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  • Korean
    Korean
    adjective
    of or relating to Korea, its inhabitants, or their language.
  • korean
    korean
    adjective
    of or relating to Korea, its people, or their language

Korean

American  
[kuh-ree-uhn, kaw-, koh-] / kəˈri ən, kɔ-, koʊ- /

adjective

  1. of or relating to Korea, its inhabitants, or their language.


noun

  • Koreans
    plural
  1. a native or inhabitant of South Korea or North Korea.

  2. the language of South Korea or North Korea. Kor

korean British  
/ kəˈriːən /

adjective

  1. of or relating to Korea, its people, or their language

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of Korea

  2. the official language of North and South Korea, considered by some scholars to be part of the Altaic family of languages

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of Korean

First recorded in 1605–15; Kore(a) + -an

Compare meaning

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The contest was created by Hybe, the South Korean entertainment company behind acts like BTS and Le Sserafim, and the US record label Geffen, home to Olivia Rodrigo and the Rolling Stones.

From BBC Sep. 4, 2026

The North Korean leader has responded to international pressure by urging his population to tighten their belts.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 2, 2026

South Korean eyewear brand Blue Elephant’s new flagship store is inspired by the city’s landscape and energy.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 1, 2026

Specialised Indian, Chinese and South Korean tunnel-rescue teams are also helping.

From Barron's Aug. 31, 2026

From his PhD research on Korean pharmaceutical companies, Jim knew that the price of a drug to the public often had little to do with the costs of manufacturing or distributing it.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

All the non “A” places seem to be the korean bbq and japanese shabu restaurants where the customer cooks their own raw meat.

From New York Times Jul. 28, 2010

Around a quarter of South Koreans pay for generative AI, according to a government survey earlier this year.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 28, 2026

Producer Emma Scott and reporter Sam Kessler: Last summer, we got our hands on a trove of leaked data from computers used by North Koreans working undercover at American companies.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 14, 2026

The chain was accused of trivialising the nation's landmark protest movement and insulting the dead, remembered as martyrs by many South Koreans.

From Barron's Aug. 5, 2026

More Koreans live there than in any city in the United States besides New York or Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 22, 2026

It extended barbed wire and built new concrete barriers.3 China, too, increased border security to discourage North Koreans from entering the country in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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