North–South differences in the Korean language

Hangul (Chosŏn'gŭl)

The same hangul (Chosŏn'gŭl) letters are used to write the language in the North and the South. However, in the North, the stroke that distinguishes ㅌ |tʰ| from ㄷ |t| is written above rather than inside the letter as in the South.

In the South, the vowel digraphs and trigraphs ㅐ |ɛ|, ㅒ |jɛ|, ㅔ |e|, ㅖ |je|, ㅘ |wa|, ㅙ |wɛ|, ㅚ |ø|, ㅝ |wʌ|, ㅞ |we|, ㅟ |y|, ㅢ |ɰi| and the consonant digraphs ㄲ |k͈|, ㄸ |t͈|, ㅃ |p͈|, ㅆ |s͈|, ㅉ |tɕ͈| are not treated as separate letters, whereas in the North they are. Some letters and digraphs have different names in the North and in the South.

The names used in the South are the ones found in the Hunmongjahoe (훈몽자회, 訓蒙字會, published 1527). The names used in the North are formed mechanically with the pattern "letter + 이 + 으 + letter". Also for the tensed consonants, in the South, they are called "double" (쌍- /s͈aŋ-/) consonants, while in the North, they are called "strong" (된- /tøːn-/) consonants.

Sorting order

1. North: ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅚ ㅟ ㅢ ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ
   |a ja ɔ jɔ o jo u ju ɯ i ɛ jɛ e je ø y ɰi wa wɔ wɛ we|
2. South: ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ
   |a ɛ ja jɛ ʌ e jʌ je o wa wɛ ø jo u wʌ we y ju ɯ ɰi i|

1. North: ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ ㅇ
   |k n t l m p s ŋ tɕ tɕʰ kʰ tʰ pʰ h k͈ t͈ p͈ s͈ tɕ͈ ∅|
2. South: ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ
   |g gg n d dd l m b bb s ss ∅/ŋ tɕ tɕ͈ tɕʰ kʰ tʰ pʰ h|

In the North, consonant vowel digraphs are treated as letters in their own right and are ordered after the end of the simple consonant and vowel letters. In the South, the digraphs come between the basic letters. For example, after ㅏ |a| comes the diphthong ㅐ |ɛ|, the combination of ㅏ and ㅣ |i|; or after ㅗ |o| come the diphthongs ㅘ |wa|, ㅙ |wɛ| and ㅚ |ø|, which begin with ㅗ, and so on. Also, the consonant letter ㅇ (|∅| and |ŋ|) is placed between ㅅ |s| and ㅈ |tɕ| in the North when pronounced |ŋ|, but after all consonants (after ㅉ |tɕ͈|) when used as a placeholder indicating a null initial consonant (for syllables that begin with a vowel).

Pronunciation

The standard languages in the North and the South share the same types and the same number of phonemes, but there are some differences in the actual pronunciations. The South Korean standard pronunciation is based on the dialect as spoken in Seoul, and the North Korean standard pronunciation is based on the dialect as spoken in Pyongyang.

Consonants

The following differences are recognised in the consonants. In the Seoul dialect, ㅈ, ㅊ and ㅉ are typically pronounced with alveolo-palatal affricates [tɕ], [tɕʰ], [tɕ͈]. In the Pyongyang dialect, they are typically pronounced with alveolar affricates [ts], [tsʰ], [ts͈]. Also, 지 and 시 can be pronounced without palatalisation as [tsi] and [si] in the Pyongyang dialect.

In Sino-Korean words, some of ㄴ |n| and all of ㄹ |l| that come in the beginning of a word are dropped in pronunciation and not written out in the South, but all initial ㄴ and ㄹ are written out in the North. For instance, the common last name 이 [i] (often written out in English as Lee, seemingly staying true to the North Korean typography and pronunciation), is written and pronounced as 리 [ɾi] in North Korean. Furthermore, the South Korean word 여자 [jʌdʑa], meaning woman, is similarly written as 녀자 [njɔdʑa] in North Korea. But as this latter pronunciation was artificially crafted in the 1960s, it is common for older speakers to be unable to pronounce initial ㄴ and ㄹ properly, thus pronouncing such words in the same way as they are pronounced in the South.

The liquid consonant [ɾ] does not come after the nasal consonants [m] and [ŋ]. In this position, ㄹ is pronounced as [n] rather than [ɾ]. But in North Korea, ㄹ before vowels ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, and ㅠ can remain [ɾ] in this context.

