천천히

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Gyechuk ilgi (癸丑日記 / 계축일기), c. 1600 , as Early Modern Korean 쳔쳔이 (Yale: chyenchyen-i).

천천 (cheoncheon, root) +‎ 히 (-hi, adverbial suffix).

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	cheoncheonhi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	cheoncheonhi
McCune–Reischauer?	ch'ŏnch'ŏnhi
Yale Romanization?	chēn.chen.hi

Adverb

천천히 • (cheoncheonhi)

1. slowly

   Synonym: 서서히 (seoseohi)

   좀만 천천히 해줄래? ― Jom-man cheoncheon-hi haejullae? ― Could you slow down a bit?

Related terms

• 천천하다 (cheoncheonhada, “to be slow”)