中世韓國語

Middle Korean

Koreanic · historical / hidden variety

FamilyKoreanic SpeakersExtinct (~10th-16th c.) ScriptHangul (from 1446) / Hanja CountriesGoryeo / early Joseon Korea Official inGoryeo / Joseon dynasties Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3okm

Middle Korean (중세국어 jungse-gugeo, ~10th-16th century) is the historical stage of Korean spanning the late Goryeo and early-to-mid Joseon dynasties. It became fully attested when King Sejong the Great promulgated Hangul in 1443, codified in the Hunminjeongeum 훈민정음 ("The Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People", 1446) — UNESCO Memory of the World 1997. Earliest extended Hangul corpus is the 1447 Yongbieocheonga 용비어천가 ("Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven"), a Confucian state foundation poem. Phonologically distinct from Modern Korean: a phonemic three-way pitch-accent (later lost), retained vowel ㆍ arae-a, contrastive consonant clusters (e.g. ᄠ, ᄡ), and richer onset inventory. Pre-Hangul corpus is in Hanja, Idu, and Hyangchal records.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Middle Korean

Water

/mɯl/

Fire

/pɯl/

Sun

·ᄒᆡ

/hʌj/

Moon

ᄃᆞᆯ

/tʌl/

Mother

어미

/ʌmi/

Father

아비

/abi/

Eat

먹다

/mʌk̚.ta/

Drink

마시다

/maɕi.ta/

Love

ᄉᆞ랑

/sʌ.ɾaŋ/

Heart

ᄆᆞᅀᆞᆷ

/mʌzʌm/

Tree

나모

/namo/

House

/tɕip/

Dog

가히

/kahi/

Cat

/kwe/

Hand

:손

/son/

Eye

:눈

/nun/

Hello

안녕ᄒᆞ쇼셔

/annjʌŋ hʌ.sjo.sjʌ/

Thank you

고맙ᄉᆞᆸ나이다

/komap.sʌp.na.i.ta/

One

ᄒᆞ나

/hʌna/

Good

됴타

/tjotʰa/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Koreanic languages

Meaning Middle KoreanKorean (Early Modern)KoreanKorean (Hamgyong)Yanbian KoreanKorean (Jeolla)Korean (Busan)
Water /mɯl/ /mɯl/ /mul/ /mul/ /mul/ /mul/ /mul/
Fire /pɯl/ /pɯl/ /pul/ /pul/ /pul/ /pul/ /pul/
Sun ·ᄒᆡ /hʌj/ ᄒᆡ /hʌj/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/ /hɛ/
Moon ᄃᆞᆯ /tʌl/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/ /tal/
Mother 어미 /ʌmi/ 어미 /ʌmi/ 어머니 /ʌmʌni/ 어머이 /ʌmʌi/ 오마니 /omani/ 어매 /ʌmɛ/ 엄마 /ʌmma/
Father 아비 /abi/ 아비 /abi/ 아버지 /abʌd͡ʑi/ 아바이 /abai/ 아바이 /abai/ 아베 /abe/ 아부지 /abud͡ʑi/
Eat 먹다 /mʌk̚.ta/ 먹다 /mʌk̚t͈a/ 먹다 /mʌk̚t͈a/ 먹어 /mʌɡʌ/ 먹어 /mʌɡʌ/ 묵어 /muɡʌ/ 묵어 /muɡʌ/
Drink 마시다 /maɕi.ta/ 마시다 /maɕida/ 마시다 /maɕida/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/ 마셔 /maɕjʌ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Middle Korean
나는 쥬ᅎᆞᆸ 맞은편 져자 ‌에서 옷을 닙어보고져 ᄒᆞ노라
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
저는 호텔 맞은편 가게 ‌에서 양복을 입어보고 싶습니다
Middle Korean
나는 쥬ᅎᆞᆸ 맞은편 져자 ‌에서 옷을 닙어보고져 ᄒᆞ노라

Han readings compared

Compared with related Koreanic > Middle Korean languages

Character Middle KoreanKorean (Busan)Taiwanese HakkaHuiyang HakkaMeixian HakkaHakka ChineseChinese (Classical)
·qilq /ʔilʔ˥/ ilH /il˥/ id5 /it̚˨/ yit /jit̚˩/ yit /jit̚˩/ yit /jit̚˨/ ʔjit /ʔjit̚/
·zi /zi˥/ iH /i˥/ ngi4 /ŋi˥˥/ ngì /ŋi˥˧/ ngì /ŋi˥˧/ ngi /ŋi˥˥/ ɲi⁵¹ /ɲi˥˩/
sam /sam˩/ samH /sam˥/ sam1 /sam˨˦/ sâm /sam˧˧/ sâm /sam˦˦/ sâm /sam˦˦/ sam¹³ /sam˩˧/
·sʌ /sʌ˥/ saH /sa˥/ si4 /si˥˥/ /si˥˧/ /sɿ˥˧/ si /si˥˥/ sz̩⁵¹ /sz̩˥˩/
:ngwo /ŋo˩˥/ o:LH /oː˩˧/ ng3 /ŋ̩˧˩/ ńg /ŋ̍˧˩/ ńg /ŋ̍˧˩/ ńg /ŋ̩˧˩/ ŋu²⁴ /ŋu˨˦/
·lyuk /ljuk̚˥/ yukH /juk˥/ liug6 /liuk̚˥/ liu̍k /liuk̚˥/ liu̍k /liuk̚˥/ liuk /liuk̚˥/ liuk /liuk̚/
·chilq /tsʰilʔ˥/ chilH /tɕʰil˥/ cid5 /tsʰit̚˨/ chhit /tsʰit̚˩/ chhit /tsʰit̚˩/ chhit /tsʰit̚˨/ tsʰit /tsʰit̚/
·palq /palʔ˥/ phalH /pʰal˥/ bad5 /pat̚˨/ pat /pat̚˩/ pat /pat̚˩/ pat /pat̚˨/ pat /pat̚/
:kwu /ku˩˥/ gu:LH /kuː˩˧/ giu3 /kiu˧˩/ kiú /kiu˧˩/ kiú /kiu˧˩/ kiú /kiu˧˩/ kiw²⁴ /kiw˨˦/
·ssip /s͈ip̚˥/ sipH /ɕip˥/ siib6 /sɨp̚˥/ si̍p /sip̚˥/ sṳ̍p /sɨp̚˥/ sṳ̍p /sɨp̚˥/ ʑip /ʑip̚/
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