Preface
This book lists approximately 4,800 core Korean words with Japanese and Mandarin (standard Chinese) equivalents. Main entries are in Hangeul (Korean characters) followed by Romanized Korean with Chinese characters in the first line. In the second line, the entry’s Romanized Japanese equivalents with Chinese characters. Then, in the third line, Pinyin (Romanized standard Chinese pronunciation) followed by Chinese characters (both simplified and traditional if applicable).
Even though Korea has Hangeul, and Japan has Kana as their own characters, they are phonetic characters. Therefore, Korean and Japanese have to use Chinese characters in written communication. Surprisingly, 2/3 of Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin share common Chinese characters. Therefore, if they know those common Chinese characters, they can understand meaning of each languages considerably. Moreover, if they know how to pronounce common each Chinese characters, they can also communicate verbally.
This book is ideal for learners of Korean, Japanese and Mandarin who know Chinese characters. And also good for everyone who can pronounce Romanized letters.
[Sample]
가격 ga gyeok 價格
kakaku 価格
jià gé 价格 (價格)
가구 ga gu 家具
kagu 家具
jiā jù 家具
가극 ga geuk 歌劇
kageki 歌劇
gē jù 歌剧 (歌劇)
