Professionals & Job Titles

🎯 Big Picture

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 선생님 (teacher / "sir/ma'am")

• 저분은 우리 학교 선생님이세요. (That person is a teacher at our school.)

• 선생님, 이거 어떻게 해요? (Excuse me, sir/ma'am — how do I do this?)

2. 의사 (doctor)

• 저는 의사가 되고 싶어요. (I want to become a doctor.)

• 그 의사 선생님은 정말 친절해요. (That doctor is really kind.)

3. 회사원 (office worker)

• 제 형은 회사원이에요. (My older brother is an office worker.)

• 회사원들은 보통 아침 9시에 출근해요. (Office workers usually start work at 9 a.m.)

4. 학생 (student)

• 저는 대학교 학생이에요. (I'm a university student.)

• 그 학생은 한국어를 열심히 공부해요. (That student studies Korean diligently.)

5. 간호사 (nurse)

• 간호사가 제 이름을 불렀어요. (The nurse called my name.)

• 그녀는 병원에서 간호사로 일해요. (She works as a nurse at a hospital.)

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

• 우리 선생님은 의사 선생님과 결혼했어요. (Our teacher married a doctor.)

• 저는 학생이고, 제 형은 회사원이에요. (I'm a student, and my older brother is an office worker.)

• 그 간호사는 예전에 학생일 때 의사가 되고 싶어 했어요. (That nurse wanted to become a doctor back when she was a student.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

• -사 (師/士): marks a skilled professional — 의사 (doctor), 간호사 (nurse), 교사 (teacher, formal), 변호사 (lawyer), 미용사 (hairdresser), 요리사 (chef).

• -원 (員): marks "a member of [an organization]" — 회사원 (office worker), 공무원 (civil servant), 은행원 (bank employee), 연구원 (researcher).

• -생 (生): marks a student or someone in a learning stage — 학생 (student), 대학생 (university student), 중학생 (middle schooler), 졸업생 (graduate).

• 님: an honorific suffix added to titles to show respect when addressing or referring to someone else — 선생님, 사장님, 의사 선생님. Don't use 님 for your own title.

🔁 Synonym Alert

• 선생님 vs. 교사: 선생님 is what you call a teacher directly (and also a general polite address term for adults). 교사 is the formal/official job-title word — used on resumes, in job postings, and official documents, but rarely used to address someone directly.

• 의사 vs. 박사: 의사 (doctor) is a medical professional who treats patients. 박사 (PhD/"doctor" in the academic sense) is an academic degree title — don't mix the two up just because English uses "doctor" for both!

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

1. 선생님 isn't only for schoolteachers — it's also a respectful way to address adults in everyday situations (a store clerk, a stranger, etc.).

2. Never attach 님 to your own job title — say 저는 의사예요 (I'm a doctor), not 저는 의사님이에요.

3. 회사원 is a generic term — to say where you work, use "OO 회사에 다녀요" or "OO에서 일해요," not 회사원 alone.

4. 학생 alone doesn't specify the level — use 대학생/고등학생/중학생/초등학생 for university/high/middle/elementary students.

5. Don't confuse 의사 (medical doctor) with 박사 (PhD) — both translate to "doctor" in English, but they're completely different roles in Korean.

Exercise 1 — Translate It 🔤

Exercise 2 — Match the Meaning 🔗

Exercise 3 — Build the Job Title 🧱

Exercise 4 — Sort by Suffix 📋

Exercise 5 — Fill in the Story 📖