꽃제비

Korean

Etymology

꽃 (kkot, “flower”) +‎ 제비 (jebi, “swallow”). Likely was coined during the North Korean famine of the 1990s due to mass starvation resulting in an significant increase of orphans and abandoned children in the country. In recent times, it is also used in South Korea when referring to homeless children in the North. Often written in English as "kotjebi."

Pronunciation
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [k͈o̞t̚t͡ɕ͈e̞bi]
  • Phonetic hangul: [꼳쩨비]
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?kkotjebi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?kkochjebi
McCune–Reischauer?kkotchebi
Yale Romanization?kkochceypi

Noun

꽃제비 • (kkotjebi)

  1. (colloquial, North Korea) kotjebi, homeless children in North Korea
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