불

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불 U+BD88, 불
HANGUL SYLLABLE BUL
Composition:ㅂ + ㅜ + ㄹ
← 붇
 		Hangul Syllables 붉 →
부북붂붃분붅붆
붇불붉붊붋붌붍
붎붏붐붑붒붓붔
붕붖붗붘붙붚붛
뵤 ←→ 붜

Korean

Etymology 1

First attested in the Jīlín lèishì (鷄林類事 / 계림유사), 1103, as Late Old Korean 孛.

Possibly cognate with Old Japanese 火 (pi2) (< Proto-Japonic *poy), as well as compounding form 火 (po) and eastern Old Japanese 火 (pu). Compare Middle Korean 븕다〮 (Yale: pùlk-tá, “to be red”, whence modern 붉다 (bukda)), which is believed to be derived from the word at some earlier stage of the language (Lee and Ramsey 2011, p. 180).

In the hangul script, first attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 블〮 (Yale: púl).

Pronunciation

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?bul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?bul
McCune–Reischauer?pul
Yale Romanization?pul

Noun

불 • (bul)

  1. (also figuratively) fire; flame
  2. fire (as a disaster)
    Synonym: 화재(火災) (hwajae)
  3. (electric) light
Derived terms

Prefix

불— • (bul-)

  1. severe; intense
Derived terms

Etymology 2

First attested in the Jeongsok eonhae (正俗諺解 / 정속언해 (of 李源周敎授本 / 이원주 교수본)), 1518, as Middle Korean 불 (Yale: pwul).

Pronunciation

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?bul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?bul
McCune–Reischauer?pul
Yale Romanization?pul

Noun

불 • (bul) (colloquial, uncommon or fossilized)

  1. genitalia
  2. testicle
    Synonyms: 불알 (bural), (non-colloquial) 고환(睾丸) (gohwan)
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 佛.

Pronunciation

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?bul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?bul
McCune–Reischauer?pul
Yale Romanization?pul

Proper noun

불 • (Bul) (hanja 佛)

  1. Short for 불란서(佛蘭西) (Bullanseo, “France”).
    한·불 관계 ― Han·bul gwan'gye ― France-South Korea relations
Usage notes
  • In news headlines, this is customarily written solely in the hanja form, even in contemporary Korean texts otherwise devoid of Chinese characters.
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Sino-Korean word from 弗. Repurposed for its visual similarity to the dollar symbol $.

Pronunciation

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?bul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?bul
McCune–Reischauer?pul
Yale Romanization?pul

Counter

불 • (bul) (hanja 弗)

  1. dollar (of various countries)
    Synonym: 달러 (dalleo)
Derived terms

Etymology 5

Sino-Korean word from 不.

Pronunciation

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?bul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?bul
McCune–Reischauer?pul
Yale Romanization?pul

Prefix

불— • (bul-) (hanja 不)

  1. not; non-, un-, in-
    ‎불(不) (bul) + ‎가능(可能) (ganeung, “possibility”) → ‎불가능(不可能) (bulganeung, “impossibility”)
Alternative forms
Derived terms

Etymology 6

Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

Syllable

불 • (bul)

More information
  1. 不:
    (MC reading: 不 (MC pjut))
  2. 佛:
    (MC reading: 佛 (MC bjut))
  3. 拂:
    (MC reading: 拂 (MC phjut))
  4. 彿:
    (MC reading: 彿 (MC phjut))
  5. 弗:
    (MC reading: 弗 (MC pjut))
  6. 岪:
    (MC reading: 岪)
  7. 祓:
    (MC reading: 祓 (MC phjut))
  8. 紱:
    (MC reading: 紱 (MC pjut))
  9. 艴:
    (MC reading: 艴 (MC phjut))
  10. 茀:
    (MC reading: 茀 (MC phjut))
  11. 韍:
    (MC reading: 韍 (MC pjut))
  12. 髴:
    (MC reading: 髴 (MC pjut|phjut))
  13. 黻:
    (MC reading: 黻 (MC pjut))
  14. 冹:
    (MC reading: 冹 (MC pjut))
  15. 刜:
    (MC reading: 刜 (MC bjut|phjut))
  16. 咈:
    (MC reading: 咈 (MC bjut))
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