CSAT Second Language/Hanja key terms

The Korean alphabet of 24 basic letters (14 consonants, 10 vowels) grouped into syllable blocks. It is the native script used to write Korean and appears in Hanja exam materials as pronunciation glosses beside Chinese characters.

Chinese characters borrowed into Korean and used in formal, academic, and historical writing. Each character carries a Sino-Korean reading and a meaning, and knowledge of them supports vocabulary building in Korean.

The standard Korean naming convention for a Hanja, giving its Sino-Korean sound first and then a native Korean or Sino-Korean gloss of its meaning, as in 水 물 수 ('water, su').

The layer of Korean vocabulary derived from Chinese, as opposed to native Korean words. These words are written in Hanja historically and follow regular sound correspondences with Middle Chinese.

The semantic component of a Chinese character that often indicates its category of meaning, such as water, wood, or speech. Dictionaries group characters under 214 traditional radicals used across Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditions.

The conventional sequence for writing a character's strokes, generally top to bottom, left to right, and horizontal before vertical. Correct order supports legibility, handwriting recognition, and dictionary lookup by stroke count.

A four-character Sino-Korean expression, usually drawn from classical Chinese literature, whose meaning is often figurative rather than literal. Examples appear frequently in Hanja reading and vocabulary questions.

The official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese, using tone marks or numbers to show the four tones. It is the standard input and pronunciation aid taught in beginning Chinese courses.

A distinctive pitch pattern that changes a syllable's meaning in Mandarin, with four main tones plus a neutral tone. Tone errors can change words entirely, so tone marking and production are tested early.

The consonant sound at the beginning of a Mandarin syllable, such as b, p, m, or zh. Some initials are aspirated and contrast with unaspirated pairs, which learners must distinguish in listening and speaking.

The vowel or vowel-plus-nasal part of a Mandarin syllable that follows the initial, such as -ao or -iang. Finals determine much of a syllable's sound and interact with tone.

A classifier required between a number or demonstrative and a noun in Chinese, as in 三本书 ('three books'). Choosing the correct measure word for each noun class is a standard beginner grammar point.

A grammatical marker in Mandarin, notably 了, which signals completed action or a changed state depending on position. Its placement and meaning are frequent sources of learner error.

A Japanese syllabary of 46 basic characters used for native words, grammatical endings, and furigana readings. It is cursive in style and is typically the first script taught to beginners.

A Japanese syllabary of 46 basic characters used mainly for loanwords, onomatopoeia, and emphasis. It is angular in style and mirrors hiragana's sound inventory.

Chinese characters used in Japanese writing, each with one or more Sino-Japanese readings (on'yomi) and native readings (kun'yomi). Roughly 2,000 are needed for adult literacy.

The Sino-Japanese reading of a kanji, reflecting its historical borrowing from Chinese. These readings typically appear in compound words rather than in isolation.

The native Japanese reading of a kanji, usually used when the character stands alone or with Japanese inflectional endings. It often carries the core meaning of the character.

Small hiragana printed beside or above kanji to show pronunciation. They appear in children's books, newspapers for uncommon characters, and language-learning texts.

A short grammatical word in Japanese that follows a noun, verb, or clause to mark its role, such as subject, object, location, or topic. Correct particle choice is central to sentence construction.

The script used for Russian and several other languages, with 33 letters in Russian including distinctive characters such as ж, ш, and ы. Learning it is the first step in reading Russian.

Russian nouns, adjectives, and pronouns change endings to show grammatical role, with six cases including nominative, accusative, and prepositional. Case endings are a major early challenge for learners.

The Russian distinction between imperfective verbs, which present an action as ongoing or repeated, and perfective verbs, which present it as complete. The choice affects tense formation and meaning.

Russian consonants come in paired hard and soft versions, where softness is marked by a following palatalizing vowel or soft sign. This contrast changes word meaning and must be perceived accurately.

A cursive script of 28 letters written right to left, in which letters change shape depending on their position in a word. Short vowels are usually indicated by optional diacritics.

The Arabic morphological system in which a three-consonant root carries core meaning and vowel patterns produce related words such as nouns, verbs, and participles. Recognizing roots aids vocabulary building.

A classification of Arabic consonants that determines whether the definite article al- assimilates to the following sound. Moon letters keep the l, while sun letters cause it to merge into the next consonant.

An Arabic sentence that begins with a noun and has no copula in the present tense, such as 'the house is big'. Predicate agreement and word order follow specific rules.

The Latin-based script for Vietnamese, using diacritics to mark tones and to distinguish vowels. It replaced character-based writing for everyday use in the twentieth century.

Six distinctive tones in standard Vietnamese, marked by diacritics above or below vowels. Tone shapes meaning and interacts with final consonants, so accurate production is essential.

The layer of Vietnamese words borrowed from Chinese, historically written with characters and now in the Latin script. These words resemble Chinese and Korean terms and support formal vocabulary.

Obligatory noun classifiers placed between a number or demonstrative and a noun, similar to Chinese measure words. The choice of classifier depends on the noun's semantic category.

The three German definite articles, marking masculine, feminine, and neuter grammatical gender. Gender determines article and adjective endings and must be learned with each noun.

German marks grammatical role through four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Articles, pronouns, and adjectives change form accordingly, making case a core beginner topic.

German main clauses place the finite verb in second position, while subordinate clauses move it to the end. This verb-second and verb-final contrast is a frequent exam focus.

The French definite articles for masculine, feminine, and plural nouns. Gender and number agreement also affect adjectives and pronouns throughout French grammar.

French verbs change endings to agree with subject and tense, grouped into -er, -ir, and irregular patterns. Common irregular verbs such as être and avoir must be memorized early.

A French past tense formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) plus a past participle. Agreement of the participle with the subject occurs with être verbs and reflexive constructions.

The Spanish definite articles, matching the noun's gender and number. Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine, and article agreement extends to adjectives and pronouns.

Spanish verbs inflect for person, number, tense, and mood, with -ar, -er, and -ir patterns plus many irregulars. Subject pronouns are often omitted because endings show the subject.

Two Spanish verbs meaning 'to be', where ser covers identity and inherent traits and estar covers states and locations. Choosing between them is a classic beginner distinction.