눈치

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Yeogeo yuhae (譯語類解 / 역어유해), 1690, as Early Modern Korean 눈츼 (Yale: nwunchuy). From 눈 (nun, “eye”), with some unknown suffix.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [nuɲt͡ɕʰi]
• Phonetic hangul: [눈치]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	nunchi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	nunchi
McCune–Reischauer?	nunch'i
Yale Romanization?	nwun.chi

South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 눈치의 / 눈치에 / 눈치까지

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

Noun

눈치 • (nunchi)

1. one's ability to sense what are the correct/wrong things to do in a situation
2. one's state of mind inferred from the facial expressions; hint given with the eyes

Synonyms

• 기색 (氣色, gisaek)
• 면색 (面色, myeonsaek)

Derived terms

• Augmentative: 눈치코치 (nunchikochi)
• Adverb: 눈치껏 (nunchikkeot)

See also

• Chinese: 眼力勁兒／眼力劲儿 (yǎnlìjìnr), 眼色 (yǎnsè)