4 · 40 words
Jobs and careers
Getting hired, moving up and moving on: the words of a working life.
The vocabulary of jobs and careers: getting hired, being paid, taking leave and moving on. One distinction runs through Korean working life and through these words: 정규직, a permanent post, against 계약직 and 비정규직, fixed-term and temporary work. Many words here are built from the same few syllables — 직, a post; 근, work — so that 퇴직, 이직 and 휴직 are leaving a post, changing it and pausing it.
The words
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Verb (4)
이직하다to change jobsVerb4
더 좋은 조건을 찾아서 다른 회사로 이직했어요.I moved to another company for better conditions.
해고하다to dismiss, lay offVerb4
경영이 어려워져서 회사가 직원 몇 명을 해고했어요.Business got difficult, and the company laid off some staff.
은퇴하다to retire (from working life or a sport)Verb4
그 선수는 서른다섯 살에 은퇴했어요.The player retired at thirty-five.
창업하다to start a businessVerb4
대학 친구와 함께 작은 회사를 창업했어요.I started a small company with a friend from university.
This list belongs to Work and careers — five lists and 200 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
Multiple choice and gaps, drawn from exactly these 40 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.