Owner review 16, stage 1: positive Korean adjectives, screened cheaply (2026-10-13)
Status: Draft · Date: 2026-10-13 · Stage 1 of owner review 16. Audience: the owner and stage 2. Nothing outside this file was changed. This is a cheap screen, not a legal clearance: trademark, domain and handle checks are stage 2.
Owner, review 16 (verbatim). "Any Korean adjective that might be related to good health, good fortune, or a nudge in the positive direction, social gathering, good feelings or just any other positivity in general?"
Standing rules: "make sure they are usable ones" (review 14); "I don't want to sound like a derivative of 당근" (review 15), so no food. Target: two Hangul syllables, Latin 3 to 6 letters, vowels a i u o e only, no tense consonants, no Maru-family rhymes, no sport or club meaning.
0. Evidence tags and limits
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SD | 표준국어대사전 search page, fetched 2026-10-13 (headword and first senses parsed). "Root of X" means the entry is the 어근 of an adjective X-하다, which is how Korean dictionaries list most of these words. |
| W | Language headings on English Wiktionary for the Latin spelling (parse API). A heading means a real word in that language, not a bad one. |
| UD | Urban Dictionary API, exact-term entries only. |
| iT | iTunes Search API, entity=software&limit=50, 3 s apart. "Exact" means the title, or the part before : - | (, equals the word. US and KR for the Latin spelling; KR for the Hangul. |
| S | One web search on 2026-10-13 per survivor ("<Latin>" brand company app). |
| K | My own knowledge, not fetched. |
Not checked: trademark registers, domains, handles (stage 2); 우리말샘, 나무위키, Naver slang (not fetchable by curl, so Korean slang rests on SD, K and UD); JP store and Google Play; native speakers. The foreign check is W plus UD plus K, so "no heading" means "not found", not "proven clean". Web search is weak on rare strings, so S is a floor. The Hangul was not searched in the US store. Pinyin, Hindi, Turkish and Arabic readings rest on K only.
1. Counts
| Step | Count |
|---|---|
| Words generated, six fields (health, fortune, nudge, social, good feelings, general), with name form tagged root / clipped / mimetic | 365 unique |
Of these, exactly two syllables, vowels a i u o e, no tense consonant, simple finals (mechanical filter, shape.py) | 137 |
Manual cuts before the store screen (review 14/15 survivors and cuts, Maru-family -ru endings, food and sport meanings, famous names, bad homonyms) | about 58 |
| Screened with iTunes (3 calls each), Wiktionary, Urban Dictionary, SD | 79 |
| After dictionary, meaning, App Store and web-search cuts | 26 survivors |
Only 137 of 365 passed the shape rule because most positive Korean adjective roots contain eo, eu, ae, ui, oe or y-vowels (밝, 포근, 아늑, 흐뭇, 즐겁, 대견, 기쁘, 다정, 화목 and so on). That is a property of the language, not of my list: the clean vowel set is a narrow door.
Form tags below: R root that stands alone, C clipped (Koreans hear a half-word), M mimetic adverb. Field tags: H health and vigour, F fortune, N nudge, S social, G good feelings, P general positivity.
2. The 26 ranked survivors
"Arb" = the meaning is unrelated to a tennis-club app. "Sugg" = suggests a quality (health, momentum, warmth) but nothing about tennis. None describes a sport or a club. Conditions are exact-name apps with fewer than 20 ratings in an unrelated category.
