Apparent Cognates between Native Korean Words

and Words in English and other Indo-European Languages

Abbreviations: K: Korean, E: English, F: French, D: German, S: Spanish, I: Italian, P: Portuguese, C:
Catalan, N: Dutch, G: Greek, L: Latin, OE: Old English, IE: Indo-European

(Source: http://www.highwaywriter.com/rooms/essays/korean-english_cognates.html)

Literal
English Korean Hangeul Comments
English
from verb gada -
가다, to go. As
informal command
go ga 가 go, goes
"가!" is used
exactly like
"Go!"

native K
one han(a) 한, 하나 one
counting number

native K
two du(l) 두,둘 two
counting number

native K
counting number.
Still preserves
vowel similar to
three sei 셋,세 three
earlier E forms,
other Germanic
(eg N: "twee" or
S. "tres")

if the speaker
wishes to
denotes
dual dul 둘 emphasize that
plural
the noun is
plural, 둘 is
 added as a
suffix. Eg.징구
(friend), 징구둘
(friends)

In IE langs, S
sometimes
becomes C, vice
versa. there
cow so 소 cow have been
changes in
various Germanic
languages of the
vowel - ko, ku.

esp. making with

hands.
make,
mandeulda 만들다 to make (mand/hand?) (S:
manipulate
mano, F: main =
hand)

ma, mother oma, oemoni 오마, 어머니 ma, mother

pa, father apa, abeoji 아바, 아버지 pa, father

"is" - present
tense conjugated
vb of ipnida
be, is isseoyo 있어요 is
(입니다)-to be;
also cognate to
S: estar or ser

dog, hound, cognate to

gae, kae 개 dog
canine canine, P: Cão,
 D: hund: k>h,
vowel, n

many, much,
many manhi 많이
a lot

more obvious in
F: Bras - arm.
arm pal 팔 arm P>B, a&r
transpose, m
same

예 and 네(ne)
both mean "yes"
or "yeah." 네
tends to be used
esp. in Seoul
yes ye 예 yes
dialect, and by
the way, it is a
cognate to the G
word for yes
(ναι)

예 and 네(ne)
both mean "yes"
or "yeah." 네
tends to be used
esp. in Seoul
yes ne 네 yes
dialect, and by
the way, it is a
cognate to the G
word for yes
(ναι)
 cognate to
negating negating G
not an, ani 안, 아니
prefix prefix a-, an-,
"not"

why wei 왜 why? interrogative

interrogative -
said quickly,
what mu-eot 무엇 what? sounds like E
what w/ initial
M

서 so... 서
so... (eng.)

책을 읽으려고 했
서 코피를
so... seo (suh) 서 so... 마셨어요.
I was going to
read the book,
so I drank
coffee.

이야기
ee-ya-gi (야기 =
yack (eng.)
story
ee-ya-gi or 이야기 tell,
yack gossip,
yae-gi 얘기하다 얘기하다
story
yae-gi ha-da
to tell a story,
to tell some
gossip, to yack
 부르다
to fill

full, to be 배 불러요.
full bul (bool) 부르다
full My stomach is
full. Bae bul-
leo-yo. 불=
full (E)

to match, 마자! That's

to be right!
match mach-da 맞다
correct, to (literally, "it
be right matches")

모기 "mosquito"
is similar to
S and I "mosca"
(E- fly),
without the "s"
mosquito
mosc. Note: In
(<Sp. mo-ki (mo-
모기 mosquito certain S.
"little gi)
dialects, the
fly")
medial s would
not be
pronounced - eg.
moca, moquito
(PR, Andalusian)

Egg al 알 egg D: Ei = egg

E: mare = female
Mare mal 말 horse
horse
 C: carré,
carrer, S: calle
- street) ?F rue
Road, road, (vowel/cons
kuri 거리
Street street reversal?), ?E:
gully - water-
made path,
ravine

E: meal, edible
Meal grain, eg.
Meel 밀 Buckwheat
(grain) cornmeal,
oatmeal

E. Duck -
Duck dalk 닭 Chicken domesticated
fowl

guy, "jerk"
fellow,
E: gnome <L:
chap,
Gnome nom 놈 Gnomus -
creature,
misshapen dwarf
usu.
pejorative

E ugly usu.
Ugly eul-gul 얼굴 face refers to facial
appearance

v. to take, E uses take

To Take ta-da 타다
to get on, similarly
as to take
a bus,
etc...