편지

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 片紙. First attested in a Korean text in the Samgang haengsildo (三綱行實圖 / 삼강행실도), 1511, in hanja form and with the meaning of "small piece of paper".

In the Hangul script, first attested in the 順天金氏墓出土簡札 / 순천김씨 묘 출토 간찰 ("Letters excavated from the grave of Lady Suncheon Kim"), c. 1585, as Middle Korean 편지 (Yale: phyenci). This is also the first attestation of the "letter" sense.

The hanja form 便紙 is unetymological and first appears in Korean Classical Chinese sources in the eighteenth century.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈpʰjɘ(ː)ɲd͡ʑi]
• Phonetic hangul: [편(ː)지]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	pyeonji
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	pyeonji
McCune–Reischauer?	p'yŏnji
Yale Romanization?	phyēn.ci

Noun

편지 • (pyeonji) (hanja 便紙/片紙)

1. letter (written message)

   부모님께 편지를 얼마나 자주 씁니까?

   Bumonim-kke pyeonji-reul eolmana jaju sseumnikka?

   How often do you write letters to your parents?

Middle Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 片紙 (MC phenH tsyeX).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʰjə̌n.t͡sǐ/

Noun

편지 (phyenci) (hanja 片紙)

1. small piece of paper
2. letter

Descendants

• Korean: 편지 (pyeonji)