Key Facts
- Hangul: 스마트폰; Revised Romanization: seumateupon
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Loanword (no hanja)
- Register: Neutral; the usual everyday term for a touchscreen phone.
Smartphone in Korean: What Does 스마트폰 Mean?
스마트폰 names the device, not a call. It is neutral in register. Phrases such as 스마트폰 앱, 스마트폰 화면 and 스마트폰 중독 show it working as a modifier in front of another noun, and 스마트폰을 쓰다 is "to use a smartphone".
How Do You Pronounce 스마트폰?
Say seu-ma-teu-pon, four even beats. The two eu vowels (ㅡ) are short and unrounded; Korean adds them because its syllables cannot carry the s-m and t clusters of English "smart". The ㅍ in 폰 is aspirated, a p with a clear puff of air.
Example Sentences with 스마트폰
제 스마트폰은 작아요.
Je seumateuponeun jagayo
My smartphone is small.
제 is the polite "my", and 작아요 means "is small". The topic marker 은 follows the final ㄴ of 폰.
스마트폰으로 사진을 찍어요.
Seumateuponeuro sajineul jjigeoyo
I take photos with my smartphone.
으로 marks the tool, and 찍어요 is the verb for taking a photo, so the phone is what you shoot with.
아버지도 스마트폰을 써요.
Abeojido seumateuponeul sseoyo
My father also uses a smartphone.
도 means "also", and 써요 is "use", from 쓰다. The sentence is a natural way to say an older family member has one too.
Common Phrases and Collocations
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 스마트폰 앱 | smartphone app |
| 스마트폰을 쓰다 | to use a smartphone |
| 스마트폰 화면 | smartphone screen |
| 스마트폰 중독 | smartphone addiction |
The Mistake to Avoid
English "phone" can name a device or the act of calling. Korean also has more than one use for 전화, so learn the whole phrase.
Wrong: translating 전화하다 as "use a smartphone" for any activity on the device.
Correct: 전화하다 means "to make a phone call". 스마트폰을 쓰다 means "to use a smartphone", including uses beyond calling. 전화 can also name a telephone; 스마트폰 and 휴대폰 identify the mobile device more precisely.
스마트폰 Compared with Similar Words
Three phone words overlap. 휴대폰 is a cell phone in general, possibly not smart. 핸드폰 is a casual variant of 휴대폰. 폰 is a very casual clipping of "phone".
| Word | Meaning | Versus smartphone |
|---|---|---|
| 스마트폰 | smartphone | This page's word |
| 휴대폰 | cell phone | cell phone in general (may be a non-smart phone) |
| 핸드폰 | hand phone (casual variant of cell phone) | casual variant of 휴대폰 |
| 폰 | phone (casual) | very casual clipping 'phone' |
Where Does the Word Come From?
스마트폰 is a loanword from English "smartphone", written in Hangul, so there is no hanja. The 폰 part is the same clipping that appears on its own as casual 폰.
At a Café: a Flat Phone Battery
A customer wants to charge a smartphone while sitting in a café. The request names the device, and the staff member checks whether the customer has a charger.
Customer
스마트폰을 충전해도 돼요?
Seumateuponeul chungjeonhaedo dwaeyo?
May I charge my smartphone?
Staff member
네. 충전기 있으세요?
Ne. Chungjeongi isseuseyo?
Yes. Do you have a charger?
Customer
네, 있어요. 콘센트는 어디에 있어요?
Ne, isseoyo. Konsenteuneun eodie isseoyo?
Yes, I do. Where is the outlet?
Staff member
테이블 아래에 있어요.
Teibeul araee isseoyo.
It is under the table.
충전해도 돼요? asks permission to charge. It is more useful here than simply announcing that the battery is low. The staff member's 있으세요? is respectful, and 콘센트 names the power outlet. The customer supplies the charger, so the exchange does not imply that the café lends one.
Which Phone Phrases Describe the Device or Its Use?
스마트폰을 쓰다 means “to use a smartphone”. The object marker 을 attaches directly to 폰. In 스마트폰으로 사진을 찍어요, the ending 으로 means “with” or “using”: the smartphone is the tool for taking the photograph. These two patterns answer different questions: what do you use, and what do you use it for?
스마트폰 화면 means the smartphone screen. Korean can put these two nouns side by side without a separate word for “of”. 스마트폰 앱 follows the same pattern for an app used on the device. Keep 스마트폰 together as one word, then leave a space before 화면 or 앱.
배터리가 없어요 is an everyday way to say the phone has no charge left. Literally, the words say there is no battery, but in a conversation about using a phone they commonly refer to an empty battery. 충전하다 means to charge; 충전기 names the equipment used to do it.
Where Will You See 스마트폰, 휴대폰 and 폰?
스마트폰 appears in product descriptions and instructions when the type of device matters. A guide for installing an app may specify a smartphone because a basic mobile phone cannot necessarily run that app. In conversation, 휴대폰 or 핸드폰 can name the same object without emphasizing its software features.
폰 is a short conversational form. A friend may use it while asking where you put your phone. The shorter noun does not set the politeness of the whole sentence: a polite ending can still follow a sentence containing 폰. 스마트폰 or 휴대폰 is clearer in a written explanation or a request where the device needs identifying.
The National Institute of Korean Language’s entry for 전화 includes both a telephone and a call. In 전화를 하다, the phrase means “to make a phone call”; it does not mean to operate every feature of a smartphone. When discussing a screen, charger or app, 스마트폰 or 휴대폰 makes the physical mobile device explicit.
Words You Need When the Phone Stops Working
| Korean | Meaning | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| 배터리 | battery | The phone's stored power. |
| 충전기 | charger | The equipment needed to recharge it. |
| 화면 | screen | The display you look at or touch. |
| 앱 | app | A program installed on the phone. |
| 와이파이 | Wi-Fi | A wireless network connection, separate from battery power. |
The smartphone and app vocabulary lesson groups these words with everyday phone actions. If a phone is charged but cannot connect, the network words help you describe a different problem.
Quick Self-Test
- Which phrase means “make a phone call”: 전화를 하다 or 스마트폰 화면?
- What does 으로 mark in 스마트폰으로 사진을 찍어요?
- Which word names a charger?
Show answers
- 전화를 하다 means to make a phone call.
- It marks the phone as the tool used to take the photo.
- 충전기.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "smartphone" in Korean?
Say 스마트폰 (seumateupon).
Is 전화 a smartphone?
전화 can mean a telephone or a phone call. It does not specifically mean a smartphone; use 스마트폰 to name that device.
What is the difference between 스마트폰 and 휴대폰?
휴대폰 is a cell phone in general, while 스마트폰 is specifically a smartphone.
How do I say smartphone addiction?
Say 스마트폰 중독.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: daily life technology vocabulary places smartphone among related words.
- Index: more words after smartphone are in Korean words A to Z.
- Practice: save smartphone in the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Next to read: the page for wifi.
- Compare with the page for cell phone.
- Go further with smartphone and app vocabulary.