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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

How does korean compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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:

However, the South Korean study published last year challenged it by arguing that Type Ia supernovae did not all reach the same peak brightness as the universe aged.

From Science Daily Aug. 29, 2026

The Wall Street Journal’s Dasl Yoon and a former North Korean soldier examine a smartphone that was smuggled out of the world’s most reclusive nation.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 28, 2026

Additionally, South Korean government officials said nine citizens working on building a hydropower plant were missing.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 27, 2026

"Since the South Korean people have high hopes for the eSports category I want to fulfil that hope and give them back pride and honour," he said.

From Barron's Aug. 27, 2026

The middle of town was still empty of villagers but full of North Korean soldiers patrolling the area.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

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

We then take a look at a new WSJ documentary that uncovers how North Koreans have infiltrated American companies.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 15, 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

“You never really said anything about what you Koreans believe in,” she said.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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