사전

Korean

Etymology 1

Sino-Korean word from 辭典 (“dictionary”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰa̠d͡ʑʌ̹n]

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [사전]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sajeon
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sajeon
McCune–Reischauer?	sajŏn
Yale Romanization?	sacen

Noun

사전 • (sajeon) (hanja 辭典)

1. dictionary

   사전을 찾아보다 ― sajeon-eul chajaboda ― to search [for a word in] a dictionary

Derived terms

• 전자사전(電子辭典) (jeonjasajeon)

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 事典 (“encyclopedia”).

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sajeon
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sajeon
McCune–Reischauer?	sajŏn
Yale Romanization?	sācen

Noun

사전 • (sajeon) (hanja 事典)

1. encyclopedia

Derived terms

• 국어사전(國語辭典) (gugeosajeon)
• 백과사전(百科事典) (baekgwasajeon)

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 事前, from 事 (“matter”) + 前 (“before”).

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sajeon
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sajeon
McCune–Reischauer?	sajŏn
Yale Romanization?	sācen

Noun

사전 • (sajeon) (hanja 事前)

1. prior; beforehand

   Antonym: 사후(事後) (sahu)

Further reading

• 사전 in dictionaries at daum.net

Etymology 4

Sino-Korean word from 私 (“private; personal”) + 戰 (“war; battle”).

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sajeon
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sajeon
McCune–Reischauer?	sajŏn
Yale Romanization?	sācen

Noun

사전 • (sajeon) (hanja 私戰)

1. private war (an individual waging war against a foreign country without government sanction)
   • 2022 March 8, 김남일 [gimnamil], “이근, 형법 ‘사전죄’ 제정 69년 만에 첫 처벌 대상 되나 [igeun, hyeongbeop ‘sajeonjoe’ jejeong 69nyeon mane cheot cheobeol daesang doena, Will Korean YouTuber fighting in Ukraine be first to stand trial for waging “private war”?]”, in 한겨레 [han'gyeore, Hankyoreh]‎^[1]:

     “사사로운 전쟁… 국가적으로 어떤 대한민국의 명령을 받어 가지고 한다든지 하는 것이 아니고 혼자 자의로 외국과 전단을 일으켜 가지고 문제를 일으키는 것입니다. 그런 행위로 우리 국가의 의용군이라고 해서 외국 전쟁에 참가해 가지고 외교상의 문제를 일으키는 일도 있습니다. 그것을 사전이라고 합니다.”

     “Sasa-roun jeonjaeng… gukga-jeogeuro eotteon Daehanmin'gug-ui myeongnyeon-g'eul badeo gajigo handa-deunji haneun geos-i anigo honja jaui-ro oeguk-gwa jeondan-eul ireukyeo gajigo munje-reul ireukineun geos-imnida. Geureon haeng'wi-ro uri gukga-ui uiyonggun-irago haeseo oeguk jeonjaen-g'e chamga-hae gajigo oegyo-san-g'ui munje-reul ireukineun il-do itseumnida. Geugeos-eul sajeon-irago hamnida.”

     “[It means] a personal war [...] It’s when an individual, out of one's own will, takes up arms against a foreign country and causes problems instead of doing so at the national level or upon the command of the Republic of Korea. Through such behavior, the individual may claim to be our country’s volunteer soldier and participate in foreign wars, which can cause diplomatic problems. That’s what a private war is.”

Derived terms

• 사전죄(私戰罪) (sajeonjoe, “private war crime”)