한

From Middle Korean ᄒᆞᆫ (hòn).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ha̠n]
• Phonetic hangul: [한]

한 • (han)

1. one (as a determiner numeral before a noun or classifier)

   새 한 마리가 날아간다.

   Sae han mari-ga naraganda.

   A bird is flying away.

In modern Korean, numbers are usually written in Arabic numerals.

The Korean language has two sets of numerals: a native set of numerals inherited from Old Korean, and a Sino-Korean set which was borrowed from Middle Chinese in the first millennium C.E.

Native classifiers take native numerals.

• 개 한 마리 (gae han mari, “one dog”, native numeral)
• 나무 두 그루 (namu du geuru, “two trees”, native numeral)

Some Sino-Korean classifiers take native numerals, others take Sino-Korean numerals, while yet others take both.

• 종이 두 장(張) (jong'i du jang, “two sheets of paper”, native numeral)
• 이 분(分) (i bun, “two minutes”, Sino-Korean numeral)
• 서른/삼십 명(名) (seoreun/samsip myeong, “thirty people”, both sets possible)

Recently loaned classifiers generally take Sino-Korean numerals.

• 일 킬로미터 (il killomiteo, “one kilometer”, Sino-Korean numeral)

For many terms, a native numeral has a quantifying sense, whereas a Sino-Korean numeral has a sense of labeling.

• 세 반(班) (se ban, “three school classes”, native numeral)
• 삼 반(班) (sam ban, “Class Number Three”, Sino-Korean numeral)

When used in isolation, native numerals refer to objects of that number and are used in counting and quantifying, whereas Sino-Korean numerals refer to the numbers in a more mathematical sense.

• 하나만 더 주세요 (hana-man deo juse-yo, “Could you give me just one more, please”, native numeral)
• 일 더하기 일은? (il deohagi ir-eun?, “What's one plus one?”, Sino-Korean numeral)

While older stages of Korean had native numerals up to the thousands, native numerals currently exist only up to ninety-nine, and Sino-Korean is used for all higher numbers. There is also a tendency—particularly among younger speakers—to uniformly use Sino-Korean numerals for the higher tens as well, so that native numerals such as 일흔 (ilheun, “seventy”) or 아흔 (aheun, “ninety”) are becoming less common.

한 • (han)

1. (before a numeral) about, around

   Synonym: 대략(大略) (daeryak)

Sino-Korean word from 恨, from the Middle Korean reading ᄒᆞᆫ (Yale: hon).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ha̠(ː)n]
• Phonetic hangul: [한(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

한 • (han) (hanja 恨)

1. deep-seated resentment

   한이 맺히다 ― han-i maechida ― to have a deep-seated resentment

Koreans use the character differently from any of their neighbors to mean the “virtuous, patient endurance of injustice” or “emotional longing for justice.” If one analyzes the pairings with other characters and usage in the original Chinese or Japanese, the meaning is much more negative, as in “holding” or “avenging” a grudge.

• 한(恨)하다 (hanhada)
• See the hanja entry at 恨 for Sino-Korean compounds of 한 (恨, han).

Sino-Korean word from 韓, from the Middle Korean reading 한 (Yale: han).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ha̠(ː)n]
• Phonetic hangul: [한(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

한 • (Han) (hanja 韓)

1. Short for 한국(韓國) (Han'guk, “Korea, the Republic of Korea”).
2. a surname
3. (historical) Han (ancient Chinese county, viscounty, and kingdom of the Zhou dynasty)

   Synonym: 한(韓)나라 (Hannara)

• 한(韓)나라 (Hannara)
• See the hanja entry at 韓 for Sino-Korean compounds of 한 (韓, han).

Sino-Korean word from 漢, from the Middle Korean reading 한 (Yale: han).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ha̠(ː)n]
• Phonetic hangul: [한(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

한 • (Han) (hanja 漢)

1. (historical) Han dynasty

   Synonym: 한(漢)나라 (Hannara)

2. a surname

• 한(漢)나라 (Hannara)
• See the hanja entry at 漢 for Sino-Korean compounds of 한 (漢, han).

—한 • (-han) (hanja 漢)

1. (dated, often negative) man; person

   문외한 (門外漢) ― an outsider

   냉혈한 (冷血漢) ― a heartless man

   호색한 (好色漢) ― a lecherous man

• See the hanja entry at 漢 for Sino-Korean compounds of 한 (漢, han).

Sino-Korean word from 限, from the Middle Korean reading ᄒᆞᆫ (Yale: hon).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ha̠(ː)n]
• Phonetic hangul: [한(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

한 • (han) (hanja 限)

1. limit; end; bound

   그것이 한이다.

   Geugeos-i han-ida.

   That is the limit.

2. being as long as; being as far as

   내가 알고 있는 한, ...

   Nae-ga algo inneun han, ...

   As far as I've been informed ...

3. a word used to indicate that the extent of what is referred to in the preceding statement is beyond measure
4. a word used to indicate a situation in which one is expected to sacrifice oneself for a certain task or endure a difficult and painful circumstance

• 한(限)하다 (hanhada)
• See the hanja entry at 限 for Sino-Korean compounds of 한 (限, han).

• National Institute of Korean Language (CC BY-SA 2.0 KR)