화룡점정

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 畵龍點睛 (“to draw dragons and dot in the eyes”). See Chinese 畫龍點睛／画龙点睛 (huàlóngdiǎnjīng) for more.

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	hwaryongjeomjeong
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	hwalyongjeomjeong
McCune–Reischauer?	hwaryongjŏmjŏng
Yale Romanization?	hwālyongcemceng

Noun

화룡점정 • (hwaryongjeomjeong) (hanja 畵龍點睛)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) finishing touch; coup de grâce

   그 승전은 노장의 50년 전장 인생의 화룡점정 격이었다.

   Geu seungjeon-eun nojang-ui osimnyeon jeonjang insaeng-ui hwaryongjeomjeong gyeog-ieotda.

   That victory was like the coup de grâce of the old general's fifty years of battlefield life.