Korean

The word “Korean” means relating to the Korean Peninsula, its people, or its culture. In plain terms, describes anything to do with Korea, its people, or its language.

“Korean” is pronounced kuh-REE-uhn (/kəˈɹi.ən/ in IPA).

Here is “Korean” used in a sentence: “They opened a Korean restaurant downtown.”

Depending on how it is used, “Korean” can be an adjective and a noun.

“Korean” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Korean” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: relating to the Korean Peninsula, its people, or its culture.

It can be all three, depending on context. Korean is the language spoken across the Korean Peninsula, a nationality for citizens of North or South Korea, and an ethnic identity shared by Korean people worldwide. As an adjective it simply means relating to Korea, its people, language, or culture.

Both describe people and things from the Korean Peninsula, which is divided into two countries. North Korean refers to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and South Korean to the Republic of Korea in the south. They share deep cultural and linguistic roots but have very different governments.

Describing something as Korean links it to Korea's people, language, land, or traditions. It can mark food like kimchi, the Korean alphabet Hangul, Korean pop music, or a person's heritage. The word works as a broad cultural label rather than pointing to one country alone, covering the whole peninsula.