복 (服)

Got a strange one for you today. 服 (옷 복)

Yesterday was the last day of the three hottest days of the year; affectionately known in English as the dog days of summer. These three days are known by many names in Korean one of which is 삼복 (三伏). That got me thinking of swimming in a pool which requires a swim suit, or 수영복 which uses a whole different 복 character. The dog days of summer 복 is 엎드리다 which is "to lie down" while the swimsuit 복 is the "clothing" 복. Still with me? Hope so. The hanja character is arguably not as important as knowing the uses of it in hangul. Loosely, it can be interpreted as either "clothing" or "uniform" (제복) such as:

수영복 (水泳服)
swimming suit

군복 (軍服)
army uniform

양복 (洋服)
Western suit

교복 (校服)
school uniform

경찰복 (警察服)
police officer's uniform

소방관 (消防官服)
firefighter's uniform

간호사(看護師服)
nurse's uniform

임부복 (妊婦服)
maternity clothes

사냥복
hunting clothes

신사복 (紳士服)
menswear, a man's suit

숙녀복 (淑女服)
womenswear, a lady' suit

*정장 (正裝)
*nice clothes, gender neutral term for a suit