낙동강 오리알

Korean

Etymology

낙동강(洛東江) (Nakdonggang, “Nakdong River (longest river entirely in Korea)”) + 오리 알 (orial, “duck's egg”). The origin of the idiom is uncertain; perhaps a reference to eggs of wildfowl slipping out of their nests and floating down the Nakdong during the monsoon floods.

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠k̚t͈o̞ŋɡa̠ŋ o̞(ː)ɾia̠ɭ]
Phonetic hangul: [낙똥강 오(ː)리알]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	nakdonggang orial
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	nagdonggang olial
McCune–Reischauer^?	naktonggang orial
Yale Romanization^?	naktongkang ōlial

Noun

낙동강 오리 알 • (nakdonggang orial)

(idiomatic) a loner, a person isolated or excluded from the rest of the group