We’re going to learn about how to say “die” in Korean.
I brought up this topic because the variety of words related to “death” in Sino-Korean demonstrates the fundamental difference between the two main Korean vocabulary roots: Native Korean and Sino-Korean.
In Native Korean, we have two primary verbs that mean “to die”: 죽다 and 돌아가시다.
- 죽다: The standard word meaning “to die” for any living creature.
- 돌아가시다: An honorific version of 죽다 used for elderly people. (literally meaning “to return”).
But when it comes to Sino-Korean, it gets much more complicated.
- 사망하다 (死亡-하다): Used just as frequently as 죽다. It refers to death in a general, objective, and official or legal context without adding emotional nuance.
- 순국하다 (殉國-하다): To sacrifice one’s life and die for one’s country (martyrdom).
- 별세하다 (別世-하다): To pass away (literally, “to part with this world”).
- 타계하다 (他界-하다): Used when an esteemed, notable, or prominent figure passes away (literally, “to leave the human world and enter another world”).
- 작고하다 (作故-하다): Used similarly to 돌아가시다 as a formal, respectful honorific for 사망하다.
- 폐사하다 (斃死-하다): Used specifically when animals die (from disease, harsh weather, or accidents).
At this point, you might wonder: “Why does Sino-Korean have such an enormous amount of vocabulary for a single concept?
I studied this in grad school, and while I don’t remember every single detail, here is what I remember: In Chinese, any given action was categorized and perceived as a distinct action depending on who the doer was or who the object (the person affected) was.
Native Korean is more straightforward compared to Chinese. But being in the Chinese character cultural zone, Korean language was heavily influenced by this mindset. In the past, Korean people received extensive Hanja education.
But starting around my generation, education shifted much more heavily toward English, so I think we know fewer Chinese characters than the previous generations did.
Still, thanks to the rich implicit meaning packed into each individual character, and the greatest advantage of Hanja, which is its infinite word-building ability, there is still nothing quite like Hanja when it comes to creating specialized terminology.