발가락

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong eonhae (妙法蓮華經諺解 / 묘법연화경언해), 1463, as Middle Korean 밠〮가락 (Yale: pál-s-kàlàk).

발 (bal, “foot”) +‎ ㅅ (-s-, genitive interfix; omitted from the spelling, but this causes the tense phonation of the following consonant) +‎ 가락 (garak, “strand”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [pa̠ɭk͈a̠ɾa̠k̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [발까락]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	balgarak
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	balgalag
McCune–Reischauer?	palkarak
Yale Romanization?	palqkalak

Noun

발가락 • (balgarak)

1. toe

   아기들은 자기 발가락을 빠는 경향이 있다.

   Agi-deur-eun jagi balgarag-eul ppaneun gyeonghyang-i itda.

   Babies tend to suck on their toes.

Related terms

• 엄지발가락 (eomjibalgarak, “big toe”)
• 새끼발가락 (saekkibalgarak, “little toe”)