In this lesson, you will learn five Hanja characters related to society and culture.
社 = 사 = company, society
(모일 사)
社 is a Hanja character meaning association, organization, or group of people. It is commonly used in words related to companies, institutions, and organized social groups, from businesses to media organizations. It reflects the idea of people forming a structured community around shared roles, responsibilities, or goals.
社
社員 = staff member
社會 = society
社會學 = sociology
社會主義 = socialism
社長 = boss, head of company
新聞社 = newspaper company
放送社 = broadcasting company
子會社 = subsidiary
入社 = joining a company
會社 = company
會社員 = company worker
創社 anniversary for founding day for a business
機 = 기 = machine, organization
(틀 기)
You see 機 at the end of many nouns to refer to the machine version of that noun. For example, 건조 means to dry, but 건조機 refers to a machine that dries (dryer). It’s also possible to find 機 after Konglish words. For example, 드라이어機 is the word for a hair dryer in Korean.
One of the strangest words to me in Korean is 室外機室. I always find it funny. A 室外機 is the part of the conditioner that is placed outside of a building (to release the heat to the outside, not inside the house). By its very nature, this should be placed outside, hence the “室外” in the name. However, modern Korean apartments are built with a little room for these to go (with a vent to the outside). Therefore, the name of the room is 室外機室. In other words, the room for the machine that goes outside.
機
機會 = opportunity
機內 = inside of an airplane
機關 = machine, organization
動機 = motive
電話機 = telephone
복寫機 = photocopier
건조機 = dryer (clothes)
計산機 = calculator
機계 = machine
機능 = function
비行機 = airplane
세탁機 = washing machine
史 = 사 = history
(사기 사)
You can see that 史 is used mostly in words referring to history itself. As a result, it is often combined with the character 歷 (역) that is the next character introduced.
史
國史 = national history
역史 = history
역史的 = historical
역史家 = historian
역史學 = history as a field of study
東大門역史文化公園驛 = Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station
歷 = 력/역 = history
(지날 력/역)
In addition to being used to refer to history itself, it is also used to refer to the record of some event in the past, like one’s educational history, medical history, etc.
歷
歷史 = history
歷史的 = historical
歷史家 = historian
歷史學 = history as a field of study
病歷 = medical history
學歷 = level of education
경歷 = work experience
이歷書 = resume
東大門역史文化公園驛 = Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station
局 = 국 = office
(판 국)
局 is a Hanja character meaning office, bureau, or administrative unit. It is used in vocabulary related to organizations or departments that carry out specific functions, especially in public, professional, or institutional settings.
局
藥局 = pharmacy
放送局 = broadcast station
결局 = in the end