전년동월대비·근원물가 뜻: Inflation headline triage

A CPI vs core vs PPI triage tree plus YoY/MoM and %/%p drills rewrites 10 inflation headlines so 상승률·상승폭·전환을 안 뒤집는다.

The first time I tried to skim a Statistics Korea CPI press release on my commute, I mixed up 상승률sangseungryul and 상승폭sangseungpok and ended up reading a headline like it “jumped 0.3%” when it was actually “up 0.3%p.” This post is a compact “headline triage” routine you can reuse.

Today’s numbers (example)

Here are three fictional but realistic-looking headline numbers:

• 3.1% (YoY): read it as “the rate is 3.1 percent compared to the same month last year.”
• 0.2% (MoM): read it as “the index rose 0.2 percent compared to last month.”
• 1,250원1,250won: read it as a plain amount (not a change rate).

In Korean headlines, the key is to pin down (1) which index, (2) which comparison window, and (3) whether you’re seeing a percent change (%) or a change in the rate (%p).

Collocation table

10 headline traps (wrong → right)

Each “right” version uses a more typical pairing in business Korean.

1. 상승폭이 0.3% 상승했다sangseungpogi 0.3% sangseunghaetda → 상승폭이 0.3%p 확대됐다sangseungpogi 0.3%p hwakdaedwaetda — use %p with 상승폭sangseungpok
2. 상승률이 0.3%p다sangseungryuri 0.3%pda → 상승률은 3.1%다sangseungryureun 3.1%da / 상승폭이 0.3%p 확대됐다sangseungpogi 0.3%p hwakdaedwaetda — use % for the rate level; use %p for the change
3. 물가가 둔화했다mulgaga dunhwahaetda → 물가 상승률이 둔화했다mulga sangseungryuri dunhwahaetda — “prices” don’t “ease,” the rate does
4. 근원물가가 하락 전환했다geunwonmulgaga harak jeonhwanhaetda → 근원물가가 하락으로 전환했다geunwonmulgaga harageuro jeonhwanhaetda — common collocation uses ~으로 전환~euro jeonhwan
5. 상승률이 반등했다sangseungryuri bandeunghaetda → 상승률이 다시 확대됐다sangseungryuri dasi hwakdaedwaetda / 상승률이 높아졌다sangseungryuri nopajyeotda — 반등bandeung is more natural for an index/level than for a “rate” noun
6. 전년동월대비가 3%다jeonnyeondowoldaebiga 3%da → 전년동월대비 3% 상승jeonnyeondowoldaebi 3% sangseung — treat it as a comparison label + change
7. 전월대비가 둔화했다jeonwoldaebiga dunhwahaetda → 전월대비 상승률이 둔화했다jeonwoldaebi sangseungryuri dunhwahaetda — add the missing noun
8. 상승폭이 가속했다sangseungpogi gasokhaetda → 상승폭이 확대됐다sangseungpogi hwakdaedwaetda — 가속gasok pairs better with 상승률sangseungryul
9. 물가가 마이너스 전환했다mulgaga maineoseu jeonhwanhaetda → 상승률이 마이너스로 전환했다sangseungryuri maineoseuro jeonhwanhaetda — say what turned negative
10. 상승률이 0.2%p포인트 올랐다sangseungryuri 0.2%ppointeu olratda → 상승률이 0.2%p 올랐다sangseungryuri 0.2%p olratda / 상승률이 0.2%포인트 올랐다sangseungryuri 0.2%pointeu olratda — don’t write %p and 포인트pointeu together

Numbers drill

Read these out loud in Korean, then check the meaning.

1. 3.1% — 삼 점 일 퍼센트sam jeom il peosenteu — 3.1 percent
2. 0.2% — 영 점 이 퍼센트yeong jeom i peosenteu — 0.2 percent
3. 0.3%p — 영 점 삼 퍼센트포인트yeong jeom sam peosenteupointeu — 0.3 percentage points
4. -0.1% — 마이너스 영 점 일 퍼센트maineoseu yeong jeom il peosenteu — minus 0.1 percent
5. 1,250원1,250won — 천이백오십 원cheonibaegosip won — 1,250 won

% vs %p micro-check

• If the headline is “up X%,” your Korean almost always wants % with 상승sangseung / 상승률sangseungryul.
• If the headline is “up X percentage points,” your Korean wants %p with 상승폭sangseungpok (or add 포인트pointeu).

