사족

Korean

Etymology 1

Sino-Korean word from 蛇足, from 蛇 (“snake”) + 足 (“feet”), with the implication that it is as unnecessary as drawing feet on a picture of a snake. Originally a Chinese chengyu, from a story in the ancient Chinese history Strategies of the Warring States, see 畫蛇添足／画蛇添足 (huàshétiānzú) for more.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰa̠d͡ʑo̞k̚]
• Phonetic hangeul: [사족]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sajok
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sajog
McCune–Reischauer?	sajok
Yale Romanization?	sacok

Noun

사족 • (sajok) (hanja 蛇足)

1. something superfluous, unnecessary

   좋은 글을 쓰려면 사족을 걸러야 합니다.

   Joeun geureul sseuryeomyeon sajogeul geolleoya hamnida.

   To write well, one must eliminate the superfluous.

   사족으로 덧붙이자면 […]

   sajogeuro deotbuchijamyeon […]

   just to add something superfluous […]

   (used to add further information in a humble manner)

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 四 (“four”) + 足 (“feet”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈsʰa̠(ː)d͡ʑo̞k̚]
• Phonetic hangeul: [사(ː)족]
  • Though still prescriptive in Standard Korean, the great majority of speakers (in both Koreas) no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sajok
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sajog
McCune–Reischauer?	sajok
Yale Romanization?	sācok

Noun

사족 • (sajok) (hanja 四足)

1. (of an animal) four legs, four feet

   사족보행로봇

   sajokbohaengnobot

   quadruped robot

2. (of a person) four limbs, arms and legs

   단 게 있으면 사족을 못 쓴다.

   Dan ge isseumyeon sajogeul mot sseunda.

   They have a sweet tooth. (idiom)

   (literally, “If there is something sweet, they cannot use their four limbs.”)

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 士族, from 士 (“scholar-official”) + 族 (“family, lineage”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈsʰa̠(ː)d͡ʑo̞k̚]
• Phonetic hangeul: [사(ː)족]
  • Though still prescriptive in Standard Korean, the great majority of speakers (in both Koreas) no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sajok
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sajog
McCune–Reischauer?	sajok
Yale Romanization?	sācok

Noun

사족 • (sajok) (hanja 士族)

1. (historical) a powerful aristocratic family or a scion of such a family