Where does “반말” come from?

반말 (Korean) comes from Korean 말, from Chinese 末.

반말 (Korean): crude language; talking down

Definitions

  1. crude language; talking down

Ancestry of “반말”, step by step

반말 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Korean 말

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Korean말word, speech, language; horse; sawhorse
2Chinese末—

via Korean 반(半)

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Korean반(半)—

Words derived from “반말”

Every word from Chinese 末 →Every word from Korean 말 →