엄마

Korean

Etymology

어미 (eomi, “mother”) +‎ 아 (-a, “hey”, vocative particle). The final /i/ in 어미 (eomi) was dropped regularly; see Usage Notes in 이#noun suffix.

Korean colloquial family terms commonly stem from a fused vocative. See Category:Korean terms suffixed with -아 (vocative).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ʌ̹mma̠]

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [엄마]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	eomma
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	eomma
McCune–Reischauer?	ŏmma
Yale Romanization?	emma

South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 엄마의 / 엄마에 / 엄마까지

Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch on both syllables, and lowers the pitch of subsequent suffixes.

Noun

엄마 • (eomma)

1. (colloquial) mum, mummy

   Synonyms: 어머니 (eomeoni, “mother”), 모친(母親) (mochin, “mother”, formal), 모(母) (mo, “mother”, legal)

   Coordinate terms: 아빠 (appa, “dad, papa”), 아버지 (abeoji, “father”), 부친(父親) (buchin, “father”, formal), 부(父) (bu, “father”, legal)

   가서 엄마한테 물어 봐.

   gaseo eommahante mureo bwa.

   Go ask your mom.

   엄마는 바구니를 들고 있습니다. ― Eomma-neun baguni-reul deulgo itseumnida. ― Mum is carrying a basket.

Usage notes

2015 study by the National Institute of the Korean Language

How do you refer to your female parent?
Age cohort	16 to 25	26 to 35	36 to 45	46 to 55	56 to 65	65 or above
엄마 (eomma, “Mom”)	68 respondents (99%)	52 respondents (88%)	28 respondents (85%)	50 respondents (78%)	12 respondents (52%)	24 respondents (44%)
어머니 (eomeoni, “Mother”)	1 respondent (1%)	5 respondents (12%)	5 respondents (15%)	14 respondents (22%)	10 respondents (43%)	29 respondents (54%)
Other	0 respondents	0 respondents	0 respondents	0 respondent	1 respondent	1 respondent

Contrast with Usage Notes at 아빠 (appa, “dad”).