6/4/2021 Hanja Lesson 8: 韓, 國, 民, 美, 漢

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Hanja Lesson 8: 韓, 國, 民, 美, 漢

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In this lesson, you will learn five characters that all have meanings related to
countries.

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韓 = 한 = Korea

(Korean name: 나라이름 한)

Drawing the character 韓 is somewhat difficult as a beginner because there are a

lot of strokes that need to be performed. A lot of times a complex character also
has a complex meaning and is not very common in Korea. However, this
character literally means “Korea,” so you can find it in many places. Writing
around any government buildings, web-pages or documents is often very formal,
therefore the Hanja characters are often written as well.

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6/4/2021 Hanja Lesson 8: 韓, 國, 民, 美, 漢

Common Words using this Character:

韓국 = Korea

大韓민국 = The Republic of Korea (official name of Korea)

韓복 = traditional Korean clothing

北韓 = North Korea

南北韓 = North and South Korea

韓국人 = a Korean person

韓국어 = Korean language

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國 = 국 = Country

(Korean name: 나라 국)
SENTENCE PRACTICE
VIDEOS
While this character is slightly difficult to draw at first, it is very recognizable
because few characters look similar to it. Definitely one of the characters that
every Korean person is expected to be able to recognize. The names of many
countries end in “國” in Korean.  It would also be beneficial to be able to
recognize the simplified version of this character; both because it is very common
and because it is easy to recognize (国)

DICTATION PRACTICE
VIDEOS

Common Words using this Character:

VOCABULARY PRACTICE
韓國 = Korea

VIDEOS
中國 = China

天國 = heaven

國제 = international

大韓민國 = The Republic of Korea

母國 = one’s homeland (motherland)

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6/4/2021 Hanja Lesson 8: 韓, 國, 民, 美, 漢

母國어 = one’s mother tongue

KOREAN SIGN
전國 = a whole country
EXPLANATION
韓國人 = Korean person

外國 = a foreign country

外國人 = a foreigner

國內 = inside a country

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民 = 민 = The people (of a country)

(Korean name: 백성 민)

Used along with other characters to represent the masses of a population.

Common Words using this Character:

大韓民國 = The Republic of Korea

國民 = the people of a country

시民 = citizen

주民 = resident

民주주의 = democracy

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美 = 미 = Beautiful/United States

(Korean name: 아름다울 미)

This character is actually written on signs all over Korea in its Hanja form –
therefore, everybody should be able to recognize it. The most common places
you will find it is on signs designating that a store is a beauty-parlor/hair-salon.

The “United States” in Korea (and Chinese for that matter) literally translates to
“beautiful country.” As a Canadian, I take offense to that.

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6/4/2021 Hanja Lesson 8: 韓, 國, 民, 美, 漢

Common Words using this Character:

美國 = the United States

美國人 = an American

美술 = Art

美人 = a beautiful person

美女 = a beautiful woman

美용실 = beauty parlor

美男 = a beautiful man (pretty boy)

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漢 = 한 = Korea/China

(Korean name: 한나라 한)

You learned earlier that the character “韓” means Korea. It is very easy for learners
to be confused between “韓” and “漢”, which are both “한.” You will find the
character 漢 on various things around or in Korea in relation to the Han River (the
river that goes through Seoul). However, 韓 is typically used to refer to things
that literally refer to the country of Korea (for example, the country itself, the
language and the people).

Common Words using this Character:

漢문 = writing Korean in Chinese characters

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6/4/2021 Hanja Lesson 8: 韓, 國, 民, 美, 漢

漢字 = Hanja

漢양 = Hanyang (an old name for the city of Seoul)

漢성 = Hanseong (an old name for the city of Seoul)

漢강 = Han River (the river that goes through Seoul)

北漢山 = Bukhansan (mountain range in the north of Seoul)

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