Korean word

성

Pronunciation

Romanizationseong

Meaning

  • nounlast name

Example

성이 뭐예요?seong i mwo ye yo

What's your last name?

Illustration for 성 (last name)

More examples

모임에서 자기 성을 먼저 말했다.mo i me seo cha gi seong eul meon jeo mal haet tta

At the meeting, I gave my last name first.

Core concept

The short family-name part that links a person to their family line.

Common phrases

  • 성과 이름seong gwa i reum

    surname and given name

  • 성을 밝히다seong eul pal ki da

    state one's last name

Similar words

성씨seongssi: An inherited family name that usually comes before the personal name.
성함seongham: A respectful way to refer to someone's name in polite conversation.
이름ireum: A label used to call or identify a person, thing, or product.
성명seongmyeong: A person's complete official name, including the family and personal names.

Definition in Korean

사람을 구별하는 가족 이름으로, 보통 한 글자 또는 두 글자로 이루어져 가문을 표시한다.sa ra meul ku byeol ha neun ka jok i reu meu ro po tong han keul ja tto neun tu keul ja ro i ru eo jeo ka mu neul pyo si han da

Word origin

The word comes from the Sino-Korean reading of an old Chinese character for a family name, which helps explain its compact form in Korean.

Usage tips

  • Korean names usually place the family name first, unlike the usual order in English names.

Other meanings

  • gendernoun
  • castlenoun

Related words

Word lists with this word