공부

Korean

Etymology 1

Sino-Korean word from 工夫, from 工 (“labour, work”) + 夫 (“man”). Cognate with Jeju 공븨 (gongbui).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ko̞ŋbu]
• Phonetic hangul: [공부]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gongbu
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gongbu
McCune–Reischauer?	kongbu
Yale Romanization?	kongpu

Noun

공부 • (gongbu) (hanja 工夫)

1. learning; study

Derived terms

• 공부하다 (工夫하다, gongbuhada, “to study”)

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 貢賦

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈko̞(ː)ŋbu]
• Phonetic hangul: [공(ː)부]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gongbu
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gongbu
McCune–Reischauer?	kongbu
Yale Romanization?	kōngpu

Noun

공부 • (gongbu) (hanja 貢賦)

1. tribute

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 工部

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ko̞ŋbu]
• Phonetic hangul: [공부]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	Gongbu
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	Gongbu
McCune–Reischauer?	Kongbu
Yale Romanization?	kongpu

Proper noun

공부 • (Gongbu) (hanja 工部)

1. (historical politics) The imperial Chinese Ministry of Works from the Tang to Qing dynasties
2. (historical politics) the Korean ministry of Works of Goryeo Kingdom

Derived terms

• 공조 (工曹, gongjo, “the Korean ministry of Works of Joseon”)