넌지시

Korean

FWOTD – 30 May 2023

Alternative forms

넌즈시 (neonjeusi)

Etymology

First attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 넌즈시 (Yale: nèncùsì), equivalent to modern 넌짓 (neonjit, “discreetly”) +‎ 이 (-i, adverb-attaching suffix).

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [nʌ̹ɲd͡ʑiɕʰi]
Phonetic hangul: [넌지시]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	neonjisi
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	neonjisi
McCune–Reischauer^?	nŏnjisi
Yale Romanization^?	nen.cisi

Adverb

넌지시 • (neonjisi)

(of speech, of a look, etc.) discreetly, implicitly
Synonyms: 남몰래 (nammollae), 슬쩍 (seuljjeok)
- 1759, 한석지/韓錫地 [Han Seok-ji], 吉(길)夢(몽)歌(가) [Song of the Auspicious Dream]:
  衣(의)冠(관)이 整(졍)齊(졔)하고 거동 이 非(비)凡(범)커ᄂᆞᆯ / 넌지시 向(향)問(문)하되 어ᄃᆡ 서 오시온고
  uigwan-i jeongjehago geodong-i bibeomkeoneul / neonjisi hyangmunhadoe eodui-seo osion'go
  His robes and cap were tidied, and his movements out of the ordinary / I discreetly asked him, "Whence do you come?"
- c. 1890, “無(무)錫(셕)老(노)人(인)”, in 閒(한)談(담)消(쇼)夏(하)錄(록) [Korean translation of the Xiantan xiaoxia lu]:
  무셕 현 노인 이 세말 을 당ᄒᆞ여 잠 업시 누엇더니 도적 이 벽 을 ᄯᅮᆯ코 방 의 드러오거ᄂᆞᆯ 잡아 본ᄌᆞᆨ 고인 의 ᄋᆞ들 이라 노인 이 아므 소ᄅᆡ 아니ᄒᆞ고 넌즈시 닐너 왈 […]
  musyeokhyeon noin-i semar-eul danghayeo jameopsi nueotdeoni dojeog-i byeog-eul ttulko bang-ui deureoogeoneul jababonjeuk goin-ui adeur-ira noin-i ameu sorui anihago neonjeusi nilleo wal [ … ]
  On the last night of the year, an old man in Wuxi prefecture lay down without falling asleep when a thief tore through the wall and entered the room. When [the old man] had apprehended him, he found that he was the son of the deceased [friend]. Without making any shout, the old man discreetly said […]
- 1936, Baek Seok, “故(고)鄕(향)”, in 사슴 [saseum, Deer]:
  문득 물어 고향 이 어데 냐 한다 / 평안도 정주 라는 곳 이라 한즉 / 그러면 아무개 씨 고향 이란다. / 그러면 아무개 씨 아느나 한즉 / 의원 은 빙긋이 웃음 을 띠고 / 막역지간 이라며 수염 을 쓸는다. / 나 는 아버지 로 섬기는 이 라 한즉 / 의원 은 또다시 넌즈시 웃고 […]
  Mundeuk mureo gohyang-i eodenya handa / pyeong'ando jeongjuraneun gos-ira hanjeuk / geureomyeon amugae ssi gohyang-iranda. / geureomyeon amugae ssi aneuna hanjeuk / uiwon-eun binggeusi useum-eul ttigo / magyeokjigan-iramyeo suyeom-eul sseulleunda. / na-neun abeoji-ro seomgineun ira hanjeuk / uiwon-eun ttodasi neonjeusi utgo [ … ]
  He suddenly asks me where my hometown is. / I say it is a place called Chŏngju, in Pyŏng'an Province. / Then it is the hometown of Mr. So-and-so. / Then, I ask, does he know Mr. So-and-so? / The doctor, with a winsome smile on his face / sweeping his beard, says "We're very close friends". / I say that he's my father / and the doctor once more smiles implicitly […]
- 2021 May 23, “中(중) 언론들 한미 회담 담담히 보도…'내정간섭' 비판은 '넌지시'”, in Money Today‎^[1]:
  中(중) 언론들 한미 회담 담담히 보도…'내정간섭' 비판은 '넌지시'
  Jung eollondeul hanmi hoedam damdamhi bodo… naejeongganseop bipaneun neonjisi
  Chinese media reports US-Korea summit calmly... "interference in internal affairs" criticism "discreet"