Vowels

The following differences are recognised in the vowels. The vowel ㅓ /ʌ/ is not as rounded in the Seoul dialect as it is in the Pyongyang dialect. If expressed in IPA, it would be [ʌ̹] or [ɔ̜] for the one in Seoul dialect and [ɔ] for the one in Pyongyang dialect. Due to this roundedness, speakers of the Seoul dialect would find that ㅓ as pronounced by speakers of the Pyongyang dialect sounds close to the vowel ㅗ /o/. Additionally, the difference between the vowels ㅐ /ɛ/ and ㅔ /e/ is slowly diminishing amongst the younger speakers of the Seoul dialect. It is not well known if this is also happening with the Pyongyang dialect.

Pitch

The pitch patterns in the Pyongyang and Seoul dialects differ, but there has been little research in detail. On the other hand, in the Chosŏnmal Taesajŏn (조선말대사전), published in 1992, where the pitches for certain words are shown in a three-pitch system, a word such as 꾀꼬리 ([k͈øk͈oɾi] – Korean nightingale) is marked as having pitch "232" (where "2" is low and "3" is high), from which one can see some difference in pitch patterns from the Seoul dialect.

어 / 여

In words in which the word stem ends in ㅣ |i|, ㅐ |ɛ|, ㅔ |e|, ㅚ |ø|, ㅟ |y|, ㅢ |ɰi|, in forms where -어 /-ʌ/ is appended to these endings in the South, but -여 /-jɔ/ is instead appended in the North. In actual pronunciation, however, the [j] sound often accompanies the pronunciation of such words, even in the South.

ㅂ-irregular inflections

In the South, when the word root of a ㅂ-irregular inflected word has two or more syllables (for example, 고맙다 [komap̚t͈a] gomapda), the ㅂ is dropped and replaced with 우 in the next syllable. When conjugated to the polite speech level, the ㅂ-irregular stem resyllabifies with the 어요 -eoyu conjugation to form 워요 -woyu' (as in 고맙다 komapta → 고마우 komau → 고마워요 komawŏyu), appearing to ignore vowel harmony. ㅂ is not replaced with 우 in the North (as it also was in the South before the 1988 Hangeul Matchumbeop). The vowel harmony is kept in both the South and the North if the word root has only one syllable (for example, 돕다 [toːp̚t͈a] topta/dopda).

Indication of tensed consonants after word endings that end with ㄹ

In word endings where the final consonant is ㄹ |l|, where the South spells -ㄹ까 |-l.k͈a| and -ㄹ쏘냐 |-l.s͈o.nja| to indicate the tensed consonants, in the North these are spelled -ㄹ가 |-l.ka|，-ㄹ소냐 |-l.so.nja| instead. These etymologically are formed by attaching to the adnominal form (관형사형 gwanhyeongjahyeong) that ends in ㄹ, and in the North, the tensed consonants are denoted with normal consonants. Also, the word ending -ㄹ게 |-l.ɡe| used to be spelt -ㄹ께 |-l.k͈e| in the South, but has since been changed in the Hangeul Matchumbeop of 1988, and is now spelt -ㄹ게 just like in the North.

Initial ㄴ / ㄹ (두음법칙[頭音法則, dueum beopchik], "initial sound rule")

Initial ㄴ |n| / ㄹ |l| appearing in Sino-Korean words are kept in the North. In the South, in Sino-Korean words that begin with ㄹ which is followed by the vowel sound [i] or the semivowel sound [j] (when ㄹ is followed by one of ㅣ |i|, ㅑ |ja|, ㅕ |jʌ|, ㅖ |je|, ㅛ |jo| and ㅠ |ju|), ㄹ is replaced by ㅇ |∅|; when this ㄹ is followed by other vowels it is replaced by ㄴ |n|. In the North, the initial ㄹ is kept.

Similarly, in Sino-Korean words that begin with ㄴ |n| and is followed by the vowel sound [i] or the semi-vowel sound [j] (when ㄴ is followed by one of ㅣ |i|, ㅕ |jʌ|, ㅛ |jo| and ㅠ |ju|), in the South, this ㄴ is replaced by ㅇ |∅|, but this remains unchanged in the North.

These are thus pronounced as written in the North as ㄴ |n| and ㄹ |l|. However, even in the South, sometimes in order to disambiguate the surnames 유 (柳 Yu [ju]) and 임 (林 Im [im]) from 유 (兪 Yu [ju]) and 임 (任 Im [im]), the former may be written or pronounced as 류 Ryu ([ɾju]) and 림 Rim 林 ([ɾim]).

Hanja pronunciation

Where a Hanja is written 몌 |mje| or 폐 |pʰje| in the South, this is written 메 |me|, 페 |pʰe| in the North (but even in the South, these are pronounced 메 /me/, 페) /pʰe/.

Some hanja characters are pronounced differently.

