조선말

Korean (DPRK)

Koreanic

FamilyKoreanic Speakers~26M ScriptHangul CountriesNorth Korea Official inNorth Korea Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3kor

North Korean standard language (문화어, Munhwaŏ, "cultured language") is the DPRK national norm codified after 1948 around the Pyongyang dialect, replacing the Seoul-based standard inherited from the Joseon era. Diverged from South Korean (표준어 Pyojuneo) through three waves of language reform (1948, 1954, 1966) under Kim Il-sung's juche-language guidance: aggressive purges of Sino-Korean and Japanese/English loanwords in favour of native Korean coinages (얼음보숭이 for ice cream, 단물 for soft drink), spelling reforms (initial ㄹ retained: 로동 vs ROK 노동), and ideological lexicon glorifying the Kim dynasty (수령, 어버이). Hangul-only since 1949 (no Hanja). ~26M speakers; mutually intelligible with ROK Korean despite ~30% lexical divergence in formal registers.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Korean (DPRK)

Water

/mul/

Fire

/pul/

Sun

/hɛ/

Moon

/tal/

Mother

어머니

/ʌmʌni/

Father

아버지

/abʌd͡ʑi/

Eat

먹어

/mʌɡʌ/

Drink

마셔

/maɕjʌ/

Love

사랑

/saɾaŋ/

Heart

마음

/maɯm/

Tree

나무

/namu/

House

/t͡ɕip̚/

Dog

/kɛ/

Cat

고양이

/kojaŋi/

Hand

/son/

Eye

/nun/

Hello

반갑습니다

/panɡap̚s͈ɯmnida/

Thank you

고맙습니다

/komap̚s͈ɯmnida/

One

하나

/hana/

Good

좋아

/t͡ɕoa/

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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