Hangul Syllable Sal

The word around it decides which meaning applies. In Korean, 살 appears in words for flesh or body fat (생살, 뱃살), age (한 살), sunlight (햇살), and arrows (화살); it is also the stem of 살다, “to live,” and can name a rib-like structural part. The whole word matters.

Hangul, the Korean writing system, was devised in 1443 and promulgated in 1446 under King Sejong as an easier everyday way to write Korean than using Chinese characters. The earliest recorded Hangul examples of the flesh and arrow or structural-rib senses appear in 1447 texts. The age sense is recorded as 설 in 1459; 살 is described as a vowel-change form of that older word in the eighteenth century.

What does 살 mean when someone sends it?

A bare 살 is usually too little to identify the word. If someone sends only this syllable, the surrounding phrase is missing; ask what word or sentence they mean before settling on a reading.

As of 2026, Korean cultural accounts describe 살 in shamanic and geomantic traditions as a harmful influence linked to misfortune. Expressions such as 살이 끼다 and 살 맞다 use that sense; it is distinct from the ordinary readings in words such as 한 살 or 화살.

How do I type 살?

A Korean input method normally combines the letters into one block. Enter the Korean consonant and vowel keys for ㅅ, ㅏ, and ㄹ in that order; a Korean input method usually composes 살. Unicode also allows the precomposed syllable 살 or the equivalent sequence 살 made from conjoining jamo, the letters that build Hangul blocks. If those parts stay separate, the input method or display has not combined them; it is not a different word.