어이

Korean

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ʌ̹i]
• Phonetic hangul: [어이]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	eoi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	eoi
McCune–Reischauer?	ŏi
Yale Romanization?	ei

Etymology 1

In the hangul script, first attested in the Worin seokbo (月印釋譜 / 월인석보), 1459, as Middle Korean 어ᅀᅵ〮 (Yale: èzí), from earlier Old Korean 母史 (*Esi). Possibly related to an element found in two ancient place name glosses from the Samguk Sagi: Goguryeo 也次 (*yatsi/*yaci).

Noun

어이 • (eoi)

1. mother
2. parent

Synonyms

• 어머니 (eomeoni, “mother”)

Etymology 2

Interjection

어이 • (eoi)

1. hey! (for calling a person of the same status or lower in an informal way)

   어이, 나 좀 도와줘.

   Eoi, na jom dowajwo.

   Hey, help me out a bit.

   어이, 여기 간식이라도 있냐?

   Eoi, yeogi gansigirado innya?

   Hey, are there even any snacks in here?