마누라

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Samgang haengsildo (三綱行實圖 / 삼강행실도), 1511, as Middle Korean 마노라 (Yale: manwola), originally with the meaning of "master; superior person". The sense transferred to women in particular, being used to translate Mandarin 太太 (tàitai, “Mrs; wife”) in eighteenth-century sources, then underwent pejoration.

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	manura
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	manula
McCune–Reischauer?	manura
Yale Romanization?	mānwula

• South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 마누라의 / 마누라에 / 마누라까지

  Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch on the second and third syllables, and lowers the pitch of subsequent suffixes.

Noun

마누라 • (manura)

1. (humble) wife (married woman) [from 19th c.]

Synonyms

• 부인 (夫人, bu'in) (honorific)
• 아내 (anae) (humble)
• 와이프 (waipeu) (humble)
• 집사람 (jipsaram) (humble)