저(低): One Hanja Root, Ten Korean Words
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
Published · How we write & review
After this page, you can recognize the 저(低) root and guess the meaning of new words built from it.
10-second answer
The short answer
저 (jeo) comes from 低, meaning "low." It's the mirror image of 고(高) (go) — wherever 고 marks something as high, 저 marks the opposite: 저온 (jeoon, low temperature), 저가 (jeoga, low price, cheap), 저속 (jeosok, low speed), 최저 (choejeo, the lowest). Learning 고 and 저 as a pair is one of the highest-leverage moves in Korean vocabulary, because they attach to the same set of nouns and instantly flip the meaning.
Quick check — did that land?
1. What does 최저 기온 mean?
저온, 저가, 저속! 저 is in every word and do you think 저 means low here?
Words Built on 저(低)
| Word | Breakdown | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 최저 (choejeo) | 최(most) + 저(low) | The lowest — 최저 기온 (record low temperature), 최저 임금 (minimum wage) |
| 저온 (jeoon) | 저(low) + 온(temperature) | Low temperature |
| 저가 (jeoga) | 저(low) + 가(price) | Low-priced, cheap — 저가 항공사 (low-cost airline) |
| 저속 (jeosok) | 저(low) + 속(speed) | Low speed |
| 저급 (jeogeup) | 저(low) + 급(grade) | Low-grade, cheaply made |
| 저녁 (jeonyeok) | unrelated root | Evening — a common false friend; not built from 低 at all |
| 저혈압 (jeohyeorap) | 저(low) + 혈압(blood pressure) | Low blood pressure |
| 저출산 (jeochulsan) | 저(low) + 출산(birth) | Low birth rate — a frequent word in Korean news |
| 저지대 (jeojidae) | 저(low) + 지대(land/zone) | Low-lying area, lowland |
| 저항 (jeohang) | 저(different 抵, resist) + 항(oppose) | Resistance — sound-alike, different character, worth knowing so you don't over-apply the 低 rule |
저녁 is not "low" anything
The single biggest trap with this root: 저녁 (evening) looks like it should mean something "low," but its 저 comes from an entirely unrelated character. Don't force every 저-word into the "low" pattern — check that the rest of the word is about degree, price, or level first.
See also: 고(高): One Hanja Root, Ten Korean Words
저 vs 고 — The Same Pair, Flipped
| 저 (low) | 고 (high) | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|---|
| 저온 (low temperature) | 고온 (high temperature) | Refrigerator and washing machine settings |
| 저가 (cheap) | 고가 (expensive) | Product listings, airline pricing |
| 저속 (low speed) | 고속 (high speed) | Traffic signs, fan/blender settings |
| 저급 (low-grade) | 고급 (high-grade) | Product and service quality |
See 고(高) for the full write-up of the high side — once both are familiar, dial settings, price tags, and news headlines about the economy stop being a wall of unknown syllables and start reading as "high X" / "low X" pairs, the same decoding trick behind 학(學) and 전(電).
Quick Examples
이 옷은 저온으로 세탁해 주세요.
i oseun jeooneuro setakae juseyo.
Please wash this garment at a low temperature.
저온 — a phrase you'll actually see printed on clothing tags and appliance dials.
저가 항공권을 샀어요.
jeoga hanggonggwoneul sasseoyo.
I bought a cheap plane ticket.
저가 + 항공권 (plane ticket) — common when talking about budget travel in Korea.
오늘 최저 기온이 영하 5도래요.
oneul choejeo gionni yeongha odoraeyo.
Today's low is apparently minus 5 degrees.
최저 기온 — the standard weather-report phrase for the day's low.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Forcing 저녁 into the "low" pattern
저녁 (evening) is unrelated to 低. If a word doesn't clearly involve degree, price, speed, or grade, don't assume the root applies.
Mistake #2 — Mixing up 저항 (resistance) with the 低 family
저항 uses a different character (抵) that happens to sound the same. Meaning, not sound, is the real test.
Mini Quiz
2. Which word is NOT built from the 低 (low) root, despite starting with 저?
3. What is 저가 항공사?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
국(國): One Hanja Root, Ten Korean Words
You've paired up 고/저 — 국 is the next standalone root worth adding to your decoding toolkit.
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