Korean word

말

Pronunciation

Romanizationmal

Meaning

  • nountalk

Example

지하철에서 모르는 사람과 잠깐 말을 했어요.chi ha cheo re seo mo reu neun sa ram gwa cham kkan ma reul hae sseo yo

I had a brief talk with a stranger on the subway.

Illustration for 말 (talk)

More examples

처음에 말을 걸어 준 사람이 친절했어요.cheo eu me ma reul keo reo chun sa ra mi chin jeol hae sseo yo

The person who spoke to me first was kind.

Core concept

Words move from one person to another through spoken conversation.

Common phrases

  • 말을 하다ma reul ha da

    talk

  • 말을 걸다ma reul keol da

    strike up a conversation

  • 말이 많다ma ri man ta

    talk a lot

Similar words

말씀malsseum: Words or opinions referred to with respect because of the speaker's age, position, or wisdom.
얘기yaegi: Casual talk shared between familiar people about a subject or something that happened.
대화taehwa: A mutual exchange of views aimed at understanding or agreement.
이야기iyagi: A spoken account that relates events or experiences in an ordered way.

Definition in Korean

다른 사람과 소리를 내어 생각이나 정보를 주고받는 행위나 그 내용을 가리키는 말ta reun sa ram gwa so ri reul nae eo saeng ga gi na cheong bo reul chu go ban neun haeng wi na keu nae yong eul ka ri ki neun mal

Word origin

This is a native Korean word with a long history of referring to spoken communication and a close connection to the verb meaning to speak.

Usage tips

  • In daily life, 말 (mal, "speech") is useful for a quick chat, so learners do not need to wait for a formal speech to use this word.

Other meanings

  • wordnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 말하다malhadatalkverb
  • 말버릇malbeoreutspeech habitnoun
  • 말솜씨malsomssispeaking abilitynoun

Word lists with this word