| # | Hangul | Latin | Field / form | Meaning (source) | English speaker says | Other languages | App Store (iT) | Arb? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 무탈 | Mutal | H, F / R | no mishap, safe and well (SD root of 무탈하다; the everyday blessing "무탈하세요") | "MOO-tal". Easy. | W: Cahuilla, Tolai only. UD none. Echo of "mutual" in English (benign). | Clean in all three searches. | Sugg | Best fit to the health field and the plainest warm wish. S: no brand. |
| 2 | 호감 | Hogam | G / R | good feeling, favour, liking (SD) | "HO-gahm". Easy. | No heading, no UD entry. | Clean in all three. | Sugg | Everyday Korean (호감도). "Likeable", nothing about tennis. S: no brand (near-miss Hengam). |
| 3 | 방실 | Bangsil | G / M | beaming, softly smiling (SD adverb) | "BAHNG-seel". Easy. | No heading, no UD. Bang is the Korean 방 "room" to Koreans, harmless. | Clean. | Arb | Owner's own example. -ng in the middle scores lower. S: no brand (Bangshil is an Indian tablet, different spelling). |
| 4 | 훈훈 | Hunhun | S, G / M | heartwarming (SD root of 훈훈하다; "훈훈한 분위기") | "HOON-hoon". Easy. | No heading. UD: one flattering slang entry ("babe"). Pinyin hūnhūn (昏昏, drowsy) is a faint echo (K). | Clean. | Arb | The most social-warmth word on the list. Repeated syllable. S: no brand (HunyHuny, an Indian baby brand, differs). |
| 5 | 팔팔 | Palpal | H / M | lively, full of vigour (K; SD lists the boiling-water sense and the 팔팔하다 root) | "PAL-pal". Easy. | W: Tagalog, Bikol, Tok Pisin, Mokilese headings. "Pal" friend. | Clean. | Sugg | 팔팔하다 is the stock phrase for a person in fine health. Reads as 88 to some. S: no brand (PalPals is a chat app). |
| 6 | 보송 | Bosong | G / M | soft and dry, fresh (SD root of 보송하다) | "BOH-song". Easy. | W: Maranao. UD: one benign entry. | Clean. | Arb | Refreshment, laundry-fresh. -ng ending. S: no brand. |
| 7 | 가히 | Gahi | N / R | indeed, rightly so, worthy of the name (SD adverb) | "GAH-hee". Easy. | W: Cebuano, Old High German, Tagalog (Cebuano gahi = hard). UD: one benign entry. | Clean. | Arb | Literary, a little formal; a "this is the real thing" nudge. S: no brand. |
| 8 | 한창 | Hanchang | N / R | in full swing, at the peak (SD) | "HAHN-chahng". Fine. | No heading. | Clean. | Sugg | "Right now at its best". The SD homonym 한창2 (heat rash, 한방) is obscure. Two -n/-ng closings read heavy. S: no brand. |
| 9 | 다감 | Dagam | S / R | warm-hearted, affectionate (SD root of 다감하다) | "DAH-gahm". Easy. | W: Gothic only. | Clean. | Arb | Reads like a name; soft. S: no brand (Dagmar, a Swedish fashion brand, differs). |
| 10 | 아롱 | Arong | G / M | shimmering, dappled (SD) | "ah-RONG". Easy. | W: Bikol, Chungli Ao. UD: "good doggo". 아롱이 is a pet-name in Korean (K). | Clean. | Arb | Light and sparkle. Pet-name feel. S: Aarong is a large Bangladeshi retailer with an app, spelled differently but sounds the same; a real conflict risk for stage 2. |
| 11 | 순수 | Sunsu | P / R | pure, innocent (K; SD lists homonyms for the royal tour and pure water) | "SOON-soo". Easy. | No heading. UD: benign. | Clean. | Sugg | Plain and warm; generic "pure" is a weaker mark. S: no brand. |
| 12 | 둥실 | Dungsil | G / M | floating buoyantly, lightly afloat (SD adverb) | "DOONG-seel". Fine. | No heading. | US/KR Latin clean. KR Hangul 둥실 (Productivity, 0 ratings): condition. | Arb | Lift and ease; the ball in flight. -ng. S: no brand. |
| 13 | 솔솔 | Solsol | G / M | softly, gently (a breeze, a scent) (SD adverb) | "SOHL-sohl". Easy. | "Sol" is sun in Spanish (benign). | US/KR Latin Solsol (Social Networking, 0 ratings): condition. Hangul clean. | Arb | A breeze that carries. Close to the 14/15 family Sallang by meaning. S: no brand. |
| 14 | 당차 | Dangcha | N / C | bold and spirited (clip of 당차다; SD has only unrelated homonyms 당차2, 3) | "DAHNG-chah". Fine. | No heading. | Clean. | Sugg | The owner's own example. Flag: a clipped stem, Koreans hear a half-word. -ng. S: no brand (Dangbei is a Chinese TV firm, different). |
