실

실 U+C2E4, 실 HANGUL SYLLABLE SIL Composition: ㅅ + ㅣ + ㄹ ← 싣 [U+C2E3] Hangul Syllables 싥 → [U+C2E5]

시식싞싟신싡싢 싣실싥싦싧싨싩 싪싫심십싮싯싰 싱싲싳싴싵싶싷
싀 ←	→ 싸

Jeju

Etymology

See main entry at 씰 (ssil).

Pronunciation

• (Morphophonemic) IPA^(key): ⫽sil⫽
• (Jeju City) IPA^(key): [ɕʰiɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [실]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sil
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sil
Yale Romanization?	sil

Noun

실 (sil)

1. Alternative form of 씰 (ssil, “thread, string”)

References

• “실” in Jeju's culture and language, Digital museum.

Korean

Etymology 1

First attested in the Hunminjeong'eum haerye (訓民正音解例 / 훈민정음해례), 1446, as Middle Korean 실〯 (Yale: sǐl), from disyllabic Old Korean 糸利 (*SIli) attested as an element in a sixth-century personal name. Cognate with Jeju 씰 (ssil).

Possibly an ancient pre-Sino-Korean borrowing from Old Chinese 絲 (OC *slɯ, “silk”). If so, related to Ancient Greek Σήρ (Sḗr, “China”), English silk.

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sil
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sil
McCune–Reischauer?	sil
Yale Romanization?	sīl

• South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 실의 / 실에 / 실까지

  Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes low pitch, and heightens the pitch of two subsequent suffixed syllables.

Noun

실 • (sil)

1. thread, yarn, string

   실을 감다 ― sir-eul gamda ― to wind thread

   실이 엉키다 ― sir-i eongkida ― For strings to be entangled

   실을 바늘에 꿰다 ― sir-eul baneur-e kkweda ― To thread a needle (with a thread).

   실 다섯 타래 ― sil daseot tarae ― five skeins of thread

   어제 실로 참 예쁜 양말을 꿰맸어요.

   Eoje sillo cham yeppeun yangmar-eul kkwemaesseoyo.

   Yesterday, I sewed together really pretty socks with string.

2. (figurative) a narrow thing, a thin object

Alternative forms

• (Gyeongsang, Harbin) 씰 (ssil)

Derived terms

• 실 가는 데 바늘도 간다 (sil ganeun de baneuldo ganda, “Wherever a thread goes, a needle follows”)
• 실 엉킨 것은 풀어도 노 엉킨 것은 못 푼다 (sil eongkin geoseun pureodo no eongkin geoseun mot punda, “While small problems can easily be solved, bigger problems may be much more difficult”)
• 실 한 오리 안 걸치다 (sil han ori an geolchida, “to get completely naked”)
• 실고기 (silgogi, “pipefish”)
• 실눈 (sillun, “half-shut eye”)
• 실마리 (silmari, “beginning of a thread; clue”)
• 실바람 (silbaram, “wisp of wind, breeze”)
• 실반대 (silbandae, “coil of cotton”)
• 실밥 (silbap, “bits of thread”)
• 실뱀 (silbaem, “thin snake”)
• 실뱅어 (silbaeng'eo, “short icefish”)
• 실에 꿴 바늘 따라오듯 (sire kkwen baneul ttaraodeut, “Like following a needle on a thread”)
• 실이 와야 바늘이 가지 (siri waya baneuri gaji, “one must give in order to receive”)
• 실톱 (siltop, “fretsaw”)
• 치실 (chisil, “dental floss”)

 

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 失.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɕʰiɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [실]

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

Noun

실 • (sil) (hanja 失)

1. loss

   Antonym: 득(得) (deuk, “gain”)

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 失 for Sino-Korean compounds of 실 (失, sil).

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 室.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɕʰiɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [실]

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

Noun

실 • (sil) (hanja 室)

1. work division, department (generally higher than a 과 (gwa) or 부 (bu))

Counter

실 • (sil) (hanja 室)

1. Used to count the number of rooms

Etymology 4

Borrowed from English seal.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɕ͈iɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [씰]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	sil
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	sil
McCune–Reischauer?	ssil
Yale Romanization?	qsil

Noun

실 • (sil)

1. paper seal

Etymology 5

Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

Syllable

실 (sil)

More information

1. 失: loss

   (eumhun reading: 잃을 실 (ireul sil))
   (MC reading: 失 (MC syit))

2. 室: room

   (eumhun reading: 집 실 (jip sil))
   (MC reading: 室 (MC syit))

3. 實: reality; truth

   (eumhun reading: 열매 실 (yeolmae sil))
   (MC reading: 實 (MC zyit))

References

• 《우리말샘》 [1]

Further reading

• Martin, Samuel E., Yang Ha Lee, Sung-Un Chang (1975) A Korean-English Dictionary, New Haven: Yale University Press, page 1055.

Middle Korean

Etymology

From Old Korean 糸利 (*SIli).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sǐl/

Noun

실〯 (sǐl)

1. thread, string

Descendants

• Korean: 실 (sil)