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제(第): Turning One, Two Three into First, Second, Third
제X회: Recurring Events
제X차: Rounds or Phases
Legal Documents
Vocabulary
Nouns:
총칙 = general rules, provisions
Examples:
총칙에 따르면 모든 회원은 동일한 권리를 가져요
= According to the general provisions, all members have equal rights
근로 = labor
Common Usages:
근로자 = worker
근로계약서 = employment contract
근로 시간 = working hours
Examples:
근로 시간 단축이 노동자의 삶의 질을 높일 수 있어요
= Reducing working hours can improve workers’ quality of life
제1장 제2조 제1항에 따라 근로자는 단순히 일하는 사람을 의미하는 게 아니라 임금을 받고 일하는 사람을 법적으로 그렇게 부른다고 한다. According to Chapter 1, Article 2, Paragraph 1, a “worker” doesn’t just mean someone who works — it legally refers to someone who works in exchange for wages.
남북 = north and south
Common Usages:
남북 전쟁 = civil war between north and south
남북 통일 = reunification of north and south
Examples:
남북 간의 긴장이 완화되면서 대화의 물꼬가 트였어요
= As tensions eased between North and South, dialogue began to flow
이차 = second round
Examples:
2차 시험은 실기 위주로 진행돼요
= The second round of the exam focuses mainly on practical skills
혁명 = revolution
Common Usages:
산업 혁명 = industrial revolution
Examples:
시민들의 참여로 평화적인 혁명이 이루어졌어요
= A peaceful revolution was achieved through citizens’ participation
대전 = major war
Common Usages:
세계 대전 = world war
Examples:
제2차 세계 대전은 인류 역사에 큰 영향을 미쳤어요
= World War II had a massive impact on human history
제1차 세계 대전은 유럽을 중심으로 시작되었지만 전 세계에 영향을 미쳤다
= The First World War began mainly in Europe, but it had an impact across the globe
헌법 = constitution
Common Usages:
헌법 재판소 = constitutional court
Examples:
헌법은 국민의 기본적 권리와 자유를 보장해요
= The constitution guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens
균형 = balance
Common Usages:
균형을 맞추다 = to balance, to maintain balance
좌우 균형 = left–right balance
Examples:
삼시 세끼를 거르지 말고 균형 잡힌 식사를 챙겨 먹어야 해요
= Don’t skip three meals a day; you should have a balanced diet
용어 = terminology
Examples:
이 용어는 일상 대화에서 자주 사용되는 은어예요
= This term is a slang often used in everyday conversation
전문 용어가 많아서 초보자들은 이해하기 어려웠어요
= There were so many technical terms that beginners struggled to understand
영화제 = film festival
Examples:
칸 영화제에서 그 영화가 최우수상을 수상했어요
= The film won the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival
문학상 = literature award
Examples:
그는 젊은 작가로서 문학상을 수상하며 주목받았어요
= As a young writer, he gained attention by winning a literary award
전시회 = exhibition
Examples:
내일부터 박물관에서 특별한 전시회가 열릴거예요
= From tomorrow the museum will hold a special exhibition
겸사겸사 들른 전시회였는데, 작품들이 정말 탁월했어요
= I dropped by the exhibition while I was at it, and the artworks were truly outstanding
전염병 = infectious disease
Common Usages:
전염병이 돌다 = for an epidemic to spread
Examples:
전염병이 빠르게 확산되어 전 세계가 긴장했어요
= The infectious disease spread rapidly, alarming the entire world
대유행 = something widely spread, fad
Examples:
SNS를 통한 대유행이 소비자 행동에 큰 영향을 미쳤어요
= The social media craze had a major influence on consumer behavior
사업장 = workplace, place of business
Examples:
사업장은 근로자의 안전을 위해 철저히 관리되어야 해요
= The workplace was thoroughly inspected for workers’ safety
Verbs
꾀하다 = to attempt, to try to do
Examples:
그는 새로운 사업을 꾀하며 투자자를 설득했어요
= He tried to start a new business and persuaded investors
미치다 = to have an impact
Common Usages:
영향을 미치다 = to have an influence, to affect
Examples:
해수면 상승이 지구의 생태계에 영향을 미쳐요
= Sea level rise affects the Earth’s ecosystems
첫인상에 어떤 향수를 뿌리는지는 많은 영향을 미쳐요
= The type of perfume that you use (spray) has a big impact on a first impression
토론하다 = to debate
Common Usages:
토론회 = debate forum, discussion meeting
Examples:
그 주제에 대해 진지하게 토론했어요
= They seriously debated about that topic