Also in the North, the hanja 讐 is usually pronounced as 수 su [su], except in the word 怨讐/원쑤 wŏnssu ("enemy"), where it is pronounced as 쑤 su' [s͈u]. It is thought that this is to avoid the word becoming a homonym with 元帥 ("military general"), written as 원수 wŏnsu |wɔn.su|.

Sai siot (사이 시옷, "middle ㅅ")

When forming compound words from uninflected words, where the so-called "sai siot" is inserted in the South: this is left out in the North, but the pronunciation is the same as in the South.

Word stems in compound words

While the general rule is to write out the word stem from which the compound word is formed in its original form, but in cases where the etymological origin is no longer remembered, this is no longer written in original form. This happens both in the North and in the South. However, whether a compound word is seen to have its etymological origin forgotten or not is seen differently by different people:

In the first example, in the South, the 올 |ol| part shows that the etymological origin is forgotten, and the word is written as pronounced as 올바르다 [olbaɾɯda] olbareuda, but in the North, the first part is seen to come from 옳다 olt'a |olh.ta| and thus the whole word is written 옳바르다 olbarŭda (pronounced the same as in the South). Conversely, in the second example, the South spelling catches the word as the combination of 벚 beot and 꽃 kkot, but in the North, this is no longer recognised and thus the word is written as pronounced as 벗꽃 pŏtkkot.

Spacing

In the South, the rules of spacing are not very clearcut, but in the North, these are very precise. In general, compared to the North, the writing in the South tends to include more spacing. One likely explanation is that the North remains closer to the Sinitic orthographical heritage, where spacing is less of an issue than with a syllabary or alphabet such as Hangul. The main differences are indicated below.

Bound nouns

Before bound nouns (North: 불완전명사: purwanjŏn myŏngsa/不完全名詞 "incomplete nouns"; South: 의존 명사: uijon myeongsa/依存名詞 "dependent nouns"), a space is added in the South but not in the North. This applies to counter words also, but the space is sometimes allowed to be omitted in the South.

Auxiliaries

Before auxiliaries, a space is inserted in the South but not in the North. Depending on the situation, however, the space may be omitted in the South.

In the above, in the rules of the South, auxiliaries coming after -아/-어 or an adnominal form allow the space before them to be omitted, but the space after -고 cannot be omitted.

Words indicating a single concept

Words formed from two or more words that indicate a single concept in principle are written with spaces in the South and without spaces in the North like Japanese and Chinese.

Note that since the spacing rules in the South are often unknown, not followed, or optional, spellings vary from place to place. For example, taking the word 국어 사전 gugeo sajeon, people who see this as two words will add a space, and people who see this as one word will write it without a space. Thus, the spacing depends on how one views what "one word" consists of, and so, while spacing is standardised in the South, in reality the standard does not matter much.

Emphasis

In the North, names of leaders 김일성 (Kim Il-sung), 김정일 (Kim Jong-il) and 김정은 (Kim Jong-un) are always set off from surrounding text, typically by bolding the characters, increasing the font size, or both.

Vocabulary

The standard language in the South (표준어/標準語 pyojuneo) is largely based on the Seoul dialect, and the standard language (문화어/文化語 munhwaŏ) in the North is largely based on the Pyongyang dialect. However, both in the North and in the South, the vocabulary and forms of the standard language come from Sajeonghan Joseoneo Pyojunmal Mo-eum 사정한 조선어 표준말 모음 published by the Korean Language Society in 1936, and so there is very little difference in the basic vocabulary between the standard languages used in the North and the South. Nevertheless, due to the difference in political systems and social structure, newly created words give rise to differences in vocabulary, and the number of these will probably increase further in the future.

Differences due to the difference in political system or social structure

The word 동무 tongmu/dongmu that is used to mean "friend" in the North was originally used across the whole of Korea, but after the division of Korea, North Korea began to use it as a translation of the Russian term товарищ (friend, comrade), and since then, the word has come to mean "comrade" in the South as well and has fallen out of use there.

Differences in words of foreign origin

South Korea has borrowed a lot of English words, but North Korea has borrowed a number of Russian words, and there are numerous differences in words used between the two coming from these different borrowings. Even when the same English word is borrowed, how this word is transliterated into Korean may differ between the North and the South, resulting in different words being adapted into the corresponding standard languages. For names of other nations and their places, the principle is to base the transliteration on the English word in the South and to base the transliteration on the word in the original language in the North.

Other differences in vocabulary

The other differences between the standard languages in the North and in the South are thought to be caused by the differences between the Seoul and Pyongyang dialects.

Words like 강냉이 gangnaeng-i and 우 u are also sometimes heard in various dialects in South Korea.

There are also some words that exist only in the North. The verb 마스다 masŭda (to break) and its passive form 마사지다 masajida (to be broken) have no exactly corresponding words in the South.