-으니까

Korean

Etymology

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “The initial 으니 (-euni) is clearly the base form. What is the 까 (-kka)? Is this the question marker?”

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɯnik͈a̠]
Phonetic hangul: [으니까]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	eunikka
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	euni'kka
McCune–Reischauer^?	ŭnikka
Yale Romanization^?	uni.kka

Suffix

으니까 • (-eunikka)

Emphatic form of 으니 (-euni, “since, because, as”).

Usage notes

This is the form usually used in speech; 으니 (-euni) is more common in written form.
으니까 (-eunikka) causes stem-final ㄹ (l) to drop out.

Alternative forms

니까 (-nikka) — After vowels and ㄹ (l)
으닝까 (-euningkka), 닝까 (-ningkka) — northern Gyeongsang dialectal

Derived terms

그러니까 (geureonikka)