Sino-Korean or hanja-eo (Korean: 한자어, Hanja: 漢字語) refers to the set of words in the Korean language vocabulary that originated from or were influenced by hanja. The Sino-Korean lexicon consists of both words coined in the Korean language using hanja.
Sino-Korean words are one of the three main types of vocabulary in Korean. The other two are native Korean words and foreign words imported from other languages, mostly from English.[1]
Many academic and scientific terms were borrowed from Japanese, which had created a large body of Sino-Japanese terms by coining or reusing Chinese words to translate Western terminology (mainly English and German). Under the Japanese annexation, this vocabulary was borrowed into Korean by systematically reading the characters with Korean pronunciations. On the other hand, a small number of Sino-Korean words were coined by the Koreans themselves.
Currently, most Sino-Korean meaning is different from the Chinese. This is due to various causes, including borrowing from Japanese, divergence of Korean meanings from Chinese, or Korean coinage of new words. Especially, in the case of Korean newspapers and scientific&tech terms, absolutely most of Sino-Korean Vocabularies are borrowed from modern Sino-Japanese vocabulary.
Vocabulary
Sino-Korean or hanja-eo (Korean: 한자어, Hanja: 漢字語) refers to the set of words in the Korean language vocabulary that originated from or were influenced by hanja. The Sino-Korean lexicon consists of both words coined in the Korean language using hanja.
Sino-Korean words are one of the three main types of vocabulary in Korean. The other two are native Korean words and foreign words imported from other languages, mostly from English.[1]
Many academic and scientific terms were borrowed from Japanese, which had created a large body of Sino-Japanese terms by coining or reusing Chinese words to translate Western terminology (mainly English and German). Under the Japanese annexation, this vocabulary was borrowed into Korean by systematically reading the characters with Korean pronunciations. On the other hand, a small number of Sino-Korean words were coined by the Koreans themselves.
Currently, most Sino-Korean meaning is different from the Chinese. This is due to various causes, including borrowing from Japanese, divergence of Korean meanings from Chinese, or Korean coinage of new words. Especially, in the case of Korean newspapers and scientific&tech terms, absolutely most of Sino-Korean Vocabularies are borrowed from modern Sino-Japanese vocabulary.