Are there any old loanwords from Korean, especially any not written in katakana?


Given the close proximity and long history of interaction of various kinds
within East Asia, the great influence of Chinese in both Japanese and Korean,
and the similar structures of Japanese and Korean, are there any old words
known to have come into Japanese from Korean, and if so, are there any which
are written in kanji?

We know that modern Korean loanwords are written in katakana such as "キムチ"
(kimuchi) from "김치" (kimchi) and "ビビンバ" (bibinba) from "비빔밥" (bibimbap), but
surely there must be some words taken much longer ago - what are some of them
and how are they written?




Any word read in on'yomi in Japanese and using the Sinic hanja reading in
Korean is probably ultimately attributable to Middle Chinese, unless evidence
can be found of an independent coinage somewhere on the Japanese archipelago
or the Korean peninsula.

Terms like the ones below are likely borrowings from Middle or later Korean,
rather than Chinese. We can guess at this even before delving into the
etymologies simply because the readings do not fully conform with the regular
kinds of on'yomi for Japanese kanji. For instance, 温突 in normal on'yomi would
instead be _ontotsu_ , 妓生 would be _gisei_ , and 明太 would be _meitai_ or
_myōtai_.

  * 温突 [おんどる] /(n) (uk) Korean floor heater (kor: ondol)/
  * 妓生 [きいさん] /(n) Korean female entertainer (kor: gi-saeng)/
  * 参鶏湯 [サムゲタン] /(n) samgyetang (kor: samgyetang)/chicken ginseng soup (Korean dish)/
  * 総角 [チョンガー] /(n) (uk) bachelor (kor: ch'onggak)/
  * 沈菜 [キムチ] /(n) (uk) kimchi (kor: kimch'i)/kimchee/spicy Korean pickled cabbage/
  * 明太 [めんたい] /(n) walleye pollack (Theragra chalcogramma) (kor: myeongtae)/Alaska pollack/

Some words in kanji have multiple readings, where one is from Middle Chinese
and one from Korean. 両班 can be read as _yanban_ , indicating an aristocrat in
middle-ages Korea, or it can be read as _ryōban_ , indicating both the east
and west lines of statuary in a Zen temple.

Looking into sound correspondences discoverable from kanji / hanja readings,
other patterns begin to emerge. For instance, Japanese 蜂 _hachi_ ("bee") is
probably cognate with Korean 벌 _beol_. Old Japanese initial /p/ developed into
/w/ and /h/ in modern Japanese, while kanji ending in /chi/ in the on'yomi
pretty consistently match hanja ending in /l/ in the Korean. The slight
mismatch in the vowel is an uncertainty; we do know that OJP vowels had
different qualities from the modern ones, and this might account for the
shift.  
* JA /hachi/ → OJP /pachi/ → KO /pɘːl/

However, this is very likely a case of **cognates** : words sharing a common
root that have been in the respective languages since some theorized point of
divergence, rather than **borrowings** that moved from one language into
another.

**About 幸 _sachi_ and 살 _sal_** , the _sachi_ reading also refers to a hunting
tool, possibly a kind of arrow. This reading again fits with the sound
correspondence patterns, suggesting another cognate:  
* OJP /sachi/ → MK /sal/

**About 熊 _kuma_ and 곰 _gom_** , see
[Talk:구름](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:%EA%B5%AC%EB%A6%84) and
[黒#Etymology_2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%BB%92#Etymology_2). The
upshot of this is that there is a cluster of likely cognates surrounding the
JA and KO terms for "cloud", "black", "hole", "bear", and "spider".

**About 鶴 _tsuru_ and 두루미 _turumi_** , these are probably also cognates. See
the etymology sections at
[鶴#Japanese](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%B6%B4#Japanese) and
[두루미#Korean](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%EB%91%90%EB%A3%A8%EB%AF%B8#Korean)
-- there are cognates in multiple regional languages, including Mongolian and
Turkish.