Copy/paste mini-dialogues

A: 소비자물가 전년동월대비 3.1% 상승.sobijamulga jeonnyeondowoldaebi 3.1% sangseung. — CPI up 3.1% YoY. B: 전년동월대비면 작년 같은 달이랑 비교하는 거지?jeonnyeondowoldaebimyeon jaknyeon gateun darirang bigyohaneun geoji? — YoY means “vs the same month last year,” right?

A: 상승폭 0.3%p 확대.sangseungpok 0.3%p hwakdae. — The increase widened by 0.3 percentage points. B: 0.3%가 아니라 0.3%p라서 ‘포인트’ 변화야.0.3%ga anira 0.3%praseo ‘pointeu’ byeonhwaya. — It’s points (%p), not percent (%).

A: 소비자물가 전월대비 하락으로 전환.sobijamulga jeonwoldaebi harageuro jeonhwan. — CPI turned to a decline MoM. B: 전월대비는 지난달이 기준이야.jeonwoldaebineun jinandari gijuniya. — MoM uses last month as the baseline.

Mini quiz

1. Pick the YoY label: 전년동월대비jeonnyeondowoldaebi / 전월대비jeonwoldaebi
2. In 상승폭 0.3( ) 확대sangseungpok 0.3( ) hwakdae, pick the correct symbol: % / %p
3. Complete the headline-style fragment: 상승률은 3.1( )sangseungryureun 3.1( )
4. Complete the collocation: 하락( ) 전환harak( ) jeonhwan

Answers:

1. 전년동월대비jeonnyeondowoldaebi
2. %p
3. %
4. 으로euro

Notes:

• Q1: 전년동월대비jeonnyeondowoldaebi is YoY because it compares this month to the same month last year; 전월대비jeonwoldaebi is MoM.
• Q2: %p matches 상승폭sangseungpok because it expresses a change in a rate (percentage points), not a percent change in an index.
• Q3: % is used for the level of the rate (e.g., “3.1%”); %p would imply a point change and needs a baseline.
• Q4: The standard collocation is 하락으로 전환harageuro jeonhwan (“turned to a decline”).

Rewrite drill (10 fictional inflation headlines)

Rewrite each into natural headline-style Korean without flipping YoY/MoM or %/%p.

1. “Headline CPI up 3.1% y/y; core up 2.4% y/y.” → 소비자물가 전년동월대비 3.1% 상승, 근원물가 전년동월대비 2.4% 상승sobijamulga jeonnyeondowoldaebi 3.1% sangseung, geunwonmulga jeonnyeondowoldaebi 2.4% sangseung
2. “CPI rises 0.2% m/m.” → 소비자물가 전월대비 0.2% 상승sobijamulga jeonwoldaebi 0.2% sangseung
3. “Core inflation eases to 2.0% y/y.” → 근원물가 상승률 전년동월대비 2.0%로 둔화geunwonmulga sangseungryul jeonnyeondowoldaebi 2.0%ro dunhwa
4. “Inflation rate rises by 0.3 percentage points.” → 상승폭 0.3%p 확대sangseungpok 0.3%p hwakdae
5. “PPI falls 0.4% m/m.” → 생산자물가 전월대비 0.4% 하락saengsanjamulga jeonwoldaebi 0.4% harak
6. “CPI turns negative m/m.” → 소비자물가 전월대비 하락으로 전환sobijamulga jeonwoldaebi harageuro jeonhwan
7. “YoY inflation accelerates.” → 전년동월대비 상승률 가속jeonnyeondowoldaebi sangseungryul gasok
8. “The pace of increase narrows (by 0.2pp).” → 상승폭 0.2%p 축소sangseungpok 0.2%p chukso
9. “Headline inflation rebounds m/m.” → 소비자물가 전월대비 반등sobijamulga jeonwoldaebi bandeung
10. “Core stays elevated despite slower headline inflation.” → 헤드라인 둔화에도 근원물가 상승률은 높은 수준 유지hedeurain dunhwaedo geunwonmulga sangseungryureun nopeun sujun yuji

Next steps

• For every headline you see, circle (mentally) one label for the index (소비자물가sobijamulga/근원물가geunwonmulga/생산자물가saengsanjamulga) and one label for the window (전년동월대비jeonnyeondowoldaebi/전월대비jeonwoldaebi).
• When you write a summary, force yourself to choose between 상승률sangseungryul (rate, %) and 상승폭sangseungpok (change in rate, %p).
• Practice by rewriting short headlines into one-line Korean; aim for clean pairings like 상승률 둔화sangseungryul dunhwa vs 상승폭 축소sangseungpok chukso so you don’t sound “translated.”