저는 고등학교 2학년 때 제1회 청소년 토론대회에 참가해서 결승전까지 올라갔어요
= When I was in 11th grade, I participated in the first Youth Debate Competition and made it to the finals
회담하다 = to have a conversation
Common Usages:
회담 장소 = meeting venue
Examples:
양국 정상은 경제 협력 강화를 위한 회담을 가졌어요
= The leaders of both nations held talks to strengthen economic cooperation
향상하다 = to improve
Examples:
이 책은 어휘를 향상시키는 데 도움이 될 거예요
= This book will help improve your vocabulary
그 컴퓨터의 기능을 향상시키려면 연구를 많이 해야 돼요
= If you want to improve the funtions of that computer, we need to do a lot of resarch
회사는 직원 복지 위주의 정책을 마련하여 복지 향상에 힘쓰고 있어요
= The company is preparing policies primarily focused on employee welfare to enhance well-being
Adverbs and Other Words:
회 = counter for competitions, festivals, ceremonies
Examples:
저는 고등학교 2학년 때 제1회 청소년 토론대회에 참가해서 결승전까지 올라갔어요
= When I was in 11th grade, I participated in the first Youth Debate Competition and made it to the finals
차 = counter for historical events
Examples:
제2차 세계 대전은 인류 역사에 큰 영향을 미쳤어요
= World War II had a massive impact on human history
제1차 세계 대전은 유럽을 중심으로 시작되었지만 전 세계에 영향을 미쳤다
= The First World War began mainly in Europe, but it had an impact across the globe
조 = counter for articles in documents
Examples:
제1장 제2조 제1항에 따라 근로자는 단순히 일하는 사람을 의미하는 게 아니라 임금을 받고 일하는 사람을 법적으로 그렇게 부른다고 한다. According to Chapter 1, Article 2, Paragraph 1, a “worker” doesn’t just mean someone who works — it legally refers to someone who works in exchange for wages.
항 = counter for clauses in documents
Examples:
제1장 제2조 제1항에 따라 근로자는 단순히 일하는 사람을 의미하는 게 아니라 임금을 받고 일하는 사람을 법적으로 그렇게 부른다고 한다. According to Chapter 1, Article 2, Paragraph 1, a “worker” doesn’t just mean someone who works — it legally refers to someone who works in exchange for wages.
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn how to name recurring events, historical events and parts within legal documents. We’ll explore the counters 회 and 차, and how they work with 제. Let’s get started.
제(第): Turning One, Two Three into First, Second, Third
제 is a Korean character that is of Chinese origin. It therefore has a Hanja equivalent, 第. Its meaning as a character is literally “turning numbers into words that denote order.” You can find it in some common words, for example the word “제일” uses the Hanja character 第.
When used as a prefix it can turn numbers like one, two and three into first, second, third. For example:
제1 = the first
제2 = the second
제3 = the third
These constructions are not typically used on their own. Rather, they are followed by some sort of a counter to count events. Let’s look at the types of counters it can be used with, taking a closer look at two common ones.
제X회: Recurring Events
회 (回) is a counter in Korean that is used to represent events like competitions, festivals, ceremonies or award shows. 回 is introduced in Hanja Lesson 21. By placing 제1 before 회, you can indicate that it is the first rendition a certain event is occurring. 회 is typically used for events that are planned and repeated. So, the following can be used:
제1회 = the first time an event is held
제2회 = the second time an event is held
제3회 = the third time an event is held
The above constructions are then put behind the name of some sort of recurring competition or festival. Here are some examples that you might see:
제1회 한국문학상 = 1st Korean Literature Award
제1회 사진전시회 = 1st Photography Exhibition
제1회 전국체육대회 = 1st National Sports Festival
제1회 서울국제영화제 = The 1st Seoul International Film Festival
제1회 청소년 토론대회 = 1st Youth Debate Contest
제1회 한국어 말하기 대회 = 1st Korean Speech Contest
Let’s look at how another counter is used with 제.