**About 塚 _tsuka_** , my JA materials state that this is cognate with OJP verb
築く _tsuku_ ("to build up earth or stone into a structure"). The _-a_ ending on
the noun _tsuka_ would suggest the _mizenkei_ or incomplete form of the verb
_tsuku_ , suggesting an original meaning of "that which is being built up into
an earthworks (but isn't finished yet)". That said, the incomplete is also the
root of the passive form of all verbs, so the original meaning might simply
have been the passive sense of "that which is built up into an earthworks".

Given also the wide range of meanings and deep prevalence of the OJP verb
_tsuku_ throughout the history of the language, and the close semantic overlap
between the various senses of _tsuku_ , I would be very surprised indeed if
_tsuka_ were a loanword. I would be much more open to the possibility that it
is cognate with a Korean term.

**Other cognates** not yet listed above probably include:

  * OJP 沼 _nu_ and KO 늪 _neup_ "swamp, marsh"
  * JA 島 _shima_ and KO 섬 _seom_ "island"
  * JA 日 _hi_ and KO 해 _hae_ "sun"
  * JA 星 _hoshi_ and KO 별 _byeol_ "star"
  * OJP 火 _pu_ and KO 불 _bul_ "fire"
  * OJP 水 _mi, mizu_ and MK 밀 _mil_ , KO 물 _mul_ "water"
  * JA 事 _koto_ and KO 것 _keot_ "thing"
  * OJP 海 _wata_ and KO 바다 _bada_ "sea, ocean"

**Other borrowings** not yet listed above include:

  * JA チャリンコ _charinko_ "bike", apparently from Jeju dialect 자륜거 _jaryun-geo_.
  * JA 大后 _konioruku_ "emperor's wife", stated in JA dictionaries as coming from old Korean _kon_ or _koni_ meaning "great" (possibly 건 _geon_ "rich"?), with the _oruku_ part meaning "wife", but I have no idea what the KO term would be.
  * JA 王 _kokishi, konikishi_ is also from some variety of old Korean, with the same _koni_ element, and _kishi_ apparently meaning "king, lord, ruler".
  * JA 夫人 _hashikashi_ "husband", apparently borrowed from a Baekje dialect word.
  * JA 百済 _Kudara_ "Baekje" is probably also from a Baekje dialect word (the Chinese-derived on'yomi of _Hyakusai_ is another JA term for "Baekje").

Sorry that's so long, but I hope it's useful. Feel free to ping me on the EN
WT. At a bare minimum, I might know where to look things up. :)




Any word read in on'yomi in Japanese and using the Sinic hanja reading in
Korean is probably ultimately attributable to Middle Chinese, unless evidence
can be found of an independent coinage somewhere on the Japanese archipelago
or the Korean peninsula.

Terms like the ones below are likely borrowings from Middle or later Korean,
rather than Chinese. We can guess at this even before delving into the
etymologies simply because the readings do not fully conform with the regular
kinds of on'yomi for Japanese kanji. For instance, 温突 in normal on'yomi would
instead be _ontotsu_ , 妓生 would be _gisei_ , and 明太 would be _meitai_ or
_myōtai_.

  * 温突 [おんどる] /(n) (uk) Korean floor heater (kor: ondol)/
  * 妓生 [きいさん] /(n) Korean female entertainer (kor: gi-saeng)/
  * 参鶏湯 [サムゲタン] /(n) samgyetang (kor: samgyetang)/chicken ginseng soup (Korean dish)/
  * 総角 [チョンガー] /(n) (uk) bachelor (kor: ch'onggak)/
  * 沈菜 [キムチ] /(n) (uk) kimchi (kor: kimch'i)/kimchee/spicy Korean pickled cabbage/
  * 明太 [めんたい] /(n) walleye pollack (Theragra chalcogramma) (kor: myeongtae)/Alaska pollack/

Some words in kanji have multiple readings, where one is from Middle Chinese
and one from Korean. 両班 can be read as _yanban_ , indicating an aristocrat in
middle-ages Korea, or it can be read as _ryōban_ , indicating both the east
and west lines of statuary in a Zen temple.

