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Hanja Lesson 18: 新, 現, 代, 文, 化

In this lesson, you will learn five characters relating to the present or new things.

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= = New
(Korean name:
)

It is not uncommon to see this character written out in 漢字 on a new product to indicate that it is “new.”

Lesson18pic1Common words using this character:
新入生 = freshman (new student)
新도市 = new city
新제品 = new product
新문 = newspaper
新부  = bride
혁新 = innovation

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= = Current
(Korean name:
나타날 )

You can not only find this character in a variety of common words, but you can also find it (combined with the following character) plastered across buildings in Seoul. Although the company “현대” (Hyundai) is known as a car company in Canada/the United States, it is actually an international conglomerate with their hands in everything. One thing they are involved in is construction, and you can find their logo “現代” all over Korea.

Lesson18pic2Common words using this character:
現대 = Hyundai Corporation
現대 = modern times
現재 = current
現金 = cash
現場 = the scene of something

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= = Generation, Representative
(Korean name:
대신 )

You can find the character “代” all over Korea on the awnings of businesses. Beside this character, you will often see a phone number written. The character “代” is used in these cases to indicate that one should call that number if he/she would like to contact a representative of that company.

Lesson18pic3Common words using this character:
時代 = a time, age, generation
現代 = modern times
代표 = representative
現代人 = modern man
세代 = generation
新세代 = new generation
고代 = ancient times

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= = Culture, Writing
(Korean name:
글월 )

There are many academic subjects that end with the character “文”. These subjects generally refer to the written component of the previous character.

Lesson18pic4Common words using this character:
文화 = culture
文學 = literature
漢文 = Chinese characters
人文 = humanities/liberal arts
公文  = an official (public) document
文명 = civilization

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= = Change
(Korean name: 될
)

Lesson18pic5Common words using this character:
文化 = culture
변化 = change
化장室 = restroom, washroom
化學 = chemistry
化장 = make up
化장品 = make up products
大중文化 = popular culture

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