Korean

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Etymology

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Univerbation of (ni, you, your) +‎ 애미 (aemi, alternative spelling of 에미 (emi, disparaging term for "mother")), originating from an implication that the addressee is engaging in incest (Cho Hang-beom 2019, pp. 372—378). Compare English motherfucker, Chinese 你媽的你妈的 (nǐmāde).

First attested as 네 어미 (ne eomi) in Blood Rain (血의 淚/혈의 누), 1906, presumably because prudishness prevented it from appearing in writing earlier; the source in question was the first modern-style novel in Korean.

Pronunciation

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Romanizations
Revised Romanization?niaemi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?niaemi
McCune–Reischauer?niaemi
Yale Romanization?niaymi

Phrase

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니애미 (niaemi)

  1. (vulgar, offensive) fuck, fuck you; a highly profane expression, often used as an insult
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