할머니
Korean
Alternative forms
- honorific: 할머님 (halmeonim)
Etymology
From the roots 하— (hada, "big, great", Modern 크— (keu-, “big”), 하— (ha-, “to do”)) + —ㄴ (-n, determiner suffix) + 엄 (eom, "mother", Modern 어머니 (eomeoni)) + —이 (-i, agent suffix).
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ha̠ɭmʌ̹ni]
- Phonetic hangul: [할머니]
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | halmeoni |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | halmeoni |
| McCune–Reischauer? | halmŏni |
| Yale Romanization? | hal.meni |
Noun
할머니 • (halmeoni)
- grandmother; (by extension) elderly female
Usage notes
As a form of address, 할머니 (halmeoni) is often a polite replacement for a second person singular pronoun (너 or 당신).