Korean

Syllable

알 • ‎(al)

1. A Hangul syllabic block made up of ㅇ, ㅏ, and ㄹ.

Etymology 2

Noun

알 • ‎(al)

1. egg, roe (of fish)
2. grain (of cereals)
3. (chiefly as a suffix) ball (small round object)

• Usage note: 알 means "an egg of some animal that lays eggs", e.g., 새알 (a bird's egg), 메추리알 (a quail egg), 개구리의 알 (a frog's egg). To mean a hen's egg (as in "boiled eggs"), use 달걀, or equivalently, 계란. To mean the egg cell (e.g., the human egg), use 난자.

Related terms

• 아들 ‎(adeul) son
• 얼 ‎(eol) soul, spirit
• 얼굴 ‎(eolgul) face
• 딸 ‎(ttal) daughter
• 씨앗 ‎(ssiat) seed, grain

Derived terms

(egg):

• 달걀 ‎(dalgyal) hen's egg
• 새알 ‎(saeal) bird's egg
• 오리알 ‎(orial) duck's egg
• 알까기 ‎(alkkagi) hatching, incubation
• 알껍질 ‎(alkkeopjil) egg shell
• 물고기알 ‎(mulgogial)

(grain):

• 밀알 ‎(miral) grain of wheat
• 밀알 ‎(miral) grain of rice
• 콩알 ‎(kong-al) grain of bean
• 씨알 ‎(ssial) grain of seed
• 알갱이 ‎(algaeng-i) grain

(ball):

• 눈알 ‎(nunal) eyeball
• 밤알 ‎(bamal)
• 불알 ‎(bural) testicle, testis
• 총알 ‎(chong-al) bullet
• 알맹이 ‎(almaeng-i) core
• 알몸 ‎(almom) naked

See also

• 배다 ‎(baeda) to bear (eggs)
• 낳다 ‎(nata) to lay (eggs)
• 품다 ‎(pumda) to incubate (literally, "to sit on", eggs)
• 까다 ‎(kkada) to hatch (eggs)
• 노른자위 ‎(noreunjawi) yolk
• 흰자위 ‎(huinjawi) albumen, egg white
• 병아리 ‎(byeong-ari) chick, chicken
• 계란 (鷄卵, gyeran) hen's egg
• 부화 (孵化, buhwa) incubation, hatching
• 곤이 (鯤鮞, goni)
• 캐비어 ‎(kaebieo)
• 캐비아 ‎(kaebia)