요조숙녀

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 요조(窈窕) (yojo, “reserved and gentle”) + 숙녀(淑女) (sungnyeo, “young lady”), from the Classic of Poetry (first millennium BC).

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	yojosungnyeo
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	yojosugnyeo
McCune–Reischauer?	yojosungnyŏ
Yale Romanization?	yōcoswuknye

Noun

요조숙녀 • (yojosungnyeo) (hanja 窈窕淑女)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) reserved and beautiful young woman

   청초한 요조숙녀 인상의 여자

   cheongchohan yojosungnyeo insang-ui yeoja

   woman who looks like an innocent and reserved beauty