김치

Nativisation of the Sino-Korean term 침채 (沈菜, chimchae, “soaked vegetables”). First attested in the Hunmong jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527, as Middle Korean 딤ᄎᆡ (Yale: timchoy).

In most dialects, Middle Korean 딤ᄎᆡ (Yale: timchoy) was regularly palatalized to 짐츼 (jimchui), whence modern southern dialectal 짐치 (jimchi). However, southern Korean dialects also palatalized /ki/ to /t͡ɕi/, which the Seoul prestige dialect did not. Seoul speakers hence hypercorrected 짐츼 (jimchui) to 김츼 (gimchui) to avoid sounding "southern", whence modern Standard 김치 (gimchi).

This word displaced the older Middle Korean term 디히〮 (Yale: tìhí) (whence 지 (ji), now only used in compound words and the southwestern Jeolla dialect), probably because regular sound change rendered it monosyllabic and caused it to have a large number of homophones.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kimt͡ɕʰi]
• Phonetic hangul: [김치]

• South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 김치의 / 김치에 / 김치까지

  Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch only on the first syllable, and lowers the pitch of subsequent suffixes.

김치 • (gimchi)

1. kimchi, a dish made with fermented, seasoned vegetables

   한민족은 수천년 간 김치 힘으로 살아 왔다.

   hanminjog-eun sucheonnyeon gan gimchi him-euro sara watda.

   For thousands of years, the Korean nation has taken its strength from eating kimchi.

• → English: kimchi, kimchee, kim chee, gimchee
• → Japanese: キムチ (kimuchi)
  • → English: kimuchi
• → Japanese: きみすい (kimisui)

김치 • (gimchi)

1. cheese (said while being photographed)