최초

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 最初, from 最 (“most”) + 初 (“first”)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ɕʰwe̞(ː)t͡ɕʰo̞] ~ [ˈt͡ɕʰø̞(ː)t͡ɕʰo̞]
• Phonetic hangul: [췌(ː)초/최(ː)초]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	choecho
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	choecho
McCune–Reischauer?	ch'oech'o
Yale Romanization?	chōy.cho

Noun

최초 • (choecho) (hanja 最初)

1. first; earliest