Korean Words with Translation: One Table, Two Norms
3 November 2026 · KoryoTalk · 6 min read
Short answer: a Korean word can have two spellings with one translation. One language, two literary norms: the Northern 문화어 (DPRK) and the Southern 표준어. Where the norms diverge, the dictionary decides whether the word is found at all: 력사 "history" and 로씨야 "Russia" are silently rewritten into 역사 and 러시아 by Seoul-trained databases, while the address 동무 "comrade" and the dollar 딸라 disappear entirely. Below is a table of 22 words with translation in two norm columns: first the ten words where the norms diverge, then the twelve where both norms spell the same way. Such a table answers the "translation" question — and shows that you translate a specific norm, not "Korean in general".
Where the norms diverge: 10 words
The left column is the spelling per the DPRK dictionary (문화어), the right one is Southern (표준어). The pair shares one translation. Three mechanisms of divergence: different words for the same thing (동무/친구), different initial letters under the dueum rule (력사/역사), different renderings of loanwords (콤퓨터/컴퓨터).
| North (문화어) | South (표준어) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 동무 | 친구 | comrade / friend |
| 로동자 | 노동자 | worker |
| 녀자 | 여자 | woman |
| 력사 | 역사 | history |
| 로씨야 | 러시아 | Russia |
| 렬차 | 기차 | train |
| 탁자 | 책상 | table |
| 랭장고 | 냉장고 | refrigerator |
| 콤퓨터 | 컴퓨터 | computer |
| 텔레비죤 | 텔레비전 | television, TV set |
Three rows of this table are the most frequent traps in translating DPRK texts: Seoul-trained services render 동무 as "friend" with an archaic flavour, and silently "fix" 력사 and 로씨야 into southern spellings before translating anything. The full trap list — in the article "Korean translator and the norm".
Where the norms match: 12 words
The core of everyday vocabulary is spelled the same in both norms — the phonetics and basic words are shared. These words are safe for either norm:
| Word (both norms) | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 사람 | person, human |
| 학생 | student, pupil |
| 나라 | country, state |
| 집 | house, home |
| 학교 | school |
| 책 | book |
| 밥 | rice; meal |
| 찌개 | stew (thick, vegetable soup) |
| 아침 | morning; breakfast |
| 택시 | taxi — the same word in the DPRK and the South |
| 안녕하십니까 | hello (formal) |
| 얼마 | how much |
The row 택시 is the best honest answer to "how do they say taxi in the DPRK?": the same way — 택시, as in the South. The DPRK dictionary records the word in the same spelling as the southern standard; the "northern" variants of this word circulating online are not confirmed by the dictionary.
How to use the table when translating
- Determine the norm of the text first by the words in the left column: if you see 력사, 로동자, 동무 — the text is northern, and its spelling must not be "corrected".
- Check pairs, not single words. If a service does not find the left column (동무, 딸라, 강냉이), it has no northern layer — and its right column proves nothing.
- Matches do not prove the norm. The twelve words of the lower table exist in both norms — they cannot identify the norm of a text; the markers are always in the divergent words.
Where the divergences come from
Keep the three mechanisms of the table as a checklist:
| Mechanism | Example from the table | What happens in translation |
|---|---|---|
| Different words | 동무/친구, 탁자/책상, 렬차/기차 | A northern word is translated by its southern meaning or marked as archaic |
| Initial ㄴ/ㄹ (dueum rule) | 력사/역사, 녀자/여자, 로동자/노동자 | The northern spelling is "fixed" into the southern one before translation |
| Loanwords spelled by letters | 콤퓨터/컴퓨터, 텔레비죤/텔레비전, 딸라 | The northern rendering is missing from a southern base — the word disappears |
The dueum rule is covered separately in "Why the DPRK writes 로씨야, 녀자 and 로동자"; the mechanism as a whole — in the hub "One language, two norms".
Transcription and pronunciation
Translation is not the only thing a word needs: speaking practice requires a Cyrillic record and reading rules. The Cyrillic transcription of the same words — in "Korean Words with Transcription"; the "hangul + Cyrillic + translation" table and the ㄹ/어-오 rendering rules — in "Korean Words in Russian"; pronunciation rules (syllable batchim, the liquid ㄹ, even rhythm without stress) — in "How to Pronounce Korean Words". The topic-grouped starter set of 44 words — in the series hub "Korean Words for Beginners: 44 Basic Words".
Checking words against the northern norm
To check which norm a word is spelled in and get a translation, use the KoryoTalk bot: a base of 2.2 million Korean-Russian dictionary articles plus a separately assembled layer of verified northern correspondences — the left columns of the tables above are not "corrected" there.
Bottom line
"Korean words with translation" is always two questions, not one: what the word means, and which norm it is spelled in. The table above answers both: ten words show where the norms diverge and why a northern text gets lost in a general translator; twelve — where the norms match and the words are safe. The North Korean language as a system — in the hub "What Is the North Korean Language?"; how the northern norm lives inside a translator — in "North Korean Language Translator".
Fact check: every Korean word in this article was verified against the KoryoTalk dictionary base (exact entries): north column — 동무, 로동자, 녀자, 력사, 로씨야, 렬차, 탁자, 랭장고, 콤퓨터, 텔레비죤; shared rows — 사람, 학생, 나라, 집, 학교, 책, 밥, 찌개, 아침, 택시, 안녕하십니까, 얼마; related — 두음법칙, 문화어, 표준어, 딸라, 강냉이, 받침. Southern 친구, 노동자, 여자, 역사, 러시아, 기차, 책상, 냉장고, 컴퓨터, 텔레비전 are marked counterexamples: they are absent from the northern dictionary base (this confirms the northern norm, they are not used in texts for the DPRK). The word 물 (water) did not confirm in this check run and was left out of the tables.