어멍

Jeju

Etymology

Presumably from Middle Korean 어〮미 (émì) with a fixed suffix *엉 (*-eong). Compare 아방 (abang), 하르방 (hareubang), 할망 (halmang). Cognate with Korean 어미 (eomi)

Pronunciation

(Morphophonemic) IPA^(key): ⫽əməŋ⫽
(Jeju City) IPA^(key):
Phonetic hangul:

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	eomeong
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	eomeong
Yale Romanization^?	emeng

Noun

어멍 (eomeong)

mother
Hypernyms: 부모 (bumo), (rare outside of compounds) 어시 (eosi)

Hyponyms: 가시어멍 (gasieomeong), 다슴어멍 (daseumeomeong), 수양어멍 (suyang'eomeong), 씨어멍 (ssieomeong), 홀어멍 (horeomeong), 친어멍 (chineomeong)

Coordinate term: 아방 (abang)

Near-synonyms: (honorific) 어멤 (eomem), (for animals) 어시 (eosi), 어머니 (eomeoni)

어멍 아방 ― eomeong abang ― mother and father

어멍은 베 고팡 죽곡, 아인 베 터졍 죽나.
Eomeong-eun be gopang jukgok, ai-n be teojeong jungna.
A mother will always put her child's needs above her own.
(literally, “A mother dies of hunger while her child dies with a full stomach.”)

우리 어멍은 나 가 아는 사름 중 에 질 착ᄒᆞᆫ 사름 입데다.
Uri eomeong-eun na-ga aneun sareum jung-e jil chakhawn sareumipdeda.
My mother is the nicest person that I know.
- 2009, ^제주문화예술재단 [Jejumunhwayesuljaedan], ^개정증보 제주어사전 [Gaejeongjeungbo jejueosajeon]‎, ^제주특별자치도 [Jejuteukbyeoljachido], →ISBN, page 614:
  어멍 아방 죽엉은에 어떵 살코?
  Eomeong abang jugeong'eune eotteong salko?
  How can I live without my mother and father?
- 2018 December 17, KBS제주 [KBSjeju], 18:49 from the start, in 어멍의 바당 [eomeong'ui badang, My Mother's Sea]‎, episode 11, spoken by 아방 [abang] (고정민 [gojeongmin]), YouTube:
  아이고, 숙이 어멍아 정신 ᄎᆞᆯ리라…… 이디 서 영 ᄒᆞ멍 안 뒌다! 나 가 지 신디 못 헤 준 게 핫인디…… 메날 술 먹언 니 속 만 타게 헷인예!
  Aigo, sugi eomeong-a jeongsin chawllira…… Idi-seo yeong hawmeong an dwenda! Na-ga ji-sindi mot he jun ge hasindi…… Menal sul meogeon ni song-man tage hesinye!
  Ahh, my wife (Sook-i's mother), please get better…… You can't do this here! There's so much that I couldn't do for you… I only made you worried with drinking every day!
- 2020, Changyong Yang, Sejung Yang, William O'Grady, Jejueo: The Language of Korea’s Jeju Island, Honolulu, USA: University of Hawai‘i Press, →DOI, →ISBN, →JSTOR, 3.1: Informal Sentence Enders Compatible with Both Statements and Questions, page 171:
  강 보난 어멍 아방 말 ᄀᆞᆯ아ᇝ이멘.
  Gang bonan eomeong abang mal gawramsimen.
  When I went (there), I saw mother and father talking.

Usage notes

Outside of children's usage, this term is traditionally used as a 지칭 (jiching), meaning that, it is only used to refer to one's mother, not to address them directly. As an adult, the traditional 호칭 (hoching) to address one's mother directly is 어머니 (eomeoni).

