LESSON 24
Relatives
The Korean terms for relatives can be divided into two groups: those for which some of the words differ according to the sex of the person related (whether we’re talking about a man’s brother or a woman’s brother), and those for which the words are the same regardless of the sex of the person related. In the lists some words are given in capital letters; these are HONORIFIC—they are used about someone else’s relatives when you want to show special politeness, or they are used in addressing older relatives of your own:
| 1. RELATIVE | MAN’S | WOMAN’S |
| older brother | HYEONG (NIM) | oppa |
| 형 | 오빠 | |
| older sister | nuna, NUNIM | eonni |
| 누나,누님 | 언니 | |
| younger brother | dongsaeng | namdongsaeng |
| 동생 | 남동생 | |
| younger sister | yeodongsaeng | dongsaeng |
| 여동생 | 동생 | |
| brothers | hyeongje | oppa wa nam-dongsaeng* |
| 형제 | 오빠와 남동생 | |
| sisters | jamae | jamae |
| 자매 | 자매 | |
| spouse | an(h)ae, buin | nampyeon |
| 아내, 부인 | 남편 | |
| father-in-law | jangin | siabeoji, SIABEONIM |
| 장인 | 시아버지, 시아버님 | |
| mother-in-law | jangmo | sieomeoni, SIEOMEONIM |
| 장모 | 시어머니, 시어머님 |
* This means “older brother and younger brother.” If you have two older brothers, you would say 오빠들 (oppadeul); for two younger brothers, say 남동생 들 (namdongsaengdeul).
| 2. RELATIVE | ANYBODY’S |
| grandfather | harabeoji, HARABEONIM |
| 할아버지, 할아버님 | |
| grandmother | halmeoni, HALMEONIM |
| 할머니, 할머님 | |
| parents | bumo, BUMONIM |
| 부모, 부모님 | |
| father | abeoji, ABEONIM |
| 아버지, 아버님 | |
| mother | eomeoni, EOMEONIM |
| 어머니, 어머님 | |
| children | ai(deul), ae (deul) |
| 아이(들), 애(들) | |
| son | adeul, ADEUNIM |
| 아들, 아드님 | |
| daughter | ttal, TTANIM |
| 딸, 따님 | |
| grandchildren | sonju, sonjuttal |
| 손주, 손주딸 | |
| grandson | sonja |
| 손자 | |
| granddaughter | sonnyeo |
| 손녀 | |
| son-in-law | sawi |
| 사위 | |
| daughter-in-law | myeoneuri |
| 며느리 | |
| fiance(e) | yakhonja |
| 약혼자 | |
| cousin | sachon |
| 사촌 | |
| uncle | ajeossi, samchon, keun abeoji, jageun abeoji |
| 아저씨, 삼촌, 큰아버지, 작은아버지 | |
| aunt | ajumeoni, imo, gomo |
| 아주머니, 이모, 고모 | |
| nephew or niece | joka |
| 조카 | |
| niece | yeoja joka |
| 여자 조카 | |
| nephew | namja joka |
| 남자 조카 | |
| family | gajok, jip, daek |
| 가족,집,댁 | |
| members of family | sikku |
| 식구 |
NOTE: The words for grandfather and grandmother are also used to mean old man and old woman. The words for uncle and aunt are used to mean (older) man, (older) lady especially in expressions by and to children like: The man who lives next door to us; Say hello to the lady, dear.
Here are some examples of these words in sentences.
Uri gajok-eun daegajok ieyo. Sikku-ga manayo.
우리 가족은 대가족이에요. 식구가 많아요.
My (our) family’s large; there are a lot of us.
Myeot bun iseoyo?
몇 분이세요?
How many (honored persons) are you?
Yeol gop sikku eyo. Na-hago, anae, ttal dul, adeul set-i isseoyo.
일곱 식구에요. 나하고, 아내, 딸 둘 아들 셋이있어요.
There are seven. My wife and I, two daughters. and three sons.
Abeomnim, eomeonim-i jeohi-hago saseyo.
아버님, 어머님이 저희하고 사세요.
Father and Mother are living with us.
Bumonim kkaji modu ahop saram ieyo.
부모님까지 모두 아홉 사람이에요.
Together with my parents that is nine.
Ajik du saram deo itji anayo?
아직 두 사람 더 있지 않아요?
Aren’t there still two people (more)?
Nugu nugu eyo?
누구 누구에요?
Who (and who) are they?
Goyangi han mari hago gae han mari eyo.
고양이 한 마리하고 개 한 마리에요.
They are a cat and a dog.
Jageun abeoji-ga ttal-ege goyangi-reul jusyeosseoyo.
작은아버지가 딸에게 고양이를 주셨어요.
Uncle gave the cat to my daughter.
Yeopjip harabeoji-kkeseo gae-reul jusyeosseoyo.
옆집 할아버지께서 개를 주셨어요.
The old man next door gave the dog to our family.