Hanja

[ninjaxjschick]

I was curious about how much Hanja is actually used... When it's used, where, how often, etc...

감사합니다!

[javiskefka]

Hanja in Korean are like the Latin and Greek in English. For example, the 감사 in 감사합니다 consists of two characters:
감
感
느낄 감
to feel

사
謝
사례할 사
gratitude

Aside from being the root of many words in Korean, hanja are used in such places as newspaper headlines for abbreviation purposes, on store signs for stylistic purposes, and in written works that contain historical names or uncommonly used words to clear up ambiguity.

[ninjaxjschick]

oh okay. so Hanja's really not that common, i guess.
well thanks!

[javiskefka]

It's more the case that a few hanja are very common while the rest are all hiding in the background.

[the_haunted_boy]

Its still fun, and you also pick up some Chinese when studying hanja.

[ninjaxjschick]

감사합니다!