견문발검

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 見蚊拔劒 (“to see a mosquito and draw a sword”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈkjɘ(ː)nmunba̠ɭɡʌ̹m]
• Phonetic hangul: [견(ː)문발검]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gyeonmunbalgeom
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gyeonmunbalgeom
McCune–Reischauer?	kyŏnmunbalgŏm
Yale Romanization?	kyēnmunpal.kem

Noun

견문발검 • (gyeonmunbalgeom) (hanja 見蚊拔劒)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) making a mountain out of a molehill

   Synonyms: 노승발검(怒蠅拔劒) (noseungbalgeom( 怒蠅拔劒 )), 침소봉대(針小棒大) (chimsobongdae( 針小棒大 ))