여

여 U+C5EC, 여 HANGUL SYLLABLE YEO Composition: ㅇ + ㅕ ← 엫 [U+C5EB] Hangul Syllables 역 → [U+C5ED]

여역엮엯연엱엲 엳열엵엶엷엸엹 엺엻염엽엾엿였 영옂옃옄옅옆옇
에 ←	→ 예

See also: -여

Korean

Etymology 1

Sino-Korean word from 女 (“woman”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [jʌ̹]
• Phonetic hangul: [여]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	yeo
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	yeo
McCune–Reischauer?	yŏ
Yale Romanization?	ye

Noun

여 • (yeo) (hanja 女)

South Korean Standard Language	여(女) (yeo)
North Korean Standard Language	녀(女) (nyeo)

1. woman; female

   Coordinate term: 남(男) (nam, “man; male”)

Usage notes

Korean has a number of words equivalent to English "man" and "woman".

1. Sino-Korean 남자(男子) (namja, “boy; guy; man”) and 여자(女子) (yeoja, “girl; woman”) are the most common words, but can have a somewhat informal connotation.

   걔는 남자야? — 아니, 여자야.

   Gyae-neun namja-ya? - ani, yeoja-ya.

   Is he/she a guy? — No, she's a girl.

   남자친구 / 여자친구

   namja-chin'gu / yeoja-chin'gu

   boyfriend / girlfriend

2. Sino-Korean 남성(男性) (namseong, “male; men”) and 여성(女性) (yeoseong, “female; women”) refer to men and women as groups—though pluralized 남자들 (namja-deul, “the boys; the guys; the men”) and 여자들 (yeoja-deul, “the girls; the women”) is informally more common for this purpose—or to individual adult men and women in formal or polite contexts.

   여성 인권 운동 ― yeoseong in'gwon undong ― women's rights movement, feminism

   20대 남성이 실종되었습니다. (in a news report)

   20dae namseong-i siljongdoe-eot-seumnida.

   A man in his twenties has gone missing.

3. Sino-Korean 여인(女人) (yeoin, “woman”) is literary. There is no male counterpart.

   여인의 향기 (movie title) ― yeoin-ui hyanggi ― Scent of a Woman

4. The bare Sino-Korean morphemes 남(男) (nam, “male”) and 여(女) (yeo, “female”) is generally used in formal contexts, especially when referring to each gender as a collective but also for male or female individuals in more legalistic contexts. They are commonly written in hanja even when the rest of the text is in pure Hangul script.

   남과 여의 만남

   nam-gwa yeo-ui mannam

   the meeting of Man and Woman

5. Native 사내 (sanae, “man”) and 계집 (gyejip, “woman”) are not as commonly used. 사내 (sanae) often has a connotation of machismo or manliness, while 계집 (gyejip) has become offensive and derogatory.

Note that in Early Modern Korean (1600—c. 1900) and in contemporary Standard North Korean, Sino-Korean 여(女) (yeo, “female”) is written and pronounced 녀 (nyeo), hence 녀자(女子) (nyeoja), 녀성(女性) (nyeoseong), 녀인(女人) (nyeoin).

Prefix

여— • (yeo-) (hanja 女)

1. (before nouns referring to people) woman, female

   Coordinate term: 남(男) (nam, “man; male”)

   여동생 ― yeodongsaeng ― younger sister

   여왕 ― yeowang ― queen

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 女 for Sino-Korean compounds of 여 (女, yeo).

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 餘 (“remainder”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [jʌ̹]
• Phonetic hangul: [여]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	yeo
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	yeo
McCune–Reischauer?	yŏ
Yale Romanization?	ye

Suffix

—여 • (-yeo) (hanja 餘)

1. (after a Sino-Korean number) -odd; a little more than

   300여 명 ― sam-baeg-yeo myeong ― three hundred-odd people

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 餘 for Sino-Korean compounds of 여 (餘, yeo).

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 與 (“with; clique”), because it is the side of the executive.

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	yeo
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	yeo
McCune–Reischauer?	yŏ
Yale Romanization?	yē

Noun

여 • (yeo) (hanja 與)

1. (politics) ruling party

   Synonym: 여당(與黨) (yeodang)

   Antonym: 야(野) (ya, “opposition”)

   Coordinate term: 여야(與野) (yeoya)

Usage notes

• Usually written in hanja form in news headlines, even in contemporary text otherwise devoid of Chinese characters.

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 與 for Sino-Korean compounds of 여 (與, yeo).

