선비

Korean

Etymology 1

First attested in the Jīlín lèishì (鷄林類事 / 계림유사), 1103, as Late Old Korean 進 (Yale: syen). An early form of the syllable -pi was either omitted or not yet present.

In the hangul script, first attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 션ᄇᆡ (Yale: syenpoy).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰʌ̹nbi]
• Phonetic hangul: [선비]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	seonbi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	seonbi
McCune–Reischauer?	sŏnbi
Yale Romanization?	senpi

Noun

선비 • (seonbi)

1. (historical) classical scholar

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 鮮卑.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰʌ̹nbi]
• Phonetic hangul: [선비]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	Seonbi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	Seonbi
McCune–Reischauer?	Sŏnbi
Yale Romanization?	senpi

Proper noun

선비 • (Seonbi) (hanja 鮮卑)

1. (historical) Xianbei