Korean Mnemonics 2: uncle and cousin

Words that look alike and mean similar things are especially hard to keep straight. And that's the case with 삼촌 (samchon "uncle") and 사촌 (sachon "cousin"). I don't know if this has anything to do with the etymology of the words, but the first syllables (삼 and 사) mean "3" and "4," respectively, in the so-called Sino-Korean number series.

So just remember that 삼촌 (3-촌) comes before 사촌 (4-촌), just as uncles come before cousins. They're born first, and deserve more... respect... as elders...?

Whatever works.

Update: I just brought this up with my teacher, who tells me that my trick actually is based on the etymology of the words. In addition to 3-촌 (uncle) and 4-촌 (cousin), there is also 5-촌 (오촌, ocheon "parent's sibling's child; that is, second cousin") and beyond! So while English has a system of increasing distance (2nd, 3rd, 4th, once removed, etc.), Korean uses a system of addition, where family relationships are tallied up.