개나리

Korean

개나리 (gaenari, “forsythia”).

Etymology

First attested in the Gugeupganibang eonhae (救急簡易方諺解 / 구급간이방언해), 1489, as Middle Korean 개〯나리〮 (Yale: kǎy-nàlí), from 개 (gae-, “of inferior quality”) +‎ 나리 (nari, “lily”) (Jang 2008, p. 247).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈkɛ(ː)na̠ɾi] ~ [ˈke̞(ː)na̠ɾi]

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [개(ː)나리/게(ː)나리]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gaenari
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gaenali
McCune–Reischauer?	kaenari
Yale Romanization?	kāynali

Noun

개나리 • (gaenari)

1. forsythia, often specifically the Korean forsythia Forsythia koreana.
2. Euphemistic form of 개새끼 (gaesaekki, “son of a bitch”).

Synonyms

• 연교 (連翹, yeon'gyo) (rare)
• 영춘 (迎春, yeongchun) (rare)

Derived terms

• 개나리꽃 (gaenarikkot, “forsythia blossom”)
• 개나리색 (gaenarisaek)
• 당개나리 (唐‒, danggaenari, “weeping forsythia”)

Further reading

• 개나리 in Korean-English Learners' Dictionary, National Institute of Korean Language, cc by-sa 2.0 kr.