Hanja Archives | Koreanling

가락 Meaning; Fingers, Spoons and more

This is something I saw coming up in a few words, but unlike others I have covered, it isn’t based on Hanja or Sino-Korean!

By Pam, 3 weeksSeptember 18, 2025 ago

Beginner

Tea in Korean; Vocab, Culture, and More!

Tea is a classic drink with a long history, and Korea is no exception. Today I’ll dive a bit into the drink with vocab for the different kinds of tea in Korean, Korea’s culture and history with tea, some Sino-Korean, and more.

By Pam, 6 monthsApril 11, 2025 ago

Culture

Jejus Female Freedivers; the Haenyeo

Jeju’s Haenyeo (해녀; lit. sea women (海女)) are specialized female divers who earn their livelihood by diving without breathing equipment for abalone, conch, oysters, sea urchins, and more. And have been mastering the practice for multiple generations!

By Pam, 7 monthsMarch 20, 2025 ago

Intermediate

Sino-Korean Vocab; The 의 in 의미 Meaning

I’m back with more Sino-Korean! The 의 in 의미 meaning comes from the Hanja 意 which means thought/idea/opinion. You’ll see 의 in words related to meaning, intention, willingness, and even carelessness.

By Pam, 8 monthsFebruary 21, 2025 ago

Beginner

October 9th is Hangul Day!

Today is 한글날 or Hangul Day, which is a Korean holiday dedicated to celebrating the Korean writing system and its creator King Sejong! So to commemorate, I’ll go through a bit on Hangul’s history, King Sejong, and some resources on how to learn Hangul yourself.

By Pam, 12 monthsOctober 9, 2024 ago

Advanced

Negative Hanja words; Adding 불/부 to mean “not”

不 means “not” and is very much like not, non-, un-, dis-, etc. in English! It generally appears in Korean as 불 or 부 at the front of a word. With that said Let’s get into some negative Hanja words! I’ll start out by breaking some of the words down, so you get the 2-for-1 combo~

By Pam, 1 yearSeptember 21, 2024 ago

Beginner

Korean Organ Vocab + Internal Body Parts

A while ago I touched on Korean body vocab, now it’s time to dive deeper and go inside the body to the organs! I’ll cover Korean organ vocab from internal and external, along with bones, muscles, and more.

By Pam, 1 yearAugust 15, 2024 ago

Advanced

Hanja Study; The 문 in 문화 Meaning

You may have noticed 문 come up often when learning about writing or culture in Korean. From 문화 meaning to 문학 they are tied to a hanja of course! The hanja 文 means culture and literature/writing so you will see it in a lot of literature vocab in Korean.

By Pam, 1 yearJune 7, 2024 ago

Advanced

Why are so many Koreans named Kim?

Kim is everywhere as a surname in Korea, Koreans named Kim make up millions of the population! It’s almost guaranteed that you have come across this name enough to wonder “Why are so many Koreans named Kim?”.

By Pam, 1 yearApril 25, 2024 ago

Beginner

Sino Korean Vocab; The 생 in 인생 Meaning

The 생 in 인생 Meaning comes from the Hanja 生 which meaning is tied to life and living. You’ll find 생 in a lot of words; from a social life, birth, and even over to students!

By Pam, 2 yearsFebruary 28, 2024 ago