사

Sino-Korean word from 四 (四).

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

사 • (sa) (hanja 四)

1. (Sino-Korean numeral) four

   Synonyms: 네 (ne, “four”, determiner native numeral), 넷 (net, “four”, nominal native numeral)

This numeral is sometimes considered unlucky because 사(四) (sa) is homophonous with 사(死) (sa), the hanja for "death". This is common throughout East Asia.

In modern Korean, numbers are usually written in Arabic numerals.

The Korean language has two sets of numerals: a native set of numerals inherited from Old Korean, and a Sino-Korean set which was borrowed from Middle Chinese in the first millennium C.E.

Native classifiers take native numerals.

• 개 한 마리 (gae han mari, “one dog”, native numeral)
• 나무 두 그루 (namu du geuru, “two trees”, native numeral)

Some Sino-Korean classifiers take native numerals, others take Sino-Korean numerals, while yet others take both.

• 종이 두 장(張) (jong'i du jang, “two sheets of paper”, native numeral)
• 이 분(分) (i bun, “two minutes”, Sino-Korean numeral)
• 서른/삼십 명(名) (seoreun/samsip myeong, “thirty people”, both sets possible)

Recently loaned classifiers generally take Sino-Korean numerals.

• 일 킬로미터 (il killomiteo, “one kilometer”, Sino-Korean numeral)

For many terms, a native numeral has a quantifying sense, whereas a Sino-Korean numeral has a sense of labeling.

• 세 반(班) (se ban, “three school classes”, native numeral)
• 삼 반(班) (sam ban, “Class Number Three”, Sino-Korean numeral)

When used in isolation, native numerals refer to objects of that number and are used in counting and quantifying, whereas Sino-Korean numerals refer to the numbers in a more mathematical sense.

• 하나만 더 주세요 (hana-man deo juse-yo, “Could you give me just one more, please”, native numeral)
• 일 더하기 일은? (il deohagi il-eun?, “What's one plus one?”, Sino-Korean numeral)

While older stages of Korean had native numerals up to the thousands, native numerals currently exist only up to ninety-nine, and Sino-Korean is used for all higher numbers. There is also a tendency—particularly among younger speakers—to uniformly use Sino-Korean numerals for the higher tens as well, so that native numerals such as 일흔 (ilheun, “seventy”) or 아흔 (aheun, “ninety”) are becoming less common.

Sino-Korean word from 社 (社).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰa̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [사]

사 • (sa) (hanja 社)

1. (formal) company

   Synonym: 회사(會社) (hoesa)

   그는 사를 나왔다. ― geu-neun sa-reul nawatda. ― He left the company.

—사 • (-sa) (hanja 社)

1. Short for 회사(會社) (hoesa, “company”).

   ‎신문(新聞) (sinmun, “newspaper”) + ‎사(社) (sa) → ‎신문사(新聞社) (sinmunsa, “newspaper agency”)

• See the hanja entry at 社 (社) for Sino-Korean compounds of 사 (社, sa).

Sino-Korean word from 死 (死).

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

사 • (sa) (hanja 死)

1. (literary) death

   Antonym: 생(生) (saeng, “life”)

   생과 사의 문제 ― saeng-gwa sa-ui munje ― The question of life and death

   • 1926, 김우진／金祐鎭 [Kim Woo-jin], 死(사)와 生(생)의 理(이)論(론) [A theory on life and death]:

     아니요. 그러나 死(사)를 바래고 잇소.

     Aniyo. Geureona sareul baraego itso.

     No. But, I am wishing for death.

사 • (sa) (hanja 死)

1. (baseball) out

• 사(死)하다 (sahada)
• See the hanja entry at 死 (死) for Sino-Korean compounds of 사 (死, sa).

Sino-Korean word from 私 (私).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰa̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [사]

사 • (sa) (hanja 私)

1. private or personal affair

   Antonym: 공(公) (gong)

   공과 사를 구분하다 ― gong-gwa sa-reul gubun-hada ― to distinguish what belongs to one's private and public/business life

• See the hanja entry at 私 (私) for Sino-Korean compounds of 사 (私, sa).

Sino-Korean word from 史 (史).

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

사 • (sa) (hanja 史)

1. (formal) history

   Synonym: 역사(歷史) (yeoksa)

—사 • (-sa) (hanja 史)

1. history

   ‎한국(韓國) (Han'guk, “Korea”) + ‎사(史) (sa) → ‎한국사(韓國史) (han'guksa, “Korean history”)

• See the hanja entry at 史 (史) for Sino-Korean compounds of 사 (史, sa).

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰa̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [사]

사 • (sa)

1. sol (musical note)

Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

사 (sa)