생사여탈권

Korean

Alternative forms

• 생살여탈권 (生殺與奪權, saengsaryeotalgwon)

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 生死與奪 (“to cause to live, to kill, to give and to seize”) + 權 (“power, right”), with compound/genitive tensing applied.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰɛŋsʰa̠jʌ̹tʰa̠ɭk͈wʌ̹n] ~ [sʰe̞ŋsʰa̠jʌ̹tʰa̠ɭk͈wʌ̹n]
• Phonetic hangul: [생사여탈꿘/셍사여탈꿘]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	saengsayeotalgwon
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	saengsayeotalgwon
McCune–Reischauer?	saengsayŏt'alkwŏn
Yale Romanization?	sayngsa.ye.thalqkwen

Noun

생사여탈권 • (saengsayeotalgwon) (hanja 生死與奪權)

1. absolute authority over others; the power to save them and to kill them, to give to them and to take from them

   문화대혁명 당시 홍위병들은 소위 반동분자의 생사여탈권을 쥐었다.

   munhwadaehyeongmyeong dangsi hong'wibyeong-deur-eun sowi bandongbunja-ui saengsayeotalgwon-eul jwieotda.

   During the Cultural Revolution, the red guards wielded absolute power over the so-called "reactionaries".

Usage notes

The form 생살여탈권 is sometimes considered more correct in terms of Chinese grammar, but 생사여탈권 remains much more widely used in practice.