Korean edit

Etymology edit

Sino-Korean word from 五里霧中 (amid five leagues of mist), from a discussion in the Chinese history Book of the Later Han about the Daoist master Zhang Kai (c. 80—c. 149), who was said to possess the supernatural ability to summon such a mist.

Pronunciation edit

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈo̞(ː)ɾimud͡ʑuŋ]
  • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?orimujung
Revised Romanization (translit.)?olimujung
McCune–Reischauer?orimujung
Yale Romanization?ōlimucwung

Noun edit

오리무중 (orimujung) (hanja 五里霧中)

  1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) being up in the air; a very uncertain and unclear situation
    Synonym: 불명(不明)
    가출한지 열흘 지났으나 여전히 행방 오리무중이다.
    gim gun-i gachulhanji yeolheur-i jinasseuna yeojeonhi haengbang-eun orimujung'ida.
    Ten days have passed since Kim [a minor] ran away from home, but his whereabouts remain very uncertain.
    • 2020, Jeong Su-il, 우리 안의 실크로드 [uri anui silkeurodeu, The Silk Road Within Us], Changbi Publishers, →ISBN:
      유해 손상 심해 아무것 식별할 없다 실망스러운 결론 내려졌다. 로써 콜럼버스 유해 시비 오리무중 빠졌다.
      Yuhae-ui sonsang-i simhae amugeot-do sikbyeolhal su eopda-neun silmangseureoun gyeollon-i naeryeojeotda. Irosseo Kolleombeoseu-ui yuhae sibi-neun orimujung-e ppajeotda.
      The disappointing verdict came that nothing was discernible due to excessive damage to the remains. With this, the dispute over Columbus's remains entered a state of uncertainty.
    • 2020, 윤신영 [yunsinyeong], “국내 연구팀, 치매 발병 원인 새롭게 제시…치료제 개발에 도움 기대 [gungnae yeon'gutim, chimae balbyeong wonin saeropge jesi…chiryoje gaebare doum gidae, Korean research team proposes new cause of dementia onset... Anticipated to contribute to development of remedies]”, in Dong-a Ilbo:
      가장 흔한 치매 환자 3 2 이상 차지하는 알츠하이머 치매인데, 원인 오리무중이었다.
      Gajang heunhan chimae-neun hwanja-ui sambun-ui i isang-eul chajihaneun alcheuhaimeo chimae-inde, wonin-i orimujung-ieotda.
      The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's, which makes up more than two-thirds of patients, but its cause was up in the air.
  2. (literally) a deep fog