차마

Korean

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʰa̠ma̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [차마]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	chama
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	chama
McCune–Reischauer?	ch'ama
Yale Romanization?	chama

Etymology 1

First attested in the Seokbo sangjeol (釋譜詳節 / 석보상절), 1447, as Middle Korean ᄎᆞ〮마〮 (Yale: chóm-á), simply equivalent to the infinitive of 참다 (chamda, “to bear; to stand; to endure”). The infinitive is now spelled differently, as 참아 (chama) rather than 차마 (chama), but the pronunciation is the same.

Adverb

차마 • (chama)

1. possibly stand, possibly bear; used in a negated sentence to emphasize the emotional impossibility of the negated act

   그 시체는 차마 못 보겠더라. ― Geu siche-neun chama mot bo-get-deora. ― That corpse was one I couldn't possibly stand seeing.

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 車馬.

Noun

차마 • (chama) (hanja 車馬)

1. (law) vehicles
2. (literal) wagons and horses, considered collectively