조선말

Korean (DPRK)

Koreanic

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

North Korean Standard Korean (문화어, Munhwaŏ, “cultured language”) is the state language norm of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and remains mutually intelligible with South Korean Standard Korean. After the state’s founding in 1948, language planning developed separately: the experimental New Korean Orthography introduced in 1948 was replaced by the Rules of Korean Orthography in 1954. Following policy directives in 1964 and 1966, Munhwaŏ was promulgated in 1966 and officially associated with cultivated speech in Pyongyang, although it remains structurally rooted in Central Korean. Policy promoted native Korean vocabulary, distinctive spellings such as initial ㄹ in 로동, and use of Chosŏn’gŭl; Chinese characters were removed from ordinary public writing beginning in 1949, although they continued to be taught for recognition. Differences from the southern standard occur chiefly in vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and spacing rather than constituting a separate language.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Korean (DPRK)

Water

/mul/

Fire

/pul/

Sun

/hɛ/

Moon

/tal/

Star

/pjʌl/

Mother

어머니

/ʌmʌni/

Father

아버지

/abʌdʑi/

I

/na/

You

/nʌ/

Name

이름

/iɾɯm/

Eye

/nun/

Hand

/son/

Heart

마음

/maɯm/

Love

사랑

/saɾaŋ/

Tree

나무

/namu/

House

/tɕip̚/

Dog

/kɛ/

Cat

고양이

/kojaŋi/

Eat

먹어

/mʌɡʌ/

Drink

마셔

/maɕjʌ/

One

하나

/hana/

Two

/tul/

Hello

반갑습니다

/panɡap̚s͈ɯmnida/

Thank you

고맙습니다

/komap̚s͈ɯmnida/

Good

좋아

/tɕoa/

Cuckoo

뻐꾸기

/p͈ʌk͈uɡi/

Computer

콤퓨터

/kʰompʰjutʰʌ/

Dopamine

도파민

/topʰamin/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Koreanic languages

Meaning Korean (DPRK)Yanbian KoreanKoreanKorean (Busan)Korean (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/
Star /pjʌl/ /pjʌl/ /pjʌl/ /pjʌl/ /pjəl/ /pjəl/ /pjʌl/
Mother 어머니 /ʌmʌni/ 오마니 /omani/ 어머니 /ʌmʌni/ 엄마 /ʌmma/ 어머이 /ʌmʌi/ 어매 /ʌmɛ/ 어멍 /ʌmʌŋ/
Father 아버지 /abʌdʑi/ 아바이 /abai/ 아버지 /abʌdʑi/ 아부지 /abudʑi/ 아바이 /abai/ 아베 /abe/ 아방 /abaŋ/
I /na/ /na/ /na/ /na/ /na/ /na/ /na/
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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 /tɕʰil/ chil /tɕiɾɯ/ 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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