Korean

PluralKoreans

1. 1
   adjective

   Relating to the Asian peninsula that comprises North Korea and South Korea.

   The Korean coastline is dotted with thousands of small islands.

   She wrote her thesis on traditional Korean architecture and temple design.

   Note

   Built from the place name plus the suffix -an, the same pattern that turns many places into adjectives of belonging. It does not take degrees: something is Korean or it is not, and phrases like "very Korean" stretch it into a looser, cultural sense. It sits naturally after traditional, as in traditional Korean patchwork or traditional Korean dance, where it points to heritage rather than to geography.

2. 2
   proper noununcountable

   The official language of people on the Korean Peninsula, spoken by roughly 60 million people in Asia, North America, and elsewhere.

   He speaks Korean fluently after living abroad for a decade.

   The university now offers Korean as part of its language program.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A person who is a native or resident of North Korea or South Korea, or who is of Korean descent.

   The conference brought together Koreans from both sides of the border.

   As a Korean living in Berlin, she often cooks dishes from home.

   Note

   The countable member of the family: one Korean, many Koreans. That keeps it apart from the name of the language, which takes no article or plural (she speaks Korean). It also reaches beyond citizenship to descent. K. Connie Kang's Home Was the Land of Morning Calm (1995) writes of ethnic Koreans living in China, a collocation that signals heritage rather than nationality.

4. 4
   adjective

   Relating to the Korean language, including its grammar, vocabulary, and writing system.

   The Korean alphabet is often praised for how systematically it is designed.

   He struggled with Korean pronunciation until a tutor corrected his vowels.

   Note

   The adjective of the language, and the one most easily confused with the regional adjective. A Korean teacher may be a teacher from Korea or a teacher of the language, and a Korean speaker may be someone from the peninsula or anyone who speaks it. Context usually settles it. When context does not, rephrasing as a teacher of Korean removes the doubt.

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