누우

Korean

Etymology

See 누이 (nu'i) for more. The form must have been produced by the non-Gyeongsang sound shift [bɨ] > [βɨ] > [u] or [bu] > [βu] > [u], which suggests that it may originally have been formed by analogy with, or was borrowed from, a different dialect.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nu˨.u˦]

Noun

누우 • (nuu)

1. (dated, Gyeongsang) Alternative form of 누부 (nubu, “older sister of a male”).
   • 1979 July 28, 옥아지 [ogaji], “밤송이 총각 [bamsong'i chonggak]”, in 한국구비문학대계 [han'gukgubimunhakdaegye]‎^[1], 경상남도 거제군 신현읍 (현 거제시 고현동) [gyeongsangnamdo geojegun sinhyeoneup (hyeon geojesi gohyeondong)]:

     그래 인자 저거 누우가 갈 짝에 따께칼로 하나 줌서로 니가 급하거든 이 칼로 쓰라 이라거든.

     Geurae inja jeogeo nuu-ga gal jjag-e ttakkekal-lo hana jumseoro ni-ga geupha-geodeun i kal-lo sseura ira-geodeun.

     When his older sister was about to leave he gave her a small knife and told her to use it if she was in an urgent situation.

Synonyms

Historical and regional synonyms of 누나 (nuna, “older sister of a male”)
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Group	Region	Location	Words
Standardised forms	South Korean Standard Language		누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.)
	North Korean Cultured Language		누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.)
Historical forms	Middle Korean		누의 (nwùùy) (also y.)
	Early Modern Seoul Korean		누의 (nuui) (also y.), 누위 (nuwi) (also y.)
Central Korean	Gyeonggi	Modern colloquial Seoul	누나 (nuna), 누님 (nunim) (hon.)
	Yeongdong	Gangneung	누우 (nùú), 누 (nù)
		Jeongseon	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.)
	South Chungcheong	Seosan	뉘님 (nwīnim)
		Yesan	뉘나 (nwīna)
		Hongseong	뉘님 (nwīnim)
		Boryeong	뉘나 (nwina)
		Buyeo	누님 (nunim), 누이 (nu'i)
		Seocheon	누님 (nunim), 눈님 (nunnim)
Gyeongsang Korean	North Gyeongsang	Daegu	누'부 (nu bu)
		Mungyeong	'누나 ( nuna), 누님 (núnìm)
		Andong	누 (nu), 누님 (núnìm)
		Gumi	누'우 (nu u)
		Goryeong	누'부 (nu bu)
	South Gyeongsang	Busan	누'부 (nu bu), 누임 (núìm) (hon.)
		Ulsan	누'부 (nu bu), 누부 (nubu)
		Changwon	누'부 (nu bu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Geochang	누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Hapcheon	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u)
		Changnyeong	누'부 (nu bu), 누'비 (nu bi), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Miryang	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), '누나 ( nuna), 누'우야 (nu uya)
		Hamyang	누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Sancheong	누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 누우님 (nùúnìm) (hon), 눈님 (núnnìm) (hon.)
		Uiryeong	누'우 (nu u)
		Hadong	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), 누 (nu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 누님 (núnìm) (hon.)
		Jinju	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Haman	누'부 (nu bu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Gimhae	누'부 (nu bu)
		Yangsan	누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna)
		Sacheon	누'우 (nu u)
		Goseong	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u)
		Namhae	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u)
		Geoje	누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 엉가 (éunggà)
		Ulju	누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna)
	Diaspora	Harbin	눈님 (núnnìm)
Jeolla Korean	North Jeolla	Gunsan	누 (nu), 누님 (nunim)
		Iksan	누나 (nuna), 누님 (nunim)
		Muju	누지 (nūji), 누나 (nuna), 성 (seong), 형님 (hyeongnim)
	South Jeolla	Yeonggwang	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim)
		Gokseong	누 (nu)
		Hampyeong	누임 (nūim)
		Muan	누 (nu), 뉘 (nwī), 매씨 (messi) (married)
		Gwangyang	누님 (nūnim)
		Jindo	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim)
		Wando	누나 (nūna), 누 (nu), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.), 뉨 (nwīm) (hon), 매씨 (messi) (married)
		Goheung	누님 (nūnim), 누나 (nūna) (voc.)
		Yeosu	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim)
Pyongan Korean	South Pyongan	Ryonggang	누이 (nu'i) (unmarried, also y.), 누님 (nunim) (married)
		Mundok	누이 (nu'i) (unmarried, also y.), 누님 (nunim) (married)
	North Pyongan	Sonchon	뉘 (nwi)
		Ryongchon	누이 (nu'i), 누님 (nunim) (hon.)
		Chosan	누이 (nu'i), 누님 (nunim) (married)
	Diaspora	Shenyang	누야 (nuya) (also y.)
Hamgyong Korean	North Hamgyong	Samsu	누'어미 (nu eomi)
Yukjin Korean	Yukjin	Kyongwon	누비 (nùbì), 누배 (nùbàe)
	Diaspora	Hunchun	느비 (nèubì), 느베 (nèubè)
		Longjing	누애 (nùàe), 누얘 (nùyàe), 누이님 (nùìním) (married)
Jeju		Jeju City	누님 (nunim)
		Daejeong	누님 (nunim)
		Gujwa	누님 (nunim)
		Seogwipo	누님 (nunim)
hon.: honorific / voc.: vocative / chil.: childish (exact age range may differ) also y.: refers to any sister of a male, regardless of relative age
This table is an amalgamation of surveys of speakers mostly born before 1950 and may not reflect the language of younger speakers, which has lexically converged towards the standard Seoul dialect in both North and South Koreas.