문화어 한자음

Korean (DPRK)

Koreanic > Korean > DPRK Standard

FamilyKoreanic > Korean > DPRK Standard Speakers約2500万人 (北朝鮮人口) RegionPyongyang (DPRK) RomanizationDPRK official romanization (McCune-Reischauer based) ReadingDPRK Sino-Korean (no 두음법칙)

Sino-Korean readings as standardized in the DPRK's Munhwa-eo (文化語), the cultivated language based on Pyongyang speech. Most distinctively, DPRK orthography does NOT apply the 두음법칙 (initial-consonant law) that South Korean orthography enforces: word-initial ㄹ (r/l) and word-initial ㄴ before /i/ or y-glide are preserved in both writing and pronunciation. Thus 龍 is written and read 룡 (ryong) rather than 용, 來 is 래 (rae) not 내, 六 is 륙 (ryuk) not 육, and 立 is 립 (rip) not 입. The standard also tends toward flatter intonation than Seoul speech and retains a sharper /tɕ/ articulation of ㅈ before /i/ where Seoul fronts to [dʑ]. Romanization here follows the McCune-Reischauer system, which the DPRK official 2002 system closely tracks.

Where it is spoken

Han character readings in Korean (DPRK)

Character Meaning Reading Form IPA
one il /il/
two i /i/
three sam /sam/
four sa /sa/
five o /o/
six ryuk /ɾjuk̚/
seven ch'il /tsʰil/
eight p'al /pʰal/
nine ku /ku/
ten sip /ɕip̚/
sun il /il/
moon wŏl /wʌl/
mountain san /san/
water su /su/
fire hwa /hwa/
tree mok /mok̚/
soil t'o /tʰo/
sky ch'ŏn /tsʰʌn/
ground chi /tsi/
sea hae /hɛ/
dragon ryong /ɾjoŋ/
tiger ho /ho/
dog kyŏn /kjʌn/
horse ma /ma/
bird cho /tso/
fish ŏ /ʌ/
ox u /u/
sheep yang /jaŋ/
cat myo /mjo/
person in /in/
hand su /su/
foot chok /tsok̚/
eye mok /mok̚/
ear i /i/
mouth ku /ku/
head tu /tu/
heart sim /ɕim/
blood hyŏl /hjʌl/
meat yuk /juk̚/
up sang /saŋ/
down ha /ha/
middle chung /tsuŋ/
hit chung /tsuŋ/
center ang /aŋ/
left chwa /tswa/
right u /u/
east tong /toŋ/
西 west /sʌ/
south nam /nam/
north puk /puk̚/
go haeng /hɛŋ/
row hang /haŋ/
come rae /ɾɛ/
leave /kʌ/
see kyŏn /kjʌn/
hear mun /mun/
eat sik /ɕik̚/
drink ŭm /ɯm/
run chu /tsu/
sit chwa /tswa/
stand rip /ɾip̚/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Koreanic languages

Meaning Korean (DPRK)Korean (Busan)Yanbian KoreanKoreanKorean (Hamgyong)Korean (Jeolla)Jeju
Water /mul/ /mul/ /mul/ /mul/ /mul/ /mul/ /mul/
Fire /pul/ /pul/ /pul/ /pul/ /pul/ /pul/ /pul/
Sun /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/
Moon /tal/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/
Mother 어머니 /ʌmʌni/ 엄마 /ʌmma/ 오마니 /omani/ 어머니 /ʌmʌni/ 어머이 /ʌmʌi/ 어매 /ʌmɛ/ 어멍 /ʌmʌŋ/
Father 아버지 /abʌd͡ʑi/ 아부지 /abud͡ʑi/ 아바이 /abai/ 아버지 /abʌd͡ʑi/ 아바이 /abai/ 아베 /abe/ 아방 /abaŋ/
Eat 먹어 /mʌɡʌ/ 묵어 /muɡʌ/ 먹어 /mʌɡʌ/ 먹다 /mʌk̚t͈a/ 먹어 /mʌɡʌ/ 묵어 /muɡʌ/ 먹엉 /mʌɡʌŋ/
Drink 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마시다 /maɕida/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마셩 /maɕjʌŋ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Korean (DPRK)
저는 호텔 맞은편 가게 ‌에서 양복을 입어보고 싶습니다
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

저는 호텔 맞은편 가게 ‌에서 양복을 입어보고 싶수다
저는 호텔 맞은편 가게 ‌에서 양복을 입어보고 싶어요
저는 호텔 맞은편 가게 ‌에서 양복을 입어보고 싶습니데이
Korean (DPRK)
저는 호텔 맞은편 가게 ‌에서 양복을 입어보고 싶습니다
저는 旅館 맞은편 가게 ‌에서 衣服을 입어보고 싶사이다

Han readings compared

Compared with related Koreanic > Korean > DPRK Standard languages

Character Korean (DPRK)KoreanZainichi Korean Sino-readingKorean (Busan)Middle KoreanOld Japanese on-yomiYuan Phags-pa Chinese
il /il/ il /il/ il /iɾɯ/ ilH /il˥/ ·qilq /ʔilʔ˥/ iti /iti/ ʔi /ʔi/
i /i/ i /i/ i /i/ iH /i˥/ ·zi /zi˥/ ni /ɲi/ ʐɨ /ʐɨ/
sam /sam/ sam /sam/ sam /sam/ samH /sam˥/ sam /sam˩/ sam /sam/ sam /sam/
sa /sa/ sa /sa/ sa /sa/ saH /sa˥/ ·sʌ /sʌ˥/ si /ɕi/ sɿ /sɿ/
o /o/ o /o/ o /o/ o:LH /oː˩˧/ :ngwo /ŋo˩˥/ go /ŋo/ ʔu /ʔu/
ryuk /ɾjuk̚/ yuk /juk̚/ yuk /jukɯ/ yukH /juk˥/ ·lyuk /ljuk̚˥/ roku /roku/ liw /liw/
ch'il /tsʰil/ chil /t͡ɕʰil/ chil /t͡ɕiɾɯ/ chilH /tɕʰil˥/ ·chilq /tsʰilʔ˥/ siti /ɕiti/ tshi /tsʰi/
p'al /pʰal/ pal /pʰal/ pal /paɾɯ/ phalH /pʰal˥/ ·palq /palʔ˥/ pati /pati/ ba /pa/
ku /ku/ gu /ku/ gu /ku/ gu:LH /kuː˩˧/ :kwu /ku˩˥/ kiu /kiu/ kiw /kiw/
sip /ɕip̚/ sip /ɕip̚/ sip /ɕipɯ/ sipH /ɕip˥/ ·ssip /s͈ip̚˥/ zipu /ʑipu/ ši /ʂɨ/
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