Korean word

전자

Pronunciation

Romanizationcheonja

Meaning

pronounthe former

Example

사과와 오렌지 중에서 전자를 골랐어요.sa gwa wa o ren ji chung e seo cheon ja reul kol la sseo yo

Between the apple and orange, I chose the former.

More examples

회의에서 두 안 중 전자를 선택했습니다.hoe ui e seo tu an chung cheon ja reul seon tae kaet sseum ni da

At the meeting, I chose the former of the two proposals.

Core concept

A pointer that moves attention to the first item in a comparison.

Common phrases

사과와 오렌지 중에서 전자를sa gwa wa o ren ji chung e seo cheon ja reul
the former of the apple and orange
둘 중 전자를tul chung cheon ja reul
the former of the two

Similar words

앞의 것apui keot: The person or thing at the earlier position in a stated sequence.
이거igeo: A casual pronoun for something nearby or already being discussed.
이쪽ijjok: A side or direction that the speaker points to or associates with.

Definition in Korean

문장 안에서 여러 항목 가운데 앞쪽 항목을 대신해 가리키는 말.mun jang a ne seo yeo reo hang mok ka un de ap jjok hang mo geul tae sin hae ka ri ki neun mal

Word origin

The pronoun sense comes from a Sino-Korean compound whose parts mean before and person or thing, pointing to the item mentioned first.

Usage tips

English usually uses former for the first of two choices, while Korean can use this compact reference among several items, so repeating a noun can make a longer comparison clearer.

Other meanings

electronnoun

Opposites

후자hujathe latterpronoun