낙동강 오리알

Korean

Etymology

낙동강(洛東江) (Nakdonggang, “Nakdong River (longest river entirely in Korea)”) + 오리알 (orial, “duck's egg”). The origin of the idiom is uncertain; perhaps a reference to eggs of wildfowl slipping out of their nests and floating down the Nakdong during the monsoon floods.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠k̚t͈o̞ŋɡa̠ŋ o̞(ː)ɾia̠ɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [낙똥강 오(ː)리알]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	nakdonggang orial
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	nagdonggang olial
McCune–Reischauer?	naktonggang orial
Yale Romanization?	naktongkang ōlial

Noun

낙동강 오리알 • (nakdonggang orial)

1. (idiomatic) a loner, a person isolated or excluded from the rest of the group