Key Facts
- Hangul: 시장; Revised Romanization: sijang
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean
- Register: Neutral everyday word.
- Hanja: 市場 (市 market + 場 place)
Market in Korean: How Do You Pronounce 시장?
Two syllables, si-jang, with no sound change. The danger is not the sound but that three unrelated words share it.
Example Sentences with 시장
시장에서 과일을 사요.
sijangeseo gwaireul sayo.
I buy fruit at the market.
A shopping sentence. 에서 marks the place of the action, and 과일 is the fruit being bought.
시장은 사람이 많아요.
sijangeun sarami manayo.
The market is crowded.
A comment on atmosphere. The adjective 많아요 "is many" applied to people gives "crowded".
엄마와 시장에 갔어요.
eommawa sijange gasseoyo.
I went to the market with my mom.
Accompaniment with 와. The speaker went to the market with a parent, in the past tense.
Common Phrases and Collocations
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 시장에 가다 | to go to the market |
| 시장 상인 | market vendor |
| 재래시장 | traditional market |
| 시장 조사 | market research |
재래시장 is the traditional market and 시장 상인 the vendor who works there.
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners translate every 시장 as "market".
- Wrong: 시장 always means market
- Right: 시장 can also be mayor (市長), and 시장하다 is a rather formal way to say "to be hungry"
Only context separates them, so read the surrounding words before translating.
시장 Compared with Similar Words
The comparison here is partly with a modern store and partly with the homophones.
| Word | Meaning | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|
| 시장 | market | This page's word |
| 마트 | mart / supermarket | A modern large store. |
| 시장 | mayor (homophone) | The same spelling can mean mayor (市長) or 'hungry' (시장하다) depending on context. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
The market word is written 市場 in hanja, from 市 (market) and 場 (place). The mayor is 市長, a different compound.
Asking a Fruit Seller about the Price
A shopper is buying apples at a market stall. The seller answers a quantity question, and the shopper chooses how many to buy.
Shopper
이 시장은 처음이에요. 사과 얼마예요?
I sijangeun cheoeumieyo. Sagwa eolmayeyo?
It’s my first time at this market. How much are the apples?
Seller
세 개에 오천 원이에요.
Se gaee ocheon wonieyo.
They’re five thousand won for three.
Shopper
그럼 세 개 주세요.
Geureom se gae juseyo.
Then three, please.
Seller
네, 봉투에 담아 드릴게요.
Ne, bongtue dama deurilgeyo.
Yes, I’ll put them in a bag for you.
The price here is part of the example exchange, not a typical market price. 세 개에 gives the quantity covered by that price: three items. The seller’s 담아 드릴게요 offers to put the apples in a bag for the shopper. The shopper first mentions 시장 to introduce the visit, then names the item they want.
Going to the Market and Shopping There
시장에 가다 means to go to the market. 시장에서 사다 means to buy at the market. 에 marks the destination with 가다, while 에서 marks the place where buying happens. The noun stays 시장; the particle tells you whether the sentence is about the trip or the shopping action.
장을 보다 is a common expression meaning to shop for groceries or household food supplies. Its literal pieces do not help much if you translate 보다 only as “see.” In this expression it names doing the shopping. You can do that at a 시장 or a supermarket, so the phrase does not specify a traditional market by itself.
시장 상인 means market vendor. 상인 names the person who sells goods, while 손님 names the customer. When speaking to a seller, people may use 사장님, a respectful business title. 시장 itself names the place and is not a way to call the seller over.
Where Will You Read or Hear 시장?
재래시장 and 전통시장 both refer to traditional markets. These labels can appear on signs, maps and travel descriptions. 실내 means indoors and 야외 means outdoors; the word 시장 alone does not tell you whether the stalls have a roof. A covered marketplace can still be a 시장.
시장 names an area or institution for trade, while 가게 names an individual shop. You can meet someone at the entrance to a 시장 and then walk to a particular 가게 inside it. If a friend asks which shop, repeating 시장 gives only the larger location and may not be enough to find you.
In business news, 시장 can mean a market in the economic sense. 시장 조사 means market research: investigating demand or conditions, rather than necessarily interviewing shoppers at a stall. 해외 시장 means overseas market. The market can be a group of buyers and sellers connected by trade rather than one physical place you can visit.
Reading the Homophones in Context
A sentence mentioning a mayor's election or speech may use 시장 for the city official. A sentence mentioning fruit purchases points toward the marketplace. The hanja differ, but ordinary text often omits them, so nearby actions and nouns do the work.
시장하다 is an adjective meaning to be hungry, usually heard in a more formal or old-fashioned tone than 배고프다. Its dictionary ending 하다 is a useful clue that the sentence is describing hunger. Treating every occurrence of the sound sijang as a shopping place makes both political news and food-related conversation confusing.
마트 is a store label, often used for supermarkets and larger retail shops. It is useful alongside 시장, but the label alone is not a precise measure of floor space. For a meeting or a shopping trip, use the actual place name as well as its category.
Words for Buying Things at a Market
| Korean | Meaning | One practical note |
|---|---|---|
| 가게 | shop | Names one business rather than the whole marketplace. |
| 상인 | merchant; vendor | Identifies the person selling the goods. |
| 가격 | price | Helps when comparing the cost of items. |
| 봉투 | bag; envelope | In the dialogue, it is the bag for the apples. |
The traditional market lesson teaches the wider shopping set. Listen for the quantity beside a price as well as the number of won; a bundle price and a price per item answer different questions.
Quick Self-Test
- Which particle fits buying fruit at the market: 시장에 or 시장에서?
- Does 장을 보다 specifically mean going to a traditional market?
- In 시장 조사, must 시장 mean a physical marketplace?
Show answers
- 시장에서 marks where the buying happens.
- No. It means doing grocery shopping, which can also happen elsewhere.
- No. It can mean the economic market being researched.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "market" in Korean?
Say 시장 (sijang).
What else can 시장 mean?
It can mean mayor (市長), and 시장하다 means to be hungry.
How is 시장 different from 마트?
마트 is a modern large store, while 시장 is the marketplace.
How do I say "traditional market"?
Say 재래시장.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Traditional market word list groups 시장 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.