처녀림

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 處女林, from 處女 (“virgin girl”) + 林 (“forest”), ultimately a calque of English virgin forest.

Pronunciation

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈt͡ɕʰɘ(ː)ɲʌ̹ɾim]
  • Phonetic hangul: [처(ː)녀림]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?cheonyeorim
Revised Romanization (translit.)?cheonyeolim
McCune–Reischauer?ch'ŏnyŏrim
Yale Romanization?chēnyelim

Noun

처녀림 • (cheonyeorim) (hanja 處女林)

  1. (less common) virgin forest
    Synonym: 원시림(原始林) (wonsirim)

Usage notes

This term is often criticized, partly because such an attributive use of 처녀(處女) (cheonyeo, “virgin girl”) is highly foreign to the Korean language, and partly because of potential misogynistic interpretations.

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