은수저
Korean
Etymology
은(銀) (eun, “silver”) + 수저 (sujeo, “cutlery; spoon and chopsticks”).
The idiomatic sense is a partial calque of English silver spoon, but the meaning has since become specified due to the introduction of other terms by analogy.
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ɯnsʰud͡ʑʌ̹]
- Phonetic hangul: [은수저]
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | eunsujeo |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | eunsujeo |
| McCune–Reischauer? | ŭnsujŏ |
| Yale Romanization? | unswuce |
Noun
은수저 • (eunsujeo)
- (literally) a silver spoon and chopsticks
- (figurative) the upper middle class or lower upper class
- Coordinate terms: 금수저 (geumsujeo, “gold spoon”), 동수저 (dongsujeo, “bronze spoon”), 흙수저 (heuksujeo, “dirt spoon”)
Related terms
- 수저계급론 (sujeogyegeumnon, “spoon theory”)