열쇠

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong eonhae (妙法蓮華經諺解 / 묘법연화경언해), 1463, as Middle Korean 엸〯쇠〮 (Yale: yěl-s-swóy). From 열— (yeol-, “to open”) + 쇠 (soe, “metal”). The phonological resemblance to Chinese 鑰匙 (yàoshi, “key”) is coincidental.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈjɘ(ː)ɭs͈we̞] ~ [ˈjɘ(ː)ɭs͈ø̞]
• Phonetic hangul: [열(ː)쒜/열(ː)쐬]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	yeolsoe
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	yeolsoe
McCune–Reischauer?	yŏlssoe
Yale Romanization?	yēlqsoy

Noun

열쇠 • (yeolsoe)

1. key

   열쇠로 자물쇠를 열다

   yeolsoe-ro jamulsoe-reul yeolda

   open a lock with a key

2. (figuratively) means

   행복의 열쇠 ― haengbog-ui yeolsoe ― the key to happiness

Derived terms

• 열쇠글 (yeolsoegeul, “password”)