Contracted from 누이 (nu'i, “sister of a male”) + 님 (-nim, honorific) + 아 (-a, “hey”, vocative particle), ultimately from pre-Middle Korean */nup/ "sister" or similar; see 누이 (nu'i) for more. The phonologically conservative Gyeongsang and Yukjin dialects conserve the original /p~b/ in this word.
Korean colloquial family terms commonly stem from a fused vocative. See Category:Korean terms suffixed with -아 (vocative).
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | nuna |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | nuna |
| McCune–Reischauer? | nuna |
| Yale Romanization? | nwūna |
Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch only on the first syllable, and lowers the pitch of subsequent suffixes.
누나 • (nuna)
This term is used as a de facto second-person pronoun by men to address both older sisters and unrelated women of somewhat older age. This is because Korean does not permit the use of true second-person pronouns towards a social superior. See 너#Usage notes for more.
| Historical and regional synonyms of 누나 (nuna, “older sister of a male”) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| view map; edit data | |||
| 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. | |||