을씨년스럽다

Korean

Etymology

을씨년 (eulssinyeon, nativisation of the Sino-Korean term 을사 년 (乙巳年, eulsanyeon, “42nd year of the sexagenary cycle”)) +‎ -스럽다 (-seureopda, “to be like”).

Eulsa years were 1905, 1845, 1785, 1725, and so forth. A pervasive folk etymology says that this is from the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 in which Korea effectively became a colony of Japan. However, the word is attested indirectly since the mid-1800s. According to James Scarth Gale's A Korean-English dictionary (1897), the word was coined after a famine in 1785.

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	eulssinyeonseureopda
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	eul'ssinyeonseuleobda
McCune–Reischauer^?	ŭlssinyŏnsŭrŏpta
Yale Romanization^?	ul.ssinyensulepta

Adjective

을씨년스럽다 • (eulssinyeonseureopda) (infinitive 을씨년스러워, sequential 을씨년스러우니)

to be shabby, to be dreary, to be wretched
날씨 가 왜 이렇게 을씨년스럽지?
nalssi-ga wae ireoke eulssinyeonseureopji?
Why is the weather so dreary?

Conjugation

Selected forms of the adjective 을씨년스럽다 (eulssinyeonseureopda): consonant-stem, ㅂ(b)-irregular

Sentence-final forms
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	을씨년스럽다 eulssinyeonseureopda	을씨년스러워 eulssinyeonseureowo	을씨년스러워요 eulssinyeonseureowoyo	을씨년스럽습니다 eulssinyeonseureopseumnida
Indicative	Past	을씨년스러웠다 eulssinyeonseureowotda	을씨년스러웠어 eulssinyeonseureowosseo	을씨년스러웠어요 eulssinyeonseureowosseoyo	을씨년스러웠습니다 eulssinyeonseureowotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	을씨년스러우냐 eulssinyeonseureounya	을씨년스러워 eulssinyeonseureowo	을씨년스러워요 eulssinyeonseureowoyo	을씨년스럽습니까 eulssinyeonseureopseumnikka
Interrogative	Past	을씨년스러웠냐 eulssinyeonseureowonnya	을씨년스러웠어 eulssinyeonseureowosseo	을씨년스러웠어요 eulssinyeonseureowosseoyo	을씨년스러웠습니까 eulssinyeonseureowotseumnikka
Assertive		을씨년스럽겠다 eulssinyeonseureopgetda	을씨년스럽겠어 eulssinyeonseureopgesseo	을씨년스럽겠어요 eulssinyeonseureopgesseoyo	을씨년스럽겠습니다 eulssinyeonseureopgetseumnida
Connective forms
Cause/Reason		을씨년스러워 eulssinyeonseureowo	을씨년스러워서 eulssinyeonseureowoseo	을씨년스러우니 eulssinyeonseureouni	을씨년스러우니까 eulssinyeonseureounikka
Contrast		을씨년스럽지만 eulssinyeonseureopjiman	을씨년스러운데 eulssinyeonseureounde	을씨년스럽더니 eulssinyeonseureopdeoni
Conjunction		을씨년스럽고 eulssinyeonseureopgo
Condition		을씨년스러우면 eulssinyeonseureoumyeon	을씨년스러워야 eulssinyeonseureowoya
Noun and determiner forms
Verbal nouns		을씨년스러움 eulssinyeonseureoum	을씨년스럽기 eulssinyeonseureopgi
Past-tense verbal nouns		을씨년스러웠음 eulssinyeonseureowosseum	을씨년스러웠기 eulssinyeonseureowotgi
Determiners	Present		을씨년스러운 eulssinyeonseureoun
Determiners	Future		을씨년스러울 eulssinyeonseureoul

Sentence-final forms with honorific
		Plain (해라체)	Informal (해체)	Polite (해요체)	Formal (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	을씨년스러우시다 eulssinyeonseureousida	을씨년스러우셔 eulssinyeonseureousyeo	을씨년스러우세요, 을씨년스러우셔요 eulssinyeonseureouseyo, eulssinyeonseureousyeoyo	을씨년스러우십니다 eulssinyeonseureousimnida
Indicative	Past	을씨년스러우셨다 eulssinyeonseureousyeotda	을씨년스러우셨어 eulssinyeonseureousyeosseo	을씨년스러우셨어요 eulssinyeonseureousyeosseoyo	을씨년스러우셨습니다 eulssinyeonseureousyeotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	을씨년스러우시냐 eulssinyeonseureousinya	을씨년스러우셔 eulssinyeonseureousyeo	을씨년스러우세요, 을씨년스러우셔요 eulssinyeonseureouseyo, eulssinyeonseureousyeoyo	을씨년스러우십니까 eulssinyeonseureousimnikka
Interrogative	Past	을씨년스러우셨냐 eulssinyeonseureousyeonnya	을씨년스러우셨어 eulssinyeonseureousyeosseo	을씨년스러우셨어요 eulssinyeonseureousyeosseoyo	을씨년스러우셨습니까 eulssinyeonseureousyeotseumnikka
Assertive		을씨년스러우시겠다 eulssinyeonseureousigetda	을씨년스러우시겠어 eulssinyeonseureousigesseo	을씨년스러우시겠어요 eulssinyeonseureousigesseoyo	을씨년스러우시겠습니다 eulssinyeonseureousigetseumnida
Connective forms with honorific
Cause/Reason		을씨년스러우셔 eulssinyeonseureousyeo	을씨년스러우셔서 eulssinyeonseureousyeoseo	을씨년스러우시니 eulssinyeonseureousini	을씨년스러우시니까 eulssinyeonseureousinikka
Contrast		을씨년스러우시지만 eulssinyeonseureousijiman	을씨년스러우신데 eulssinyeonseureousinde	을씨년스러우시더니 eulssinyeonseureousideoni
Conjunction		을씨년스러우시고 eulssinyeonseureousigo
Condition		을씨년스러우시면 eulssinyeonseureousimyeon	을씨년스러우셔야 eulssinyeonseureousyeoya
Noun and determiner forms with honorific
Verbal nouns		을씨년스러우심 eulssinyeonseureousim	을씨년스러우시기 eulssinyeonseureousigi
Past-tense verbal nouns		을씨년스러우셨음 eulssinyeonseureousyeosseum	을씨년스러우셨기 eulssinyeonseureousyeotgi
Determiners	Present		을씨년스러우신 eulssinyeonseureousin
Determiners	Future		을씨년스러우실 eulssinyeonseureousil

References

^ 조항범 (2014) “'을씨년스럽다'의 語(어)原(원)에 대하여 ”, in Han'gugeohak, volume 64, pages 169—194

[1] 조항범 (2014) “'을씨년스럽다'의 語(어)原(원)에 대하여 ”, in Han'gugeohak, volume 64, pages 169—194