오리무중

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 五里霧中 (“amid five leagues of mist”), from a discussion in the Chinese history Book of the Later Han about the Daoist master Zhang Kai (c. 80—c. 149), who was said to possess the supernatural ability to summon such a mist.

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	orimujung
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	olimujung
McCune–Reischauer?	orimujung
Yale Romanization?	ōlimucwung

Noun

오리무중 • (orimujung) (hanja 五里霧中)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) being up in the air; a very uncertain and unclear situation

   Synonym: 불명(不明) (bulmyeong( 不明 ))

   김 군이 가출한지 열흘이 지났으나 여전히 행방은 오리무중이다.

   gim gun-i gachulhanji yeolheur-i jinasseuna yeojeonhi haengbang-eun orimujung'ida.

   Ten days have passed since Kim [a minor] ran away from home, but his whereabouts remain very uncertain.

   • 2020, Jeong Su-il, 우리 안의 실크로드 [uri anui silkeurodeu, The Silk Road Within Us], Changbi Publishers, →ISBN:

     유해의 손상이 심해 아무것도 식별할 수 없다는 실망스러운 결론이 내려졌다. 이로써 콜럼버스의 유해 시비는 오리무중에 빠졌다.

     Yuhae-ui sonsang-i simhae amugeot-do sikbyeolhal su eopda-neun silmangseureoun gyeollon-i naeryeojeotda. Irosseo Kolleombeoseu-ui yuhae sibi-neun orimujung-e ppajeotda.

     The disappointing verdict came that nothing was discernible due to excessive damage to the remains. With this, the dispute over Columbus's remains entered a state of uncertainty.

   • 2020, 윤신영 [yunsinyeong], “국내 연구팀, 치매 발병 원인 새롭게 제시…치료제 개발에 도움 기대 [gungnae yeon'gutim, chimae balbyeong wonin saeropge jesi…chiryoje gaebare doum gidae, Korean research team proposes new cause of dementia onset... Anticipated to contribute to development of remedies]”, in Dong-a Ilbo:

     가장 흔한 치매는 환자의 3분의 2 이상을 차지하는 알츠하이머 치매인데, 원인이 오리무중이었다.

     Gajang heunhan chimae-neun hwanja-ui sambun-ui i isang-eul chajihaneun alcheuhaimeo chimae-inde, wonin-i orimujung-ieotda.

     The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's, which makes up more than two-thirds of patients, but its cause was up in the air.

2. (literally) a deep fog