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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:

US and South Korean military leaders announced the Ulchi Freedom shield in a joint press conference last week.

From BBC Aug. 19, 2026

The South Korean firm has a majority stake in Boston Dynamics.

From BBC Aug. 19, 2026

A South Korean military official told AFP that Seoul viewed the decision as "unusual".

From Barron's Aug. 19, 2026

South Korean officials have said the exercises had begun as planned and that they hoped the personal chemistry between Trump and Kim would bring them back to talks.

From Barron's Aug. 18, 2026

But when a killer whale catches and eats a baby seal, I immediately change it back to the Korean variety show.

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

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

Jiyoung Sohn and Timothy W. Martin review the case that has mesmerized South Koreans.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 23, 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

Before local versions were allowed in May, Koreans bought similar ETFs listed abroad.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 6, 2026

Nearly two million ethnic Koreans now live in China’s three northeast provinces, with the highest concentration in Jilin, which Shin entered when he crawled across the frozen river.

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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