나라님

Korean

Etymology

나라 (nara, “country”) +‎ 님 (nim, “lord”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠ɾa̠nim]
• Phonetic hangul: [나라님]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	naranim
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	nalanim
McCune–Reischauer?	naranim
Yale Romanization?	nalanim

Noun

나라님 • (naranim)

1. (dated) king; monarch

Usage notes

In dynastic Korea, this entirely native word was used by commoners to refer to the monarch, while the elite generally used Sino-Korean vocabulary such as 상(上) (sang). In modern usage, it continues to have a connotation of "monarch from the commoners' perspective".

Derived terms

• (proverbs)
  • 없는 자리에서는 나라님 욕도 한다 (eomneun jarieseoneun naranim yokdo handa, “When he is not present, even His Majesty is spoken badly of.”)
  • 나라님이 약 없어 죽나 (naranimi yak eopseo jungna, “Does His Majesty die for lack of medicine?”)