ireumeum Mohd Nur Asyiq imnida.Jeoneun Singapore saram imnida.
This blogpost has been very helpful for me.Gamsa hamnida
I have been learning the Korean language on my own from the internet and I find these websites quite helpful in my studies.Hopefully they will be a great help to you too (:

- http://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/korean/kkl100/contents.html
- http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm
- http://www.korea.net/search/contents/tar_gen_ess_Everyday.htm

Haha!Hopefully it helps!

Annyonghi jumusseyo!

Comment by Asyiq — November 9, 2009 #

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- thanks for dropping by, i started learning with sogang’s website =)
  
  Comment by janey_bei — November 12, 2009 #
  
  Reply