뫼

뫼 U+BAFC, 뫼 HANGUL SYLLABLE MOE Composition: ㅁ + ㅚ ← 뫻 [U+BAFB] Hangul Syllables 뫽 → [U+BAFD]

뫼뫽뫾뫿묀묁묂 묃묄묅묆묇묈묉 묊묋묌묍묎묏묐 묑묒묓묔묕묖묗
뫠 ←	→ 묘

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Hunminjeong'eum haerye (訓民正音解例 / 훈민정음해례), 1446, as Middle Korean 묗〯 (Yale: mwǒyh), from pre-MK <*mwòrV́h>.

The more archaic, perhaps dialectal Middle Korean form *모로〮 (Yale: *mwòlwó) is attested as part of the place name 피〮모로〮 (Yale: Phímwòlwó) in the 1447 Yongbi eocheonga. Beyond Korean sources, the earliest attestations are given in eighth-century Old Japanese documents as 山(むれ) (mure), presumably reflecting the Old Korean pronunciations of the era. Compare 모롱이 (morong'i, “curve of a mountain spur”).

The original "mountain" sense has been mostly displaced by Sino-Korean 산(山) (san), which began to drive out the native word in the eighteenth century. The "tomb" sense is from the nineteenth century, reinforced by the unrelated Sino-Korean 묘 (墓, myo, “tomb”).

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	moe
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	moe
McCune–Reischauer?	moe
Yale Romanization?	mōy

Noun

뫼 • (moe)

1. (dated) grave

   Synonyms: 무덤 (mudeom), 묘(墓) (myo)

2. (archaic, original meaning) mountain

   Synonym: 산(山) (san)

Usage notes

• In the South Korean theoretical standard, the archaic "mountain" sense is covered by the phonetic variant 메 (me), and 뫼 (moe) should refer solely to the grave. In practice, 메 (me, “mountain”) is wholly obsolete, while 뫼 (moe) still sees occasional use in the "mountain" sense.

Derived terms

• 묏자리 (moetjari, “gravesite”)

Middle Korean

Noun

뫼〯 (mwǒy)

1. Isolated form spelling of 묗〯 (mwǒyh, “mountain”)