Korean age how does it work

As you can see, being older brings both benefits and obligations. Due to the influence of Confucianism, age plays a huge role in shaping interpersonal relationships.

For Koreans, age is significant enough to be a determining factor for the way they use the Korean language. To explain, age determines the level of formality and politeness in language, known as the speech level. When at school or work not used to address other people directly :. This article provides you with a complete guide to Korean numbers systems and how to count in Korean. For e xamples:. As a result, the former is used much more frequently than the latter in spoken Korean. When you give a self-introduction or are asked about your age, you can state your Korean age directly.

Although I am 23 years old in Korean system , I am actually 22 years old. Because both of you are the same age, you may speak casually to each other when you feel comfortable and close enough. Polite speech unless permission is given to talk casually. Click here for the most comprehensive Korean learning guide for beginners. Table of Contents.

Back2School Sale Ends in. Author Recent Posts. Jina Yang. Linguistics student based in Europe. One theory is that the one year counted on the day of birth refers to the time spent in the womb — with nine months being rounded up to twelve. Others point to an old ancient Asian numerical system that did not have the concept of zero.

As for the extra year added on January 1st, some experts claim that it is connected to the Chinese year calendar cycle. They believe that ancient Koreans placed their year of birth within this calendar cycle at a time with no regular calendars.

Therefore, they tended to ignore their day of birth and add a whole year on the first day of the lunar calendar instead. Like I mentioned in the introduction, Koreans make sure they know what your age is when they meet you in order to address you accordingly.

In Korea and a lot of other Asian countries, it is disrespectful to call an older person with their name so there are terms that are used by relatively younger people. The informal addressing is picked up very carefully and directed towards people of the same age and within the family. Although the age factor can demand respect everywhere in the world, it requires devotion in Asian countries! In Korea there are certain conditions and etiquette that run the lives of citizens to maintain a disciplined and cultured lifestyle.

If you are out for lunch with family or friends, the oldest one in the bunch is required or rather expected to pay the bill. The splitting of the bill does not work if you are considerably older than the rest of the gang.

So the next time you are in Korea, you know what kind of people to go out for a bite to eat! Koreans bow to greet older people as a sign of respect.

This is something that is shown in the media time and again. The formal speech has to be used by younger people to the older folks at home or just in general.

This is very important since this sets a tone for your speech and shows the respect you hold for the older person and is one of the most basic requirements.

The older one in the family or a clique of friends has the responsibility to lead the group. Although it is not mandatory to convert your age when you are answering them, it is appropriate to cite your age in the Korean Age system so that it applies to them as well.

A lot of westerners have admitted to citing their age in the Korean age system when they are in Korea just because that is their system and what they adhere to.

Another reason why you should just get it off according to the Korean age system is because it can avoid a lot of confusion when it comes to the contradicting methods. It can be a tad awkward to shoot the question to every person you meet just to adhere to etiquette.

When the other person is younger or older and it is apparent that you can use the right term, you are saved without having to bring up the question. Now addressing the elephant in the room, you can compare the actual age with the Korean age system.

This can clarify a lot of cultural differences especially if you are in conversation with someone who is unfamiliar with the system and its workings. I have given the list of ages in Korean from 18 years to 40 years old.