| 15 | 나란 | Naran | S / R | side by side (SD root of 나란하다) | "NAH-rahn". Easy. | W: Dongxiang, Tetum, Zazaki. Naran is a Mongolian name meaning sun (UD). Naru is a Maru-family rhyme, but Naran is one syllable longer and different. | Latin clean. Hangul 나란 (Lifestyle, 1 rating, a couple-photo app): condition. | Arb | Togetherness without the word "club". S: ENaran is a Mongolian shopping app (Naran Group), a different spelling. |
| 16 | 몽실 | Mongsil | G / M | soft and plump, puffy (SD adverb) | "MONG-seel". Fine. | No heading. | Clean. | Arb | Soft, round, friendly. 몽실 also recalls the novel 몽실 언니 (K). -ng. S: no brand. |
| 17 | 기세 | Gise | N / R | momentum, vigour (SD 기세1) | "GEE-seh". Easy. | W: English "Gise" (a name), Istriot, Middle English. UD: "guys". | US/KR Latin Gise (Lifestyle, 0 ratings): condition. Hangul clean. | Sugg | "Momentum" is the exact nudge in the brief. Homonyms 기세2 to 4 (stock market, famine) are obscure. S: no brand. |
| 18 | 길조 | Giljo | F / R | good omen (SD 길조2; the word also names lucky birds) | "GIL-joh". Fine. | UD: a Croatian name. | Clean. | Arb | Fortune in plain words. Awkward lj cluster. S: no brand. |
| 19 | 발랄 | Ballal | G / R | vivacious, lively (SD root of 발랄하다) | "BAH-lahl". Fine. | W: Fula. Ballal is an Indian surname (K). The first syllable reads "ball". | Clean. | Sugg | The "ball" wink is accidental but the owner may like or dislike it. S: no brand. |
| 20 | 사랑 | Sarang | S, G / R | love (SD) | "sah-RAHNG". Easy. | W: Indonesian and Malay "nest", Tagalog. UD: Korean name for love. | Clean in all three. | Arb | Warmest word on the list, and the most crowded: 사랑 is in a huge number of Korean marks and churches (K). Likely a KIPO sound conflict. S: a person named Sarang Lakare and Sarang Info, no famous brand. |
| 21 | 단란 | Danran | S / R | happy and close, family-like (SD root of 단란하다) | "DAHN-rahn". Fine. | W: Indonesian heading. | Clean. | Arb | Warm; the double n-r is a mouthful. S: no brand. |
| 22 | 소망 | Somang | N / R | wish, hope (SD 소망2) | "SO-mahng". Easy. | UD: benign. | Clean. | Arb | Hope is an easy nudge. S: Somang Cosmetics and Somang Glass are Korean companies, and 소망교회 is a very large church (K). A real conflict risk. |
| 23 | 아침 | Achim | G / R | morning (SD) | "AH-chim". Fine. | W: Xibe. Achim is a German given name and a town (K). | Clean in the Store. | Arb | Day and light. S: Appli GmbH's "Achim" German time-tracking app (achim.app, Android, over 100k installs) is a live same-name app in class 9 and 42, so a hard condition for stage 2. |
| 24 | 가만 | Gaman | G / M | quietly, still (SD adverb) | "GAH-mahn". Easy. | W: Japanese, Indonesian, Icelandic, Old Norse. Japanese 我慢 gaman is "endure". | US/KR Latin: "Gaman: Save by Resisting" (Finance, 0) and "Gaman - Stop Overtrading" (Productivity, 0): condition. | Arb | Calm, but not a lift word. S: Gaman Bit, a tiny Android game studio. |
| 25 | 힘차 | Himcha | N / C | full of vigour (clip of 힘차다; SD has no entry for the clip) | "HIM-chah". Fine. | UD: benign. "Him" and "cha" (tea) are English readings. | Clean. | Sugg | Flag: clipped, a half-word to Koreans. S: no brand. |
| 26 | 알차 | Alcha | N / C | substantial, well-filled (clip of 알차다; SD has no entry for the clip) | "AL-chah". Easy. | No heading. | Clean. | Sugg | Flag: clipped. Reads like "Alcha" the Turkish "alça" (K, weak). S: no brand (Alchema, a cider maker, differs). |
Ranking order: arbitrary or suggestive mark first (all pass, stage 2 will rank by register), then distance from 당근 (none is food, produce or a mascot object), then ease abroad, then plainness for Koreans, then taste. Items 20, 22 and 23 sit low because of a known crowded or live same-name use found in the web search, not because the word is bad.
