미혼 (mihon) vs. 비혼 (bihon) [Word of the Day]

안녕하세요!

Ok so I’m going to completely honestly with you guys, a lot of the words that eventually become Word of the Days, if I hadn’t already planned on posting it or haven’t heard of it before, come from you. Today’s post is one of those things that came from one of you.

So remember, requests or questions (even searches) will always be answered! If I can answer I will and if I can’t I’ll look it up and get back to you.

Today’s post is 미혼 (mihon) vs. 비혼 (bihon).

Both of these words mean, “single”. However, I had to do a bit of research on this one. Even though they technically mean the same thing, they both serve a different purpose.

미혼 (mihon) | “single; not married yet”

비혼 (bihon) | “single; not married”

Not married yet insinuates that at some point this person will get married. Not married means that this person is choosing not to get married at any point in time in the near future.

So why the difference? Apparently, 비혼 (bihon) crept up into the vocabulary with the change in societal views on marriage. Though marriage is a beautiful and cherished time in anyone’s life, it’s not mandatory for happiness or to live and so many young people (and older) have chosen to remain single, thus the word 비혼 (bihon).

So there’s your WOTD and a bit of cultural influence mixed into one!

That’s all for today!