예나 지금이나

Korean

Etymology

예 (ye, “old times”) + —나 (-na, “or”) + 지금 (jigeum, “now”) + —이나 (-ina, “or”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈje̞(ː)na̠ t͡ɕiɡɯmina̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [예(ː)나 지그미나]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	yena jigeumina
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	yena jigeum'ina
McCune–Reischauer?	yena chigŭmina
Yale Romanization?	yēyna cikum.ina

Phrase

예나 지금이나 • (ye-na jigeum-ina)

1. whether in old times or nowadays; used when a state or quality in the past has not been changed and still remains today

   그는 예나 지금이나 친절하다.

   Geu-neun ye-na jigeum-ina chinjeolhada.

   He is still kind as he has been in the past.