Key Facts
- 코트 (koteu) means coat or overcoat.
- Part of speech: noun; origin: loanword.
- Register: neutral; 외투 sounds more formal or old-fashioned.
- Level: A1.
Coat in Korean: What Does 코트 Mean?
코트 has two senses, coat and overcoat. It is the plain everyday choice in shops and conversation. The Sino-Korean 외투, written 外套 in hanja, covers the same ground but sounds more formal or older. 재킷 is a shorter jacket, so it is not a replacement when you mean a long coat.
How Do You Pronounce 코트?
Two syllables, ko-teu. English "coat" is one syllable, but Korean adds the weak vowel ㅡ (eu) after the t, giving 코트. Keep that final eu short and light.
How Do You Use 코트 in a Sentence?
겨울에는 코트를 입어요.
I wear a coat in winter.
gyeoureneun koteureul ibeoyo. 겨울에는 gives the time, in winter, with the topic marker 는 stressing the season. 입어요 is the verb for putting clothes on the body.
이 코트는 너무 따뜻해요.
This coat is very warm.
i koteuneun neomu ttatteutaeyo. 이 코트는 sets up this coat as the topic. 너무 is very, and 따뜻해요 is warm, so the line praises the garment.
코트를 옷걸이에 걸어 주세요.
Please hang the coat on the hanger.
koteureul otgeorie georeo juseyo. 걸어 주세요 asks someone to hang it up. 옷걸이에 names the hanger as the place, and 코트를 is the thing being hung.
Which Word Combinations Are Common with 코트?
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 코트를 입다 | to wear a coat |
| 긴 코트 | long coat |
| 겨울 코트 | winter coat |
| 코트를 벗다 | to take off a coat |
The pattern is a verb of wearing or removing: 입다 puts a coat on and 벗다 takes it off. Adjectives or seasons stand in front of the noun, giving 긴 코트 and 겨울 코트.
What Is the Common Mistake with 코트?
Mistake: pairing 코트 with the wrong verb, such as the one used for hats or shoes. Correct: clothes on the body, coats included, take 입다. Hats use 쓰다 and shoes use 신다.
How Does 코트 Differ from Similar Words?
One synonym and one nearby garment are easy to confuse with it.
| Word | Meaning | How to tell it from 코트 |
|---|---|---|
| 외투 | overcoat (Sino-Korean) | The Sino-Korean word 外套; it sounds more formal and older than 코트. |
| 재킷 | jacket | A shorter jacket, not a long coat. |
Checking a Coat’s Fit
A shopper tries on a coat before buying it. The shop assistant asks about the fit, and the shopper requests a larger size.
Shopper
이 코트 입어 봐도 돼요?
I koteu ibeo bwado dwaeyo?
May I try on this coat?
Assistant
네. 입어 보세요.
Ne. Ibeo boseyo.
Yes. Please try it on.
Shopper
소매가 좀 짧아요. 더 큰 사이즈 있어요?
Somaega jom jjalbayo. Deo keun saijeu isseoyo?
The sleeves are a little short. Do you have a larger size?
Assistant
네. 잠시만 기다려 주세요.
Ne. Jamsiman gidaryeo juseyo.
Yes. Please wait a moment.
입어 봐도 돼요 asks permission to try the coat on. The assistant’s 입어 보세요 invites the shopper to do so. 좀 softens the comment about the sleeves: the shopper explains the fit problem politely before asking for a different size.
Which Coat Descriptions Help in a Shop?
긴 코트 describes a long coat, while 짧은 코트 describes a short one. Length concerns the garment’s shape, so it is different from asking for a larger size. If only the sleeves are short, name 소매, “sleeves”, as the shopper does in the dialogue.
두꺼운 코트 means a thick coat and 얇은 코트 means a thin coat. These describe thickness. 따뜻한 코트 describes warmth. The distinction helps when shopping: a lightweight coat and a warm coat are not necessarily opposite choices, because material also affects warmth.
겨울 코트 names a coat for winter. 울 코트 identifies a wool coat, and 트렌치코트 names a trench coat. These are ordinary descriptions you may see in clothing listings. A season, material and style each answer a different question about the same garment.
What Does 코트를 걸치다 Mean?
코트를 걸치다 means to put on or drape a coat over yourself. Compared with the general 코트를 입다, 걸치다 can suggest slipping it on lightly or putting it over your shoulders. The scene tells you how fully the person has put it on.
Keep that apart from 코트를 걸다, “to hang a coat”. In the existing example, 걸어 주세요 asks someone to hang the coat on a hanger. The two expressions both involve a coat, but one puts it on a person and the other puts it on a hook or hanger.
코트를 벗다 is taking the coat off. It does not say that you are changing the rest of your clothes. At a warm indoor gathering, this is enough to describe removing the outer layer while keeping your outfit on.
Where Will You See 코트?
Clothing shops use 코트 as a product category, and friends use it when talking about an outfit or the weather. It is a neutral noun; polite endings belong to the surrounding request or sentence. A shop assistant can use the same 코트 that a friend uses.
In sports, 코트 also represents English “court”, as in 테니스 코트, “tennis court”. A sentence about wearing or buying 코트 concerns clothing, while a tennis lesson supplies the sports meaning. The identical spelling comes from two different English words.
Words for Describing a Coat
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 소매 | sleeve | Name this when the sleeves are too long or short. |
| 주머니 | Useful for asking about storage in the coat. | |
| 단추 | button | Distinguish a button fastening from a zipper. |
| 옷걸이 | hanger | Where you hang the coat after taking it off. |
The clothing vocabulary lesson teaches the surrounding garments. These smaller parts help when “the coat is uncomfortable” is too vague: identifying a sleeve or a fastening gives the assistant a concrete detail to work with.
Quick Self-Test
- Which verb means wearing a coat: 입다 or 신다?
- Does 긴 코트 ask for a larger size?
- What does 코트 mean in 테니스 코트?
Show answers
- 입다. 신다 is used for footwear.
- No. It describes a long coat; length and size are different.
- Court, as in a tennis court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say I Wear a Coat in Winter?
Say 겨울에는 코트를 입어요, the first example sentence on this page.
What Is the Verb for Taking a Coat Off?
Use 벗다, as in 코트를 벗다.
Is 코트 or 외투 More Natural?
코트 is the common everyday word; 외투 sounds more formal or old-fashioned.
How Do I Spell Jacket?
Write 재킷, the standard spelling. 자켓 is common but non-standard.
Where to Go Next
Open the clothing vocabulary list for shirts, trousers and other garments. Glasses are the next word in that cluster: see glasses in Korean. For other topics return to Korean words A to Z.