피눈물

Korean

Etymology

피 (pi, “blood”) +‎ 눈물 (nunmul, “tear”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [pʰinunmuɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [피눈물]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	pinunmul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	pinunmul
McCune–Reischauer?	p'inunmul
Yale Romanization?	phinwunmul

Noun

피눈물 • (pinunmul)

1. (literal) blood from one's eyes, haemolacria
2. tears brought on by extreme agony, grief, or frustration
   • c. 1790, 樂學拾零 (Akhak Seumnyeong) [Tidbits of the Musical Sciences]:

     離(니)別(별)ᄒᆞ던 날에 피눈물리 ᄂᆞᆫ지 만지 / 鴨(압)綠(록)江(강) ᄂᆞ린 물이 프른 빗치 젼혀 업ᄂᆡ

     nibyeol-hadeon nar-e pinunmur-i nanji manji / Amnokgang narin mur-i peureun bich-i jyeonhyeo eomnae

     On the day of leaving her, did I shed tears of blood or not? / In the water coming down the Yalu, I see not a shade of blue

   • 2011, “"첫 바깥나들이가 살처분이라니…" [cheot bakkannadeuriga salcheobunirani…"]”, in The Hankyoreh‎^[1]:

     태어난지 2~3주밖에 안 된 소들을 죽여 포클레인 하나에 3~4마리씩 엮어 싣는 것을 보니 강심장인 저도 피눈물이 나더라

     taeeonanji 2~3jubakke an doen so-deur-eul jugyeo pokeullein hana-e 3~4marissik yeokkeo sinneun geos-eul boni gangsimjang-in jeo-do pinunmur-i nadeora

     When I saw them kill the calves that were barely two, three weeks old and load three or four of them trussed up onto a single excavator, even someone as strong-hearted as me shed tears of blood.

   • 2020, “천일염 가격 상승..생산자들은 울상 [cheoniryeom gagyeok sangseung..saengsanjadeureun ulsang]”, in Mokpo MBC‎^[2]:

     불행히들도 저희들 같이 1차 산업에 종사하는 생산자들은 정말로 피눈물이 날 정도입니다.

     Bulhaenghi-deul-do jeohui-deul gachi 1cha saneob-e jongsahaneun saengsanja-deur-eun jeongmallo pinunmur-i nal jeongdo-imnida.

     Unfortunately, producers who work in the primary industries, like us, are truly on the verge of shedding tears of blood.