Key Facts
- Hangul: 세계; Revised Romanization: segye; pronounced [se-gye] or [se-ge]
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean, hanja 世界 (世 generation + 界 realm)
- Register: Neutral.
- Senses: world
World in Korean: What Does 세계 Mean?
세계 is the world seen as a whole: every country and people counted together. It is Sino-Korean, written 世界, and neutral in tone. Because it is a scale word, it appears in names and titles far more than in chat about daily life: a world map, a world trip, a world champion. When you mean the world as people live in it day to day, Korean usually prefers 세상, covered in the comparison below.
How Do You Pronounce 세계?
Two syllables, se-gye. The first vowel e is close to the vowel in "bed". The second syllable starts with a plain g and then glides through a y sound into e, so it sounds like "gyeh". In everyday speech the y glide is often dropped, giving [se-ge], and the Standard Pronunciation Rules (Article 5) allow both [se-gye] and [se-ge]. RR always writes segye.
Example Sentences with 세계
세계는 넓어요.
Segyeneun neolbeoyo.
The world is wide.
A simple observation about size. 세계는 is the topic of the sentence, and 넓어요 describes it as wide. Because 세계 is large-scale, the sentence sounds general rather than personal.
세계 여행을 하고 싶어요.
Segye yeohaengeul hago sipeoyo.
I want to travel the world.
A wish. The pattern 하고 싶어요 means "I want to do", and 세계 여행 turns 세계 into a modifier, so the phrase reads as "world travel".
그는 세계에서 제일 빨라요.
Geuneun segyeeseo jeil ppallayo.
He is the fastest in the world.
A superlative claim. 세계에서 means "in the world" and sets the whole globe as the comparison group, while 제일 is the word for "most".
Common Phrases and Collocations
세계 attaches to the front of other nouns to give them a world scale. 세계 여행 is world travel, 세계 지도 is the world map you pin on a wall, and 세계 챔피언 is a world champion in sport. In all three phrases the second word names the thing and 세계 widens it.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 세계 여행 | world travel |
| 세계 지도 | world map |
| 세계 챔피언 | world champion |
The Mistake to Avoid
Wrong: Using 세계 for the everyday world of people and life around you, the world you mean in "that's how the world is".
Correct: 세상 is the lived world of people and daily life, while 세계 is a global or world-scale term. Choose 세계 when the idea is countries, maps or rankings.
세계 Compared with 세상, 지구 and 나라
Three neighbouring words are easy to mix up with 세계. Each covers a different part of what English might call "the world".
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 세계 | world | The world on a global scale. |
| 세상 | world / society | Everyday world of people and life. |
| 지구 | earth | The planet. |
| 나라 | country | A nation. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
세계 is Sino-Korean, written 世界 in hanja: 世 (generation) plus 界 (realm). The first character carries the idea of people living through time, and the second marks a bounded area, so together they describe the realm of all of us.
Planning a Trip with a World Map
Two friends are looking at a map while talking about a future trip. 세계 names the global scale; 여행 names the activity.
Mina
세계 지도 있어요?
Segye jido isseoyo?
Do you have a world map?
Alex
네. 세계 여행을 하고 싶어요.
Ne. Segye yeohaengeul hago sipeoyo.
Yes. I want to travel the world.
Mina
어느 나라에 가고 싶어요?
Eoneu narae gago sipeoyo?
Which country do you want to visit?
Alex
먼저 한국에 가고 싶어요.
Meonjeo Hanguge gago sipeoyo.
I want to visit Korea first.
The question switches from 세계 to 나라 when Mina asks for one destination. In the first line, the object marker after 지도 is omitted, as it often is in conversation.
Where Will You See 세계 outside a Dictionary?
In sports news, 세계 기록 means a world record: the result is compared with performances worldwide. 세계에서 in the example above does a similar job inside a sentence. It sets the comparison group, so “fastest” means fastest worldwide rather than fastest in a school or country.
전 세계 means the whole world, and 전 세계 사람들 means people around the world. Here 전 adds “whole”; it does not mean “before”. 세계적인 describes something with worldwide standing or reach. In 세계적인 작가, the phrase describes a world-renowned writer, rather than simply a writer who lives somewhere on Earth.
세계 also names a particular realm of activity or imagination. 예술의 세계 is “the world of art”. The noun before 의 identifies the field, so this use has no geographical claim. In a museum introduction or an essay, look for that field before deciding that 세계 means all countries.
| Related word | Meaning | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| 국가 | nation / state | Common in formal discussion of countries. |
| 국제 | international | Describes relations or activities between countries. |
| 대륙 | continent | Names a large land region on a world map. |
The geography vocabulary lesson groups country and map words for describing places.
Quick Self-Test
- Which word names the physical planet: 세계 or 지구?
- What does 전 add to 전 세계?
- Does 예술의 세계 necessarily refer to every country?
Show answers
- 지구 names the planet Earth.
- “Whole”: 전 세계 means the whole world.
- No. It means the world or realm of art.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "world" in Korean?
Say 세계 (segye) when you mean the world on a global scale. For the everyday world of people and life, the usual word is 세상.
What is the difference between 세계 and 세상?
세상 is the lived world of people and life. 세계 is a world-scale term, used with maps, travel and records.
How do you say "world map" in Korean?
Say 세계 지도. 세계 comes first and widens the noun that follows.
Is 세계 the same as 지구?
No. 지구 is the planet, the earth. 세계 is the world as countries and people.
How do you say "world champion"?
Use 세계 챔피언. It pairs 세계 with 챔피언, the loanword for champion, written as two words.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Core words 501 to 600 groups 세계 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- Practice: add 세계 to the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Compare: the page for earth shows how it differs from 세계.
- Compare: the page for country shows how it differs from 세계.
- Next in this list: the word for life. See the page for life.