Looking into sound correspondences discoverable from kanji / hanja readings,
other patterns begin to emerge. For instance, Japanese 蜂 _hachi_ ("bee") is
probably cognate with Korean 벌 _beol_. Old Japanese initial /p/ developed into
/w/ and /h/ in modern Japanese, while kanji ending in /chi/ in the on'yomi
pretty consistently match hanja ending in /l/ in the Korean. The slight
mismatch in the vowel is an uncertainty; we do know that OJP vowels had
different qualities from the modern ones, and this might account for the
shift.  
* JA /hachi/ → OJP /pachi/ → KO /pɘːl/

However, this is very likely a case of **cognates** : words sharing a common
root that have been in the respective languages since some theorized point of
divergence, rather than **borrowings** that moved from one language into
another.

**About 幸 _sachi_ and 살 _sal_** , the _sachi_ reading also refers to a hunting
tool, possibly a kind of arrow. This reading again fits with the sound
correspondence patterns, suggesting another cognate:  
* OJP /sachi/ → MK /sal/

**About 熊 _kuma_ and 곰 _gom_** , see
[Talk:구름](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:%EA%B5%AC%EB%A6%84) and
[黒#Etymology_2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%BB%92#Etymology_2). The
upshot of this is that there is a cluster of likely cognates surrounding the
JA and KO terms for "cloud", "black", "hole", "bear", and "spider".

**About 鶴 _tsuru_ and 두루미 _turumi_** , these are probably also cognates. See
the etymology sections at
[鶴#Japanese](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%B6%B4#Japanese) and
[두루미#Korean](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%EB%91%90%EB%A3%A8%EB%AF%B8#Korean)
-- there are cognates in multiple regional languages, including Mongolian and
Turkish.

**About 塚 _tsuka_** , my JA materials state that this is cognate with OJP verb
築く _tsuku_ ("to build up earth or stone into a structure"). The _-a_ ending on
the noun _tsuka_ would suggest the _mizenkei_ or incomplete form of the verb
_tsuku_ , suggesting an original meaning of "that which is being built up into
an earthworks (but isn't finished yet)". That said, the incomplete is also the
root of the passive form of all verbs, so the original meaning might simply
have been the passive sense of "that which is built up into an earthworks".

Given also the wide range of meanings and deep prevalence of the OJP verb
_tsuku_ throughout the history of the language, and the close semantic overlap
between the various senses of _tsuku_ , I would be very surprised indeed if
_tsuka_ were a loanword. I would be much more open to the possibility that it
is cognate with a Korean term.

**Other cognates** not yet listed above probably include:

  * OJP 沼 _nu_ and KO 늪 _neup_ "swamp, marsh"
  * JA 島 _shima_ and KO 섬 _seom_ "island"
  * JA 日 _hi_ and KO 해 _hae_ "sun"
  * JA 星 _hoshi_ and KO 별 _byeol_ "star"
  * OJP 火 _pu_ and KO 불 _bul_ "fire"
  * OJP 水 _mi, mizu_ and MK 밀 _mil_ , KO 물 _mul_ "water"
  * JA 事 _koto_ and KO 것 _keot_ "thing"
  * OJP 海 _wata_ and KO 바다 _bada_ "sea, ocean"

**Other borrowings** not yet listed above include:

  * JA チャリンコ _charinko_ "bike", apparently from Jeju dialect 자륜거 _jaryun-geo_.
  * JA 大后 _konioruku_ "emperor's wife", stated in JA dictionaries as coming from old Korean _kon_ or _koni_ meaning "great" (possibly 건 _geon_ "rich"?), with the _oruku_ part meaning "wife", but I have no idea what the KO term would be.
  * JA 王 _kokishi, konikishi_ is also from some variety of old Korean, with the same _koni_ element, and _kishi_ apparently meaning "king, lord, ruler".
  * JA 夫人 _hashikashi_ "husband", apparently borrowed from a Baekje dialect word.
  * JA 百済 _Kudara_ "Baekje" is probably also from a Baekje dialect word (the Chinese-derived on'yomi of _Hyakusai_ is another JA term for "Baekje").

Sorry that's so long, but I hope it's useful. Feel free to ping me on the EN
WT. At a bare minimum, I might know where to look things up. :)