Etymology 4

Sino-Korean word from 汝 (“you; thou”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [jʌ̹]
• Phonetic hangul: [여]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	yeo
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	yeo
McCune–Reischauer?	yŏ
Yale Romanization?	ye

Pronoun

여 • (yeo) (hanja 汝)

1. (archaic Literary Chinese-style Korean) you, thou

   汝(여)는 其(기)處(처)를 未(미)知(지)하는가? ― Yeo-neun gicheo-reul miji-haneunga? ― Do you not know that place?

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 汝 for Sino-Korean compounds of 여 (汝, yeo).

Etymology 5

Modern Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

Syllable

여 • (yeo)

More information

1. 餘: to remain

   (eumhun reading: 남을 여 (nameul yeo))
   (MC reading: 餘 (MC yo))

2. 與: to give

   (eumhun reading: 줄 여 (jul yeo))
   (MC reading: 與 (MC yo|yoX|yoH))

3. 如: to be like

   (eumhun reading: 같을 여 (gateul yeo))
   (MC reading: 如 (MC nyo|nyoH))

4. 汝: you

   (eumhun reading: 너 여 (neo yeo))
   (MC reading: 汝 (MC nyoX))

5. 輿: carriage

   (eumhun reading: 수레 여 (sure yeo))
   (MC reading: 輿 (MC yo|yoH))

6. 余: I; me

   (eumhun reading: 나 여 (na yeo))
   (MC reading: 余 (MC yo|dzyae))

7. 歟: a Literary Chinese particle

   (eumhun reading: 어조사 여 (eojosa yeo))
   (MC reading: 歟 (MC yo|yoX|yoH))

8. 予: I; me

   (eumhun reading: 나 여 (na yeo))
   (MC reading: 予 (MC yo|yoX))

9. 璵: jade

   (eumhun reading: 옥 여 (ok yeo))
   (MC reading: 璵 (MC yo))

10. 礖: name of a stone

    (eumhun reading: 돌 이름 여 (dol ireum yeo))
    (MC reading: 礖)

11. 艅: name of a boat

    (eumhun reading: 배 이름 여 (bae ireum yeo))
    (MC reading: 艅 (MC yo))

12. 茹: to eat

    (eumhun reading: 먹을 여 (meogeul yeo))
    (MC reading: 茹 (MC nyo|nyoX|nyoH))

13. 舁: to hold facing one another

    (eumhun reading: 마주 들 여 (maju deul yeo))
    (MC reading: 舁 (MC yo))

Etymology 6

Modern Korean reading of various Chinese characters in isolation or as the first element of a compound. As the non-initial character of a compound, it is read as 려 (ryeo).

After a North Korean language reform in the mid-twentieth century, North Koreans always pronounce it as 려 (ryeo) in all environments.

Syllable

여 • (yeo)

More information

1. 旅: brigade

   (eumhun reading: 군사 여 (gunsa yeo))
   (MC reading: 旅 (MC ljoX))

2. 呂: a surname

   (eumhun reading: 성씨 여 (seongssi yeo))
   (MC reading: 呂 (MC ljoX))

3. 麗: beautiful

   (eumhun reading: 고울 여 (goul yeo))
   (MC reading: 麗 (MC lje|lejH))

4. 黎: black

   (eumhun reading: 검을 여 (geomeul yeo))
   (MC reading: 黎 (MC lej))

5. 閭: village

   (eumhun reading: 마을 여 (ma'eul yeo))
   (MC reading: 閭 (MC ljo))

6. 廬: hut

   (eumhun reading: 농막집 여 (nongmakjip yeo))
   (MC reading: 廬 (MC ljo))

7. 濾: to filter

   (eumhun reading: 거를 여 (georeul yeo))
   (MC reading: 濾)

8. 勵: to strive

   (eumhun reading: 힘쓸 여 (himsseul yeo))
   (MC reading: 勵 (MC ljejH))

9. 礪: whetstone

   (eumhun reading: 숫돌 여 (sutdol yeo))
   (MC reading: 礪 (MC ljejH))

10. 驪: black horse

    (eumhun reading: 가라말 여 (garamal yeo))
    (MC reading: 驪 (MC lje|lej))

Etymology 7

Modern Korean reading of various Chinese characters in isolation or as the first element of a compound. As the non-initial character of a compound, it is read as 녀 (nyeo).

After a North Korean language reform in the mid-twentieth century, North Koreans always pronounce it as 녀 (nyeo) in all environments.

Syllable

여 • (yeo)

More information

1. 女: woman

   (eumhun reading: 계집 여 (gyejip yeo))
   (MC reading: 女 (MC nrjoX|nrjoH))