열쇠

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong eonhae (妙法蓮華經諺解 / 묘법연화경언해), 1463, as Middle Korean 엸〯쇠〮 (Yale: yěl-s-swóy). From 열— (yeol-, “to open”) + 쇠 (soe, “metal”). The phonological resemblance to Chinese 鑰匙 (yàoshi, “key”) is coincidental.

Pronunciation
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈjɘ(ː)ɭs͈we̞] ~ [ˈjɘ(ː)ɭs͈ø̞]
  • Phonetic hangul: [열(ː)쒜/열(ː)쐬]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?yeolsoe
Revised Romanization (translit.)?yeolsoe
McCune–Reischauer?yŏlssoe
Yale Romanization?yēlqsoy

Noun

열쇠 • (yeolsoe)

  1. key
    열쇠로 자물쇠를 열다
    yeolsoero jamulsoe-reul yeolda
    open a lock with a key
  2. (figuratively) means
    행복의 열쇠
    haengbog-ui yeolsoe
    the key to happiness

Derived terms
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