Key Facts
- Hangul: 열 (yeol)
- Meaning: fever, heat
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean
- Hanja: 熱 (heat, fever)
- Syllables: one (yeol)
- Register: Neutral; a different word from the native number 열 (ten) that sounds the same.
- Level: A2
Fever in Korean: What Does 열 Mean?
열 is a Sino-Korean noun, 熱, for fever and heat. It is neutral, and doctors and parents use it equally. The tricky part is that the native number ten is also 열, spelled the same and said the same. Nothing in the word itself separates them, so the sentence around it has to do the work.
How Do You Pronounce 열?
One syllable: yeol. The vowel is y+eo, and the ㄹ at the end is a light tongue-tip sound. When a vowel follows, the ㄹ moves across, so 열이 is said yeori. RR writes yeol for the bare word.
How Do You Use 열 in a Sentence?
열이 나요.
I have a fever.
yeori nayo. 이 marks 열 as the subject, and 나요 pairs with fever to say that it comes out, meaning I have one. The sentence reports a symptom to a doctor or a friend.
아이가 열이 높아요.
The child has a high fever.
aiga yeori nopayo. 아이가 is the child as subject, and 높아요 means is high. The sentence gives two subjects, the child and the fever.
열이 내려서 다행이에요.
I am glad the fever came down.
yeori naeryeoseo dahaengieyo. 내려서 means came down, and 다행이에요 means it is a relief. The 서 ending links the reason, and the whole sentence gives good news.
Common Word Combinations
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 열이 나다 | to have a fever |
| 열이 높다 | for a fever to be high |
| 열이 내리다 | for a fever to go down |
| 열을 재다 | to take a temperature |
열이 나다 is the phrase to learn first: the fever comes out. 열이 높다 describes a high fever, and 열이 내리다 describes it falling. 열을 재다 means to take a temperature, with 을 because you are measuring it.
Common Mistake
Wrong: Hearing 열이 나요 as something about the number ten.
Correct: 열이 나요 is about a fever; the number ten is 열 on its own.
The verb 나다 and the marker 이 show that this is the fever noun.
How Does 열 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | Meaning | How to tell it from 열 |
|---|---|---|
| 열 (ten) | ten (native number) | Same spelling and sound as the fever noun. Counting contexts decide. |
| 체온 | body temperature | The measured temperature, not the fever itself. |
| 몸살 | body aches; flu-like illness | The achy, run-down feeling that often comes with a fever. |
Describing a Symptom at a Clinic
A patient tells a doctor about a fever. The doctor asks when it began; the exchange practises describing the symptom and its timing.
Doctor
어디가 불편하세요?
Eodiga bulpyeonhaseyo?
What’s bothering you?
Patient
열이 나고 머리가 아파요.
Yeori nago meoriga apayo.
I have a fever and a headache.
Doctor
언제부터 열이 났어요?
Eonjebuteo yeori nasseoyo?
When did the fever start?
Patient
어젯밤부터요.
Eojetbambuteoyo.
Since last night.
열이 나고 links the fever to a second symptom. 났어요 asks about its onset in the past, while 부터 marks the starting time. The patient can answer with a time phrase alone because the doctor has already supplied the full question. This dialogue reports symptoms without naming a cause.
Phrases for Fever, Heat and Excitement
열이 나다 describes having a fever. 열이 있다 is another way to say that someone has a fever: literally, “there is fever”. In ordinary symptom reporting, both can communicate the same problem. 나다 presents the fever as something that develops; 있다 describes its presence.
열을 재다 means to take a temperature. It names the act of measuring, rather than saying whether the result is high. 체온을 재다 makes the measured quantity explicit: body temperature. A person can take a temperature even when there is no fever, which is why 체온 and 열 do different jobs.
열이 내리다 means that a fever goes down. 열을 내리다 means to bring it down, with 을 marking what is being lowered. Compare these with the earlier relief sentence: 열이 내려서 다행이에요 reports a change in the fever itself. The marker helps distinguish the change from an action directed at it.
열을 식히다 literally means to cool or let heat dissipate. The heat might be from a machine or a hot object, so a sentence with 열 need not concern illness. In figurative language, heat can also suggest excitement or anger. Read the surrounding nouns before translating every instance as “fever”.
열을 올리다 can mean to become heated or put great energy into something, such as an argument. It does not necessarily report a thermometer reading. A conversation about a debate gives the figurative phrase a different setting from the clinic dialogue above.
Where Will You Hear 열?
Parents discussing an unwell child, patients describing symptoms and clinic staff asking questions all use 열. It is an ordinary word, so the polite sentence 열이 나요 is suitable when speaking to a doctor. You do not need a technical disease name to explain that symptom.
발열 is a more formal noun for fever or heat generation. You may see it on a symptom checklist, but also in a description of an electronic device that becomes warm. The object being discussed tells you whether the heat is bodily or mechanical. 열 itself is similarly broad.
A doctor may ask about several symptoms together. Knowing a word for cough or chills lets you add detail to 열이 나요 without guessing a diagnosis. For language practice, keep the distinction between describing what you feel and stating what illness you have.
Related Words for Reporting Symptoms
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 체온 | body temperature | The quantity measured, whether normal or elevated. |
| 체온계 | thermometer | The instrument used to measure body temperature. |
| 기침 | cough | A separate symptom you can mention alongside fever. |
| 오한 | chills | The feeling of cold or shivering that can accompany illness. |
Learn more symptom names in the health vocabulary lesson.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 열을 재다 say that the measured temperature is high?
- Which describes a fall in the fever: 열이 내리다 or 열을 내리다?
- Must 열 in a description of a computer mean illness?
Show answers
- No. It only describes taking a temperature.
- 열이 내리다. 열을 내리다 means bringing it down.
- No. 열 can mean heat from an object.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 열 the Fever or the Number Ten?
Both are written 열. 열이 나요 is a fever.
How Do I Say I Have a Fever?
Say 열이 나요.
How Do I Say the Fever Went Down?
Say 열이 내려서 다행이에요 for a relieved sentence.
How Do I Take a Temperature?
열을 재다 is the phrase for taking a temperature.
Where to Go Next
More health words are on the daily life health vocabulary page. After the fever, learn headache in Korean. To practise, try the vocabulary flashcard decks or return to Korean words A to Z.