모태

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 母 (“mother”) + 胎 (“embryo”)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈmo̞(ː)tʰɛ] ~ [ˈmo̞(ː)tʰe̞]
• Phonetic hangul: [모(ː)태/모(ː)테]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	motae
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	motae
McCune–Reischauer?	mot'ae
Yale Romanization?	mō.thay

Noun

모태 • (motae) (hanja 母胎)

1. (rare) The womb
2. matrix

   그리스‐로마 사회는 서양 문명의 모태였다.

   Geuriseu‐roma sahoe-neun seoyang munmyeong-ui motae-yeotda.

   The Greco-Roman world was the matrix for Western civilization.

3. (colloquial) since birth (used only in compounds)

Synonyms

• 모체 (母體, moche, “mother, parent”)

Derived terms

• 모태신앙 (motaesinang, “religion one is born into”)
• 모태솔로 (motaesollo, “person who has never had a romantic partner”)