Korean word

한문

Pronunciation

Romanizationhanmun

Meaning

  • nounclassical Chinese

Example

나는 한문을 읽을 줄 몰라요.na neun han mu neul il geul jjul mol la yo

I don't know how to read classical Chinese.

Illustration for 한문 (classical Chinese)

More examples

요즘 학생들은 한문을 잘 배우지 않는다.yo jeum hak ssaeng deu reun han mu neul chal pae u ji an neun da

These days, students do not learn classical Chinese well.

Core concept

A dense page of older Chinese prose preserved in characters and studied as a learned text.

Common phrases

  • 한문 공부han mun kong bu

    classical Chinese study

  • 한문 읽기han mun il kki

    reading classical Chinese

  • 한문 수업han mun su eop

    classical Chinese class

Similar words

한자hanja: A meaning-bearing character from China used in Korean words and personal names.
한자어hanjaeo: A Korean word of Chinese origin whose character-based parts contribute to its meaning.

Definition in Korean

주로 한자로 쓰인 옛 글이나 고전 문장을 가리키며, 학교나 학문에서 읽고 해석하던 문헌을 뜻함chu ro han ja ro sseu in yet keu ri na ko jeon mun jang eul ka ri ki myeo hak kkyo na hang mu ne seo il kko hae seo ka deon mun heo neul tteu tam

Word origin

The word combines the Sino-Korean element meaning Han Chinese with the element meaning writing or literature, pointing to writing in the Chinese literary tradition.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may mistake this for any Chinese writing, but in Korean study it usually refers to older literary texts rather than modern Chinese.

Related words

  • 한문학hanmunhakclassical Chinese literaturenoun
  • 한문학자hanmunhakjjaclassical Chinese scholarnoun
  • 한문교육hanmungyoyukclassical Chinese educationnoun

Word lists with this word