제X차: Rounds or Phases
차 (次) is a counter in Korean that is used, when combined with 제 and a number, to represent the order of historical periods or global events like wars.
이차 (二次), which uses the character 次 is a cultural thing in Korea. Korean people love to eat. Sometimes when Korean people are with friends or doing a company dinner, they’ll go for a 이차. This refers to a second dinner. My goodness, gracious! I’ve been on some company dinners, and I get completely full, and then they want to go for a second round!
By placing 제1 before 차, you can indicate that it is the first rendition historical period or global event. 차 is not usually used for planned events, but it can be used for repeated events that were not initially intended to recur. For example, to refer to Word War 1, you can use 제1차 세계 대전. This event was global, and it wasn’t planned. However, there happened to be a second rendition of it, so it is possible for them to repeat in that sense.
Below are some examples that you might see:
제1차 회담 = First round of negotiations
제1차 공격 = First strike/attack (in military or sports)
제1차 조사 = First investigation
제1차 투표 = First voting round, in an election with multiple rounds
제1차 산업혁명 = The First Industrial Revolution
제1차 세계 대전 = World War I
제1차 전염병 대유행 = First wave of pandemic outbreak
제1차 남북 정상회담 = First Inter-Korean summit
Legal Documents
장 (章) is a counter in Korean that is used, when combined with 제 and a number, to represent the order of chapters in legal documents.
조 (條) is a counter in Korean that is used, when combined with 제 and a number, to represent the order of articles in legal documents.
항 (項) is a counter in Korean that is used, when combined with 제 and a number, to represent the order of clauses (which are a subdivision of articles) in legal documents.
Together, they are used to refer to specific parts of legal documents like contracts and laws.
Let’s use a real example. Korea has a Labor Standards Act that’s purpose is to improve the standards and rights of workers in Korea. The act in Korean is called 근로기준법.
You are free to peruse the Labor Standards Act. Let’s do it here as well. The Act is divided into large sections called chapters. The three are titled:
제1장 총칙 = Chapter 1, General Rules
제2장 근로계약 = Chapter 2, Labor Contract
제3장 임금 = Chapter 3, Wages
Let’s focus on Chapter 1, General Rules. Within Chapter 1, there are several articles. Some articles have clauses. Below is the text from the start of the first chapter, the first two articles and one clause from the second article:
제1장 총칙
- 제1조(목적) 이 법은 헌법에 따라 근로조건의 기준을 정함으로써 근로자의 기본적 생활을 보장, 향상시키며 균형 있는 국민경제의 발전을 꾀하는 것을 목적으로 한다.
- 제2조(정의) (1) 이 법에서 사용하는 용어의 뜻은 다음과 같다.
- 1. “근로자”란 직업의 종류와 관계없이 임금을 목적으로 사업이나 사업장에 근로를 제공하는 사람을 말한다.
You can find the translation below:
Chapter 1: General Provisions
- Article 1 (Purpose) The purpose of this Act is to establish the standards for terms and conditions of employment in conformity with the Constitution, thereby securing and improving the fundamental living standards of employees and achieving a well-balanced development of the national economy.
- Article 2 (Definitions) (1) The terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
- 1. The term “employee” means a person, regardless of the kind of occupation, who offers labor to business or a workplace for the purpose of earning wages;
—
I went the whole lesson without any example sentences. Here are a few!
제1차 세계 대전은 유럽을 중심으로 시작되었지만 전 세계에 영향을 미쳤다
= The First World War began mainly in Europe, but it had an impact across the globe
저는 고등학교 2학년 때 제1회 청소년 토론대회에 참가해서 결승전까지 올라갔어요
= When I was in 11th grade, I participated in the first Youth Debate Competition and made it to the finals
제1장 제2조 제1항에 따라 근로자는 단순히 일하는 사람을 의미하는 게 아니라 임금을 받고 일하는 사람을 법적으로 그렇게 부른다고 한다.
= According to Chapter 1, Article 2, Paragraph 1, a “worker” doesn’t just mean someone who works — it legally refers to someone who works in exchange for wages.
That’s it for this lesson!