세배

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 歲拜, from 歲 (“year, year of age”) + 拜 (“to do obeisance to, to make a courtesy call”). The modern Standard Chinese equivalent is 拜年 (bàinián).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈsʰe̞(ː)bɛ] ~ [ˈsʰe̞(ː)be̞]
• Phonetic hangul: [세(ː)배/세(ː)베]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sebae
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sebae
McCune–Reischauer?	sebae
Yale Romanization?	sēypay

Noun

세배 • (sebae) (hanja 歲拜)

1. New Year's greetings/call/visit; (historically) a bow of respect to one's elders on New Year's Day

Synonyms

• 세알 (歲謁, seal)

Derived terms

• 세배하다 (sebaehada, “to exchange New Year's greetings”)
• 세뱃돈 (sebaetdon, “New Year's gift of money given to one's juniors; handsel”)
• 세배상 (歲拜床, sebaesang, “New Year's feast (served to visitors)”)