쇠고기

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Gugeupbang eonhae (救急方諺解 / 구급방언해), 1466, as Middle Korean ᄉᆈ〯고기〮 (Yale: syǒy-kwòkí). Equivalent to 쇠 (soe-, “of a cow”) +‎ 고기 (gogi, “meat”).

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈsʰwe̞(ː)ɡo̞ɡi] ~ [ˈsʰø̞(ː)ɡo̞ɡi]
Phonetic hangul: [쉐(ː)고기/쇠(ː)고기]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	soegogi
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	soegogi
McCune–Reischauer^?	soegogi
Yale Romanization^?	sōykoki

Noun

쇠고기 • (soegogi)

beef
Synonym: 소고기 (sogogi)

Usage notes

소고기 (sogogi) is originally dialectal with 쇠고기 (soegogi) being the standard Seoul form, but nowadays the former is more common in Seoul as well.