Key Facts
- Hangul: 여권; Revised Romanization: yeogwon
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean, hanja 旅券 (旅 travel + 券 ticket)
- Register: Neutral, everyday word used in both spoken and written Korean. Spoken as [여꿘].
Passport in Korean: What Does 여권 Mean?
여권 has one sense: the passport you carry across borders. It is neutral, so you can say it to an immigration officer, a hotel clerk or a friend. Two nearby documents are easy to confuse with it. 비자 is the entry permit a country grants you, while 여권 is your own identity document from your home country. 신분증 is a general ID card and does not cover international travel.
How Do You Pronounce It?
The spelling looks like yeo-gwon, but the standard pronunciation is [여꿘]. The ㄱ of 권 is tensed, so it sounds like yeo-kkwon. This tensing is not shown in the spelling or in the romanization yeogwon, so it simply has to be learned.
Example Sentences with 여권
여권을 보여 주세요.
Yeogwoneul boyeo juseyo.
Please show your passport.
A request you will hear at a check-in desk. 보여 주세요 is the polite way to ask someone to show something, and 여권을 marks the passport as the thing being shown.
제 여권을 잃어버렸어요.
Je yeogwoneul ireobeoryeosseoyo.
I lost my passport.
The sentence you need at a lost-property office. The verb 잃어버렸어요 is past tense, so it reports a loss that has already happened, and 제 means "my".
여권은 가방 안에 있어요.
Yeogwoneun gabang ane isseoyo.
My passport is in the bag.
This one locates the passport. 안 means "inside", so the bag is the place and 있어요 says the passport exists there.
Common Phrases and Collocations
Three phrases cover most passport business: making one, renewing one, and the small photo that goes inside the application.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 여권을 만들다 | to get a passport (issued) |
| 여권을 갱신하다 | to renew a passport |
| 여권 사진 | passport photo |
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners read the word exactly as written.
- Wrong: yeo-gwon, with a soft g.
- Correct: [yeo-kkwon], with a tense kk sound.
If you miss the tensing, listeners will still understand you, but the word will sound less natural.
여권 Compared with 비자 and 신분증
Travellers mix up the three documents because all of them are shown at some counter. The difference is who issues them and what they prove.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 여권 | passport | This page's word |
| 비자 | visa | The entry permit; 여권 is your identity document, 비자 is the permission added to it. |
| 신분증 | ID card | A general identity card, not the travel document. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
여권 is Sino-Korean, written 旅券 in hanja: 旅 (travel) plus 券 (ticket). A "travel ticket" is a fair picture of what a passport does at a border.
Showing a Passport at a Hotel
A guest is checking in at a hotel. The clerk asks to see the passport, and the guest checks whether to open it.
Clerk
여권을 보여 주세요.
Yeogwoneul boyeo juseyo.
Please show your passport.
Guest
네, 여기 있어요.
Ne, yeogi isseoyo.
Yes, here it is.
Guest
사진이 있는 페이지를 펴면 돼요?
Sajini inneun peijireul pyeomyeon dwaeyo?
Should I open it to the page with the photo?
Clerk
네, 감사합니다.
Ne, gamsahamnida.
Yes, thank you.
여기 있어요 can accompany handing over an object. The guest's question identifies the page by its photo, using 사진이 있는 페이지, “the page with the photo”. The clerk's first line leaves out “your”; the check-in situation makes whose passport is needed clear.
Which Passport Phrases Appear on Forms?
여권 번호 means passport number. The word 번호 identifies a number used as an identifier, rather than a count of passports. 여권 이름 refers to the name in the passport. These labels often appear alongside other identity fields, so read the full label before entering information.
여권 사본 means a copy of a passport, while 여권 원본 means the original document. The distinction is about which version of the document someone is requesting. Learning 사본 and 원본 helps you understand an instruction; the nouns alone do not tell you what a particular organization will accept.
여권 사진 is a photograph for a passport. In conversation, the same words can also refer to the photo already printed in it. The surrounding action resolves the meaning: taking a new photo concerns the application, while looking at an open passport concerns the existing picture.
Talking about Getting or Losing a Passport
여권을 만들다 literally sounds like “make a passport”, but in everyday conversation it means arranging to have one issued. The applicant is not making the booklet by hand. 여권 발급 is the more administrative phrase for passport issuance, so 발급 is useful to recognize on an application page or office sign.
여권을 갱신하다 means to renew a passport. 여권 재발급 means reissuance, which can come up when someone needs a replacement. These are vocabulary distinctions rather than a guide to an application process: the precise procedure depends on the issuing authority.
여권 분실 means loss of a passport, the compact wording you may see in a heading. In a conversation, the existing example 제 여권을 잃어버렸어요 reports what happened. The possessive 제 is useful when several people's travel documents are involved, even though Korean often leaves ownership unstated when it is obvious.
Words to Recognize around 여권
| Korean | Meaning | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| 번호 | number | An identifying number in a form field. |
| 사본 | copy | A reproduction rather than the original. |
| 원본 | original | The original document itself. |
| 만료일 | expiration date | The date printed for the end of validity. |
The travel vocabulary lesson groups 여권 with documents and places encountered on a trip. Pair the document name with the specific label you need, such as 여권 번호, to make a question at a counter clearer.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 여권 번호 ask for?
- Does 여권을 만들다 mean manufacturing your own booklet?
- Which word means the original: 사본 or 원본?
Show answers
- The passport number.
- No. In everyday talk it means getting a passport issued.
- 원본. 사본 means a copy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "passport" in Korean?
Say 여권 (yeogwon). The spoken form is [여꿘].
How is 여권 pronounced?
The second ㄱ is tensed, so the word sounds like yeo-kkwon rather than yeo-gwon.
What is the difference between 여권 and 비자?
여권 is your identity document. 비자 is the entry permit for a country.
How do you say "I lost my passport"?
제 여권을 잃어버렸어요. It is one of the three example sentences above.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: travel words groups 여권 with the other words you need on a trip.
- Index: Korean words A to Z lists every single-word page.
- Practice: add 여권 to the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Compare with the page for the visa entry permit.