오리무중

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 五里霧中 (“amid five leagues of mist”), from a discussion in the Chinese history Book of the Later Han about the Daoist master Zhang Kai (c. 80—c. 149), who was said to possess the supernatural ability to summon such a mist.

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈo̞(ː)ɾimud͡ʑuŋ]
Phonetic hangul: [오(ː)리무중]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	orimujung
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	olimujung
McCune–Reischauer^?	orimujung
Yale Romanization^?	ōlimucwung

Noun

오리무중 • (orimujung) (hanja 五里霧中)

(four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) being up in the air; a very uncertain and unclear situation
Synonym: 불명(不明)

김 군 이 가출한지 열흘 이 지났으나 여전히 행방 은 오리무중이다.
gim gun-i gachulhanji yeolheur-i jinasseuna yeojeonhi haengbang-eun orimujung'ida.
Ten days have passed since Kim [a minor] ran away from home, but his whereabouts remain very uncertain.
- 2020, Jeong Su-il, 우리 안의 실크로드 [uri anui silkeurodeu, The Silk Road Within Us], Changbi Publishers, →ISBN:
  유해 의 손상 이 심해 아무것 도 식별할 수 없다 는 실망스러운 결론 이 내려졌다. 이 로써 콜럼버스의 유해 시비 는 오리무중에 빠졌다.
  Yuhae-ui sonsang-i simhae amugeot-do sikbyeolhal su eopda-neun silmangseureoun gyeollon-i naeryeojeotda. Irosseo Kolleombeoseu-ui yuhae sibi-neun orimujung-e ppajeotda.
  The disappointing verdict came that nothing was discernible due to excessive damage to the remains. With this, the dispute over Columbus's remains entered a state of uncertainty.
- 2020, 윤신영 [yunsinyeong], “국내 연구팀, 치매 발병 원인 새롭게 제시…치료제 개발에 도움 기대 [gungnae yeon'gutim, chimae balbyeong wonin saeropge jesi…chiryoje gaebare doum gidae, Korean research team proposes new cause of dementia onset... Anticipated to contribute to development of remedies]”, in Dong-a Ilbo:
  가장 흔한 치매 는 환자 의 3 분 의 2 이상 을 차지하는 알츠하이머 치매 인데, 원인 이 오리무중이었다.
  Gajang heunhan chimae-neun hwanja-ui sambun-ui i isang-eul chajihaneun alcheuhaimeo chimae-inde, wonin-i orimujung-ieotda.
  The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's, which makes up more than two-thirds of patients, but its cause was up in the air.
(literally) a deep fog