Classical Chinese (Hanja) I
Classical Chinese (Hanja) I tests the reading and meaning of basic hanja, common classical particles, short classical Chinese sentences, and familiar four-character idioms. Korean candidates need both the Korean reading (음) and the semantic gloss (훈), plus enough grammar to parse a sentence without modern punctuation.
Core patterns
- A hanja has a Korean reading and a meaning: 學 = 배울 학 (“learn”); 水 = 물 수 (“water”). Learn the pair, not just the sound.
- Common particles: 之 can be possessive (“of”) or a pronoun (“it”); 其 = his/its/that; 而 = and/but; 以 = by/with/because of; 於 = in/at/than; 也 often ends a judgment; 者 nominalizes (“the one who”).
- Classical Chinese is compact: subjects and objects are often omitted, and the same character may have several grammatical functions.
- Idioms (사자성어) often preserve older meanings; learn the story or literal components to avoid guessing.
Worked example
“學而時習之, 不亦說乎?” Parse: 學 (learn) + 而 (and then) + 時 (regularly/at the proper time) + 習 (practice) + 之 (it) + 不亦…乎 (is it not…?). 說 is read 悅 here and means “pleasant.” The line means “To learn and regularly practice it-is that not pleasant?” The trap is reading 說 as “speak”; context and the 忄 radical signal 悅.
Traps
- Do not translate 之 as “go” from modern Chinese; in classical texts it is usually possessive or pronominal.
- 而 is not always “and”; it can mark contrast.
- A character’s modern Korean reading may differ from its classical function; check the gloss.
- Idiom meanings are often figurative, not the sum of literal characters.
- Watch punctuation: a comma in a modern edition may reflect interpretation, not the original text.