돌팔이

Korean

Etymology

돌— (dol-, “to wander”) +‎ 팔— (pal-, “to sell”) +‎ 이 (-i, noun-deriving suffix).

The original sense is possibly archaic, and a folk etymology now claims that the first element is 돌 (dol, “stone”), with the idea that a charlatan is someone who sells stones pretending that they are something else.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈto̞(ː)ɭpʰa̠ɾi]
• Phonetic hangul: [돌(ː)파리]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	dolpari
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	dolpal'i
McCune–Reischauer?	tolp'ari
Yale Romanization?	tōl.phal.i

Noun

돌팔이 • (dolpari)

1. (dated, possibly archaic) a wandering salesman
2. a charlatan
3. (military slang) a medical student drafted as an army physician, who is inexperienced and generally lacks medical expertise