Derived terms

ᄄᆞᆯ은 어멍 피 물엉 (ttawreun eomeong pi mureong, “like mother like daughter”)
가마귀도 어멍아 ᄒᆞᆫ다 (gamagwido eomeong'a hawnda, “Even crows respect their mothers”)
가시어멍 (gasieomeong, “mother-in-law, mother of one's wife”)
구시월 수가지 먹젱 ᄒᆞ민 어멍 셍각에 목 단졍 못 먹나 (gusiwol sugaji meokjeng hawmin eomeong senggage mok danjeong mot meongna, “One's mother will always be in one's mind”)
궃이나 망장 나 어멍 시민 고운 어멍 엇어도 산다게 (guchina mangjang na eomeong simin goun eomeong eoseodo sandage, “Even if my mother is bad, as long as I have her, I don't need anyone else”)
그 아방에 그 아ᄃᆞᆯ, 그 어멍에 그 ᄄᆞᆯ (geu abang'e geu adawl, geu eomeong'e geu ttawl, “like father like son, like mother like daughter”)
나 어멍은 그리는 애기 놈은 주난 종으로 본다 (na eomeong'eun geurineun aegi nomeun junan jong'euro bonda, “A precious baby to one's mother, but a slave to someone else”)
다슴어멍 (daseumeomeong, “stepmother”)
당어멍 (dang'eomeong, “biological mother”)
말잣어멍 (maljaseomeong, “one's father's third brother's wife”)
말젯어멍 (maljeseomeong, “idem”)
봉ᄉᆞ광 애기 어멍은 ᄀᆞ물수록 좋나 (bongsawgwang aegi eomeong'eun gawmulsurok jonna, “The drier the better”)
설룬어멍 (seolluneomeong, “sad and pitiful mother”)
셋어멍 (seseomeong, “one's father's second brother's wife”)
수양어멍 (suyang'eomeong, “foster mother”)
씨어멍 (ssieomeong, “mother-in-law, mother of one's husband”)
아의어멍 (auieomeong, “mother of a child; term used to refer to one's wife”)
애기 어멍 쿰은 닷 뒈, 애기 업게 쿰은 ᄒᆞᆫ 말 (aegi eomeong kumeun dat dwe, aegi eopge kumeun hawn mal, “Mothers are not appreciated enough”)
애기어멍 (aegieomeong, “mother of a child”)
어멍ᄀᆞ라 ᄀᆞᆯ은 말은 나곡, 쉐ᄀᆞ라 ᄀᆞᆯ은 말은 안 난다 (eomeonggawra gawreun mareun nagok, swegawra gawreun mareun an nanda, “Be careful who you trust”)
어멍은 베 고팡 죽곡, 아인 베 터졍 죽곡 (eomeong'eun be gopang jukgok, ain be teojeong jukgok, “A mother will always put her child's needs above her own”)
어멍은 좁ᄊᆞᆯ만씩 빌엉 오민, 아ᄃᆞᆯ은 ᄆᆞᆯ똥만씩 먹나 (eomeong'eun jopssawlmanssik bireong omin, adawreun mawlttongmanssik meongna, “A mother will always put her child first”)
어멍펜 (eomeongpen, “mother's family”)
유월 물이 그립덴 헤도 어멍보단 더 안 그립나 (yuwol muri geuripden hedo eomeongbodan deo an geurimna, “One misses one's mother more than anything”)
젓어멍 (jeoseomeong, “one who makes the food on wedding day; wet nurse”)
젯어멍 (jeseomeong, “wet nurse”)
족은어멍 (jogeuneomeong, “father's younger brother's wife; father's youngest brother's wife”)
지득어멍 (jideugeomeong, “one who has a motherly bond”)
지서멍 (jiseomeong, “wife (humble); a steady wife who governs the affairs of the family”)
친어멍 (chineomeong, “stepmother”)
큰어멍 (keuneomeong, “father's oldest brother's wife”)
할망 콩죽으로 안 살앙 어멍 젯으로 산다 (halmang kongjugeuro an sarang eomeong jeseuro sanda, “A mother will always be there for her child”)
핫어멍 (haseomeong, “married woman”)
홀어멍 (horeomeong, “widow; single mother”)

References

제주 문화 예술 재단 [jeju munhwa yesul jaedan] (2009) “어멍”, in 개정 증보 제주어 사전 [gaejeong jeungbo jejueo sajeon], 제주 특별 자치도 [jeju teukbyeol jachido], →ISBN, page 615
“어멍” in Andrew Cheng; K. David Harrison, Jeju-eo Talking Dictionary, Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, 2014.
“속담사전 "어멍" 검색 [sokdamsajeon eomeong geomsaek]”, in 제주방언 속담사전 문화/역사 [jejubang'eon sokdamsajeon - munhwa/yeoksa] (in Korean), 제주특별자치도 [jejuteukbyeoljachido], 2019

^ 김미진 [gimmijin] (2010 August) “제주도방언의 친족어 연구 — 여성 화자를 중심으로 [jejudobang'eonui chinjogeo yeon'gu - yeoseong hwajareul jungsimeuro, Study on the Kinship terms of Jeju dialect — Focused on female speakers]”, in 영주어문 (in Korean), volume 20, pages 27-47
^ 박민경 (August 2015) 제주 방언의 친척 명칭 연구 [A Study on Relative Names in the Jeju Dialects] (Thesis)‎ (in Korean), 제주대학교 교육대학원

[1] 김미진 [gimmijin] (2010 August) “제주도방언의 친족어 연구 — 여성 화자를 중심으로 [jejudobang'eonui chinjogeo yeon'gu - yeoseong hwajareul jungsimeuro, Study on the Kinship terms of Jeju dialect — Focused on female speakers]”, in 영주어문 (in Korean), volume 20, pages 27-47

[2] 박민경 (August 2015) 제주 방언의 친척 명칭 연구 [A Study on Relative Names in the Jeju Dialects] (Thesis)‎ (in Korean), 제주대학교 교육대학원

어멍

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