32. Korean family vocabulary

32. Korean Family Vocabulary

Understanding Korean family vocabulary is an essential part of learning the language. Family is a central component of Korean culture, and many everyday conversations involve references to family members. Understanding how to refer to different family members can help you communicate more effectively and better understand Korean culture.

Nuclear Family

In Korean, the word for family is '가족' (gajok). Let's start with the closest members of the nuclear family.

• Father - 아버지 (abeoji)
• Mother - 어머니 (eomeoni)
• Big brother (to a man) - 형 (hyeong)
• Big brother (to a woman) - 오빠 (oppa)
• Older sister (to a man) - 누나 (nuna)
• Big sister (to a woman) - 언니 (eonni)
• Younger brother - 동생 (dongsaeng)
• Younger sister - 동생 (dongsaeng)

Note that in Korean, there are different words for older brother and older sister depending on your own gender. Furthermore, '동생' (dongsaeng) is used to refer to both younger brothers and sisters.

Extended Family

Now, let's expand our vocabulary to include the extended family.

• Grandfather - 할아버지 (halabeoji)
• Grandmother - 할머니 (halmeoni)
• Uncle (on father's side) - 삼촌 (samchon)
• Uncle (on mother's side) - 외삼촌 (oesamchon)
• Aunt (on father's side) - 고모 (gomo)
• Aunt (on mother's side) - 외숙모 (oesukmo)
• Cousin (male) - 사촌 (sachon)
• Prima (female) - 사촌누나/언니/동생 (sachonnuna/eonni/dongsaeng)

Again, in Korean, there are different words for uncles and aunts depending on whether they are your father's or mother's siblings. For cousins, '사촌' (sachon) is used for male cousins, while '사촌누나', '사촌언니' or '사촌동생' are used for female cousins, depending on their relative age.

Conclusion

This is just a glimpse of Korean family vocabulary. There are many other terms for other family members and family relationships. However, learning these basic words can provide you with a solid foundation to deepen your knowledge of Korean vocabulary and your understanding of Korean culture. Remember to practice these words regularly to help reinforce your learning and increase your Korean fluency.

We hope that this chapter of our Basic Korean e-book course was useful for you. Keep studying and practicing, and you'll soon see improvements in your Korean speaking ability!

Now answer the exercise about the content:

What is the Korean word for the following family members: Father, Mother and Younger Brother?

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