정말

Korean

Etymology 1

From 정(正) (jeong, “something that is correct”) +‎ 말 (mal, “word”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ɕɘ(ː)ŋma̠ɭ]

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [정(ː)말]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	jeongmal
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	jeongmal
McCune–Reischauer?	chŏngmal
Yale Romanization?	cēngmal

Adverb

정말 • (jeongmal) (hanja 正말)

1. really; truly

   새 하인들은 일을 정말 잘 해.

   Sae hain-deur-eun ir-eul jeongmal jal hae.

   Those new servants really do a splendid job.

Noun

정말 • (jeongmal) (hanja 正말)

1. that which is true or genuine

   그거 정말이야? ― geugeo jeongmar-i-ya? ― Is that true?

Usage notes

Like many Korean nouns, this word is often used as a determiner to modify another noun directly.

Etymology 2

Proper noun

정말 • (Jeongmal) (hanja 丁抹)

1. (obsolete) Denmark (a country in Europe)