言
This Hanja character is 언.
It means “words,” “speech,” “speak,” or “say.” Do you see the “mouth” (口) at the very bottom? This tells us that the character is related to speaking.
Koreans memorize this as “말씀 언.” “말씀” is the meaning, and “언” is the Korean pronunciation. While it looks simple, this character tends to appear in many “fancy” words.
Let’s take a look at some Sino-Korean words using 言 (언).
- 언어 (言語) language
- 예언 (豫言) prophecy, prediction
- 명언 (名言) famous saying, quote, wise saying, maxim
- 유언 (遺言) will, last words, dying wishes, testament
- 언론 (言論) the media, the press, journalism
- 조언 (助言) advice
- 허언 (虛言) empty talk, lie
- 증언 (證言) testimony
- 선언 (宣言) declaration, proclamation
- 폭언 (暴言) verbal abuse
- 실언 (失言) slip of the tongue
- 망언 (妄言) thoughtless remark, absurdity, absurd statement
- 언성 (言聲) the tone of one’s voice
Every word counts when you know the root 言 (언)!
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