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In this lesson, you will learn five characters relating to the public, cities or working together.
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公 = 공 = Public/Shared/Equal
(Korean name: 공평할 공)
The Korean name of this character translates to “equal/fair 공”, but you will also find this character in a variety of words relating to the public.
Common words using this character:
公원 = park
주人公 = leading role in a story
公연 = performance
公평 = fair/equal
公주 = princess
公공 = public (the other “공” is 共, which you have not learned yet)
公무員 = somebody who works for the government
公개하다 = to make something public/announce
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市= 시 = City
(Korean name: 저자 시)
The words that this character can be found in relate to the word “city.”
You can also find this character after the names of cities in Korean.
Common words using this character:
市民 = citizen
市內 = downtown
大도市 = big city
小도市 = small city
서울특별市 = the (special) City of Seoul
의정부市 = the City of Uijeongbu
안山市 = the City of Ansan
市장 = market(place)
도市 = city
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區 = 구 = District/Division
(Korean name: 지경 구)
The word “구” acts as a level of division for parts of a city – sort of like how “borough,” “district” or “county” divide parts of states/cities in the US. Within a city, there will be many 구. Within a 구 there will be many 동. You will find this character after the names of various ‘구’ in Korean, or in regular words with the meaning “division.”
I also like this character because the picture depicts the meaning. I picture the outer box as the city, with the small inner boxes as the respective 구 within the city.
Common words using this character:
區분 = division
區별 = distinguish
區역 = area/district
서울특별市 江南區 = the City of Seoul, Gangnam district
區간 = section
Here is an example of where your knowledge of Hanja characters can pay off. While looking into a list of words that contain the character 區, I came across the word 구민 (區民). I have never seen this word before (in Korean or in 漢字) and I know exactly what it meant as soon as I saw it. With the meaning of 區 being “district” and 民 being “people/citizens of an area”, it is clear that 區民 represents the people who live in a certain district.
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洞 = 동 = Neighborhood
(Korean name: 골 동)
Aside from being in words that have some relation to “neighborhood,” you will also find this character in the names of neighborhoods. The word “동” acts as a level of division for parts of the city, sort of like how “borough” or “county” divide parts of states/cities in the US.
Common words using this character:
서울특별市 江南區 水西洞 = the City of Seoul, Gangnam district, Suseo neighborhood
洞內 = inside a neighborhood (not to be confused with 동네, which actually means “neighborhood”)
洞口 = the entrance to a neighborhood
명洞 = the name of a popular neighborhood in Seoul
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合 = 합 = Combine, Unite
(Korean name: 합할 합)
This character is mostly found in more difficult words, but the simplicity of its scripture (and simple meaning when used by itself) makes it very recognizable for Korean people.
Common words using this character:
合의 = agreement
종合 = put together
결合 = combine
合리적 = rational
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