한국어 공책

Tonight I peeked at my worms. I couldn't remember the Korean word. "에비? 발이?"

"벌레," Good Man said, "but we call those worms 지렁이. Earthworm."

"지 like that word I asked about last night?" Last night I'd been reading The Little Prince and kept running into 지구. I thought it might be "region" or something similar since 지역 is region.

"Ah, 지구, yes."

"지리학!" I yelled out. Geography. Good Man nodded and I smiled. "I am very clever."

지 (地) Earth
지구: globe; earth
천지: heaven and earth (also a series of forms in taekwondo)
지옥: hell
지진: earthquake
지하(철): underground (subway)
지도: map
지리(학(자)): geography (geographer)
지역: region
현지: that very spot

There are more examples, of course, but these are the ones that made me smile or nod. I've been confusing 지도 and 기도 (ji-do and gi-do, map and prayer) for years. I finally came up with "jeez, I forgot the map" and "God, I forgot to pray" to link English letters with the Korean sounds. But this root knowledge will make a much better hook!