오

Korean

Etymology 1

Sino-Korean word from 五 (“five”), from the Middle Korean reading 오〯 (Yale: wǒ), from Middle Chinese 五 (MC nguX).

Pronunciation

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

Numeral

오 • (o) (hanja 五)

1. (Sino-Korean numeral) five

Usage notes

In modern Korean, numbers are usually written in Arabic numerals.

The Korean language has two sets of numerals: a native set of numerals inherited from Old Korean, and a Sino-Korean set which was borrowed from Middle Chinese in the first millennium C.E.

Native classifiers take native numerals.

• 개 한 마리 (gae han mari, “one dog”, native numeral)
• 나무 두 그루 (namu du geuru, “two trees”, native numeral)

Some Sino-Korean classifiers take native numerals, others take Sino-Korean numerals, while yet others take both.

• 종이 두 장(張) (jong'i du jang, “two sheets of paper”, native numeral)
• 이 분(分) (i bun, “two minutes”, Sino-Korean numeral)
• 서른/삼십 명(名) (seoreun/samsip myeong, “thirty people”, both sets possible)

Recently loaned classifiers generally take Sino-Korean numerals.

• 일 킬로미터 (il killomiteo, “one kilometer”, Sino-Korean numeral)

For many terms, a native numeral has a quantifying sense, whereas a Sino-Korean numeral has a sense of labeling.

• 세 반(班) (se ban, “three school classes”, native numeral)
• 삼 반(班) (sam ban, “Class Number Three”, Sino-Korean numeral)

When used in isolation, native numerals refer to objects of that number and are used in counting and quantifying, whereas Sino-Korean numerals refer to the numbers in a more mathematical sense.

• 하나만 더 주세요 (hana-man deo juse-yo, “Could you give me just one more, please”, native numeral)
• 일 더하기 일은? (il deohagi ir-eun?, “What's one plus one?”, Sino-Korean numeral)

While older stages of Korean had native numerals up to the thousands, native numerals currently exist only up to ninety-nine, and Sino-Korean is used for all higher numbers. There is also a tendency—particularly among younger speakers—to uniformly use Sino-Korean numerals for the higher tens as well, so that native numerals such as 일흔 (ilheun, “seventy”) or 아흔 (aheun, “ninety”) are becoming less common.

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 五 for Sino-Korean compounds of 오 (五, o).

Etymology 2

Imitative. Compare English oh.

Pronunciation

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

Interjection

오 • (o)

1. wow, whoa; used for a pleasant surprise, especially regarding something the listener has done or said.

   오, 좋다. ― O, jota. ― Whoa, nice.

   오, 기발한 생각이다. ― O, gibal-han saenggag-ida. ― Whoa, that's a brilliant idea.

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 伍 (“troop of five soldiers”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

오 • (o) (hanja 伍)

1. (military) rank of troops (row of soldiers side by side)

   Coordinate term: 열(列) (yeol, “file”)

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 伍 for Sino-Korean compounds of 오 (伍, o).

Derived terms with native elements:

Etymology 4

Sino-Korean word from 吳 (“Wu”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:

Proper noun

오 • (O) (hanja 吳)

1. Wu, name of various Chinese kingdoms in the lower Yangzi region
2. a common surname from Chinese

Etymology 5

Modern Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

Syllable

오 (o)