3. Cuts worth knowing
| Word | Cut because |
|---|---|
| 신나 Sinna | 신나 is also slang for paint thinner (시너) to Koreans (K); and a verb stem |
| 고마 Goma | sesame in Japanese (food) |
| 다부 Dabu | SD's headword 다부 means "a woman with several husbands"; the adjective 다부지다 does not rescue it |
| 소담 Sodam | six Korean apps with the exact Hangul (Medical, Lifestyle, Food & Drink and more), plus "Sodam: Spending Journal" |
| 탄탄 Tantan | Chinese dating app named Tantan (K) |
| 다온 Daon | exact apps in US and KR, one Lifestyle app with 10 ratings in KR |
| 다솜 Dasom | Kim Dasom, SISTAR singer (stage name); also not in the dictionary |
| 안락 Anrak | Koreans hear 안락사 (euthanasia) |
| 만복 Manbok | second sense is a full stomach (food) |
| 돈독 Dondok | reads 돈 (money) plus 독 (poison) |
| 무사 Musa | Musa: Period & Pregnancy, 11,742 ratings, Health & Fitness |
| 모아 Moa | exact apps including 모아(MOA), 277 ratings |
| 보라 Bora, 비단 Bidan, 사락 Sarak, 술술 Sulsul, 보람 Boram | exact app of 20 or more ratings in KR |
| 두둑 Duduk | the Armenian duduk, a famous instrument |
| 푼푼 Punpun | Oyasumi Punpun manga; slang in UD |
| 순조 Sunjo | King Sunjo (famous person) |
| 호조 Hojo | HoJo (Howard Johnson) and the Hojo clan |
| 호사 Hosa | HOSA, a health-care student organisation (health care is out of scope) |
| 싱싱 Singsing | Sing Sing prison; fresh-produce feel |
| 착착 Chakchak | chak chak, a Tatar sweet (food) |
| 소곤 Sogon | "sogon deez" meme |
| 토닥 Todak | nine Korean apps with the exact name |
| 장하 Janga, 우람 Uram, 한가 Hanga, 소박 Sobak, 오순 Osun | negative or unrelated SD homonyms, or exact apps |
| 잔잔 Janjan | Janjan.ai, an AI fashion imaging company (class 9 and 42), found by web search |
| 살갑/살가 Salga | SALGA, South African Local Government Association (app), plus a Food & Drink app |
| 하하, 호호, 통통, 톡톡 | laughter or chubby slang, all weak |
| 오기 Ogi, 나풀 Napul, 호탕 Hotang | Nigerian food ogi; Napul clashes with an Arabic app and echoes Naples; UD "hottie" |
Words that do not exist as clean roots in the dictionary were also dropped (오롱, 옹골, 길하, 실하, 포롱, 알차 stays only as a flagged clip).
4. Queries (re-runnable)
All run 2026-10-13 with curl, pacing per the brief. The script and raw rows are in the session scratchpad (screen.py, sd.py, screen.jsonl, sd.jsonl).
curl -s -A "Mozilla/5.0" "https://stdict.korean.go.kr/search/searchResult.do?pageSize=10&searchKeyword=$(python3 -c 'import urllib.parse;print(urllib.parse.quote("무탈"))')"
curl -s "https://itunes.apple.com/search?entity=software&limit=50&country=us&term=mutal"
curl -s "https://itunes.apple.com/search?entity=software&limit=50&country=kr&term=mutal"
curl -s "https://itunes.apple.com/search?entity=software&limit=50&country=kr&term=%EB%AC%B4%ED%83%88"
curl -s "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/api.php?action=parse&prop=sections&format=json&page=mutal"
curl -s "https://api.urbandictionary.com/v0/define?term=mutal"Web search, one per survivor: "<Latin>" brand company app.
5. Open points for stage 2
- Ranks 20 (Sarang), 22 (Somang) and 23 (Achim) carry known conflicts; check the KIPRIS register first.
- Arong (10) sounds like the Bangladeshi retailer Aarong; KIPO compares by sound.
- Clipped forms (14, 25, 26) should win only if the owner likes the sound, since Koreans hear a half-word.
Survivors
Mutal 무탈 Hogam 호감 Bangsil 방실 Hunhun 훈훈 Palpal 팔팔 Bosong 보송 Gahi 가히 Hanchang 한창 Dagam 다감 Arong 아롱 Sunsu 순수 Dungsil 둥실 Solsol 솔솔 Dangcha 당차 Naran 나란 Mongsil 몽실 Gise 기세 Giljo 길조 Ballal 발랄 Sarang 사랑 Danran 단란 Somang 소망 Achim 아침 Gaman 가만 Himcha 힘차 Alcha 알차