Korean

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Etymology

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From pre-Middle Korean *kwùmùk, the modern form preserving the velar nature of the final consonant. First appeared in the seventeenth century as a distinctively Modern Korean form, displacing the Middle Korean form 구무 (Yale: kwùmwù), which still survives in some dialects.

Pronunciation

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Romanizations
Revised Romanization?gumeong
Revised Romanization (translit.)?gumeong
McCune–Reischauer?kumŏng
Yale Romanization?kwumeng

South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 의 / 구에 / 구멍

Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch only on the second syllable, except before consonant-initial multisyllabic suffixes, when it takes full low pitch.

Noun

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구멍 (gumeong)

  1. hole, aperture, opening
    벽에 구멍을 뚫다byeoge gumeong'eul ttultato drill a hole in a wall
    바지에 구멍이 났다.
    bajie gumeong'i natda.
    [I’ve] got a hole in my trousers.
    (literally, “A hole appeared in my trousers.”)
  2. (figurative) defect, loophole, blind point
  3. (figurative) loss, deficit

Derived terms

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  • 구덩이 (gudeong'i, “pit, cavity, depression”)
  • 구렁 (gureong, “hollow, cavity, pit”)
  • (gol, “cave, hollow”)