Saturday, November 24, 2018

What does the Chinese character 鄭 (정) mean?

ANSWER: courtesy, politeness, civility, consideration, care

The Chinese character 鄭 (정) appears in the Sino-Korean word 정중(鄭重)하다, which means be courteous, be polite, be civil, or be careful, so it is a good word to know, but that is really the only Korean word in which you will see the character 鄭 (정). So if that is the only Korean word in which that character appears, would it really be worth the effort of a Korean-language learner to learn that character? Yes, because after 김(金), 이(李), 박(朴), and 최(崔), the character 정(鄭) is probably the next most common family name (surname) in Korea, so a Korean language learner will most likely see the character over and over again in Korean society.

Below is a list of the ten most common family names in Korea. Sometimes being able to read the Chinese character of a Korean family name is useful, especially when you receive a business card with no hangeul (한글). (It has happened to me before.) In such cases, you would at least be able to say, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Jeong (鄭)," which might really impress the guy.
  1. (김)
  2. (이)
  3. (박)
  4. (최)
  5. (정)
  6. (강)
  7. (조)
  8. (윤)
  9. (장)
  10. (림/임)

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