roy kim

I created a list of 25 Christmas-themed vocabulary words in honor of December 25th – it’s already less than a week away and I’m not done with all my shopping! Before I finish Christmas prep, I wanted to share some fun words and culture tips for Christmastime in Korea. But first, a tiny snow-person to brighten your day:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOGMyXuFbYw/

You may have heard that Christmas Day in Korea is a notorious couple holiday. Few people seem to celebrate unless they have small children or are Christians, so there isn’t much of an uptick in traffic, shopping, or general business. Instead, couples are everywhere, in the bars, restaurants, and walking the streets to take cute pictures in front of decorations. I’ve even heard that many people date just for the holiday season, so that they have someone to do couple things with. You can read more about the Christmas experience from this amazing blog.

What if you’re not celebrating with family and you don’t have a date for the holidays? This is where the movie Home Alone comes in. Remember Kevin’s misadventures when he’s abandoned at home for the holidays and has to fend off thieves all by himself? If you’re home alone like him, with no date to kiss under the mistletoe, you can tell your nosy coworkers and classmates that you’re spending Christmas with Kevin. I’m not making this up.

Without further ado, some simple and wintry Christmas vocab! Note that a lot of words are just the Korean pronunciation of English.

Merry Christmas 메리 크리스마스
Christmas Day, Christmas Eve 크리스마스날, 크리스마스 이브 (전야, 전날)
White Christmas 화이트 크리스마스
Snow 눈
Snowflake 눈송이
Snowball 눈덩이
Snow fight 눈싸움
Santa Claus 산타클로스 (some children call him 산타 할아버지 or Grandfather Santa as well)
Gift 선물
Snowperson 눈사람
Christmas tree 크리스마스 트리
Decorations and ornaments 크리스마스의 장식
Christmas lights 크리스마스 등불, 전등 (전 – emphasis on them being electric Christmas lights)
Carols 크리스마스 캐럴
Sledding 썰매타기, to go sledding 썰매를 지치다
To go skiing 스키를 타다
Snowboarding 스노보드 타기
Mittens 벙어리 장갑 (not gloves, which are simply 장갑)
Scarf 목도리 (to wear a scarf 목도리를 하다)
Party 파티
Tinsel 장식용 반짝이 조각 , 금은사
A sprig of holly 호랑가시나무 가지
Mistletoe 겨우살이
Couple 커플
크리스마스 케빈이랑 보낸다 I’m spending Christmas with Kevin (but basically I don’t have anyone to spend Christmas with so I’m home alone)

I compiled these myself so this is my disclaimer on accuracy. If it’s wrong, please let me know! And if you want more Christmas-themed Korean, try out these:

그럼, 메리 크리스마스!

안녕하세요!

If you’ve ever formally studied a language in school, you’ve probably dealt with the usual awful assignment: Copy each of these vocab words/phrases x-times in insert target language and x-times in insert native language. Well, that’s great. You memorize the word for the test and then promptly forget it.

So what’s the point in memorizing for a test? This is language-learning; hopefully you’re remembering for life.

But memorization isn’t all bad. Go ahead and memorize – just remember that the point is to keep remembering, so memorizing it in one sitting isn’t going to do any good. You have to keep using the word, keep practicing it in conversation, writing, listening, etc.