누부

Korean

Etymology

The more conservative form of this word; see 누이 (nu'i) for more. As in most Korean dialects, the introduction of the Chinese loanword 동생 (dongsaeng, “younger sibling”) came to restrict the semantic scope of the word to older sisters only.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nu˨.bu˦]

Noun

누부 • (nubu)

1. (dated, Gyeongsang) older sister of a male

   Synonym: (Standard Korean) 누나 (nuna)

   • 1984 January 15, 김옥련 [gimongnyeon], “계모에게 쫓겨난 손 없는 처녀 [gyemo'ege jjotgyeonan son eomneun cheonyeo]”, in 한국구비문학대계 [han'gukgubimunhakdaegye]‎^[1], 대구광역시 달성군 하빈면 [daegugwang'yeoksi dalseonggun habinmyeon]:

     저거 누부하고 둘이 있다가 저거 누부를 떡 감차노이께네 저검마가 인자 새엄마가 떡 들어왔다.

     Jeogeo nubuha-go dur-i it-daga jeogeo nubu-reul tteok gamchanoi-kkene jeogeomma-ga inja saeeomma-ga tteok deureowatda.

     Because he quickly hid his older sister after being alone, their step-mother had now entered.

2. (dated, Gyeongsang, men's speech, in informal friendly settings) somewhat older female friend or acquaintance

   Synonym: (Standard Korean) 누나 (nuna)

Usage notes

In many varieties, the vocative is 누야 (nuya, “hey, sister”), which may be a suppletive loan from the Seoul Korean cognate 누이 (nu'i). Many other varieties have the regularly formed vocative 누부야 (nubuya, “hey, sister”).

Younger speakers prefer the Seoul equivalent 누나 (nuna).

Synonyms

Historical and regional synonyms of 누나 (nuna, “older sister of a male”)
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Group	Region	Location	Words
Standardised forms	South Korean Standard Language		누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.)
	North Korean Cultured Language		누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.)
Historical forms	Middle Korean		누의 (nwùùy) (also y.)
	Early Modern Seoul Korean		누의 (nuui) (also y.), 누위 (nuwi) (also y.)
Central Korean	Gyeonggi	Modern colloquial Seoul	누나 (nuna), 누님 (nunim) (hon.)
	Yeongdong	Gangneung	누우 (nùú), 누 (nù)
		Jeongseon	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.)
	South Chungcheong	Seosan	뉘님 (nwīnim)
		Yesan	뉘나 (nwīna)
		Hongseong	뉘님 (nwīnim)
		Boryeong	뉘나 (nwina)
		Buyeo	누님 (nunim), 누이 (nu'i)
		Seocheon	누님 (nunim), 눈님 (nunnim)
Gyeongsang Korean	North Gyeongsang	Daegu	누'부 (nu bu)
		Mungyeong	'누나 ( nuna), 누님 (núnìm)
		Andong	누 (nu), 누님 (núnìm)
		Gumi	누'우 (nu u)
		Goryeong	누'부 (nu bu)
	South Gyeongsang	Busan	누'부 (nu bu), 누임 (núìm) (hon.)
		Ulsan	누'부 (nu bu), 누부 (nubu)
		Changwon	누'부 (nu bu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Geochang	누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Hapcheon	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u)
		Changnyeong	누'부 (nu bu), 누'비 (nu bi), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Miryang	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), '누나 ( nuna), 누'우야 (nu uya)
		Hamyang	누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Sancheong	누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 누우님 (nùúnìm) (hon), 눈님 (núnnìm) (hon.)
		Uiryeong	누'우 (nu u)
		Hadong	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), 누 (nu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 누님 (núnìm) (hon.)
		Jinju	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Haman	누'부 (nu bu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.)
		Gimhae	누'부 (nu bu)
		Yangsan	누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna)
		Sacheon	누'우 (nu u)
		Goseong	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u)
		Namhae	누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u)
		Geoje	누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 엉가 (éunggà)
		Ulju	누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna)
	Diaspora	Harbin	눈님 (núnnìm)
Jeolla Korean	North Jeolla	Gunsan	누 (nu), 누님 (nunim)
		Iksan	누나 (nuna), 누님 (nunim)
		Muju	누지 (nūji), 누나 (nuna), 성 (seong), 형님 (hyeongnim)
	South Jeolla	Yeonggwang	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim)
		Gokseong	누 (nu)
		Hampyeong	누임 (nūim)
		Muan	누 (nu), 뉘 (nwī), 매씨 (messi) (married)
		Gwangyang	누님 (nūnim)
		Jindo	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim)
		Wando	누나 (nūna), 누 (nu), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.), 뉨 (nwīm) (hon), 매씨 (messi) (married)
		Goheung	누님 (nūnim), 누나 (nūna) (voc.)
		Yeosu	누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim)
Pyongan Korean	South Pyongan	Ryonggang	누이 (nu'i) (unmarried, also y.), 누님 (nunim) (married)
		Mundok	누이 (nu'i) (unmarried, also y.), 누님 (nunim) (married)
	North Pyongan	Sonchon	뉘 (nwi)
		Ryongchon	누이 (nu'i), 누님 (nunim) (hon.)
		Chosan	누이 (nu'i), 누님 (nunim) (married)
	Diaspora	Shenyang	누야 (nuya) (also y.)
Hamgyong Korean	North Hamgyong	Samsu	누'어미 (nu eomi)
Yukjin Korean	Yukjin	Kyongwon	누비 (nùbì), 누배 (nùbàe)
	Diaspora	Hunchun	느비 (nèubì), 느베 (nèubè)
		Longjing	누애 (nùàe), 누얘 (nùyàe), 누이님 (nùìním) (married)
Jeju		Jeju City	누님 (nunim)
		Daejeong	누님 (nunim)
		Gujwa	누님 (nunim)
		Seogwipo	누님 (nunim)
hon.: honorific / voc.: vocative / chil.: childish (exact age range may differ) also y.: refers to any sister of a male, regardless of relative age
This table is an amalgamation of surveys of speakers mostly born before 1950 and may not reflect the language of younger speakers, which has lexically converged towards the standard Seoul dialect in both North and South Koreas.