# 수

| 수 | U+C218, &#49688; HANGUL SYLLABLE SU |
| Composition: | ㅅ + ㅜ |
| ← 숗 [U+C217] | Hangul Syllables | 숙 → [U+C219] |
수숙숚숛순숝숞 숟술숡숢숣숤숥 숦숧숨숩숪숫숬 숭숮숯숰숱숲숳 :
| 쇼 ← | → 숴 |

## Korean
### Etymology 1

Sino-Korean word from 手 (“hand, way”), from the Middle Korean reading 슈〮 (Yale: syú). However, the dependent noun is usually not written in hanja.
The word somewhat displaced the native dependent noun 줄 (jul, “fact, ability”).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
** Audio:(file)
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Dependent noun

수 • (su) (usually no hanja; sometimes 手)
* (after verbal or adjectival adnominals) way, means, possibility, ability; used to express ability, in constructions equivalent to the English modal "can"
    그러는 수밖에 없겠네.Geureoneun subakke eopgenne.I suppose that's all you can do.(literally, “[I suppose] there is no way but to do that.”)
    움직일 수가 없다.Umjigil su-ga eopda.I can't move.(literally, “I lack the ability to move.”)
    중국을 갔을 수도 있어요.Junggug-eul gasseul su-do isseo-yo.He might have gone to China as well.(literally, “There is also the possibility that he went to China.”)

##### Usage notes

* Some speakers mistakenly believe that the element 수 (su) in the suffix 을수록 (eulsurok, “the more...”) is this dependent noun, but in reality this is a reflex of Middle Korean ᄉᆞ (Yale: so).

#### Noun

수 • (su) (hanja 手)
* (board games) move
    한 수만 더 두면 외통수다.Han su-man deo dumyeon oetongsuda.Just one more move, and it's checkmate.
* (originally board games, also figurative) ability, talent, skill
    최소한 영어는 내가 걔보단 한 수 위야.Choesohan yeong'eo-neun nae-ga gyaebodan han su wi-ya.At the very least, my skill in English is a notch better than hers.

#### Suffix

—수 • (-su) (hanja 手)
* -er; -ist

#### Derived terms

* 꼼수 (kkomsu)
* 외통수 (oetongsu)
* See the hanja entry at 手 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (手, su).

### Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 數 (“number”), from the Middle Korean reading 수〯 (Yale: swǔ).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu(ː)]
* Phonetic hangul: [수(ː)]
** Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
* South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 수의 / 수에 / 수까지Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes low pitch, and heightens the pitch of two subsequent suffixed syllables.

#### Noun

수 • (su) (hanja 數)
* number
    Synonyms: 숫자 (sutja), 개수 (gaesu)
* (less common) destiny, fate (especially a favorable one)
    Synonym: 운수(運數) (unsu)

#### Determiner

수 • (su) (hanja 數)
* a few, several
    수 킬로미터 ― su killomiteo ― several kilometers
    수십 명 ― susip myeong ― several tens of people

##### Usage notes

When used before a numeral, this word is not spaced.

#### Derived terms

* 수없다 (sueopda, “to be countless”)
* 수없이 (sueopsi, “countlessly”)
* See the hanja entry at 數 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (數, su).

### Etymology 3

First attested in the Bullyu dugongbu si eonhae (分類杜工部詩諺解 / 분류두공부시언해), 1481, as Middle Korean 숳〮 (Yale: swúh).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
** Audio:(file)
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Noun

수 • (su)
* (uncommon, usually used as a prefix) male (non-human)
    Synonym: (much more common) 수컷 (sukeot)
    Antonym: 암 (am, “female”)

#### Prefix

수— • (su-)
* male (non-human)
    Antonym: 암 (am, “female”)
* (of objects that fit together) protruding
    Antonym: 암 (am, “concave, curving inwards”)

##### Usage notes

As the relic of the Middle Korean coda /-h/ now lost in Modern Korean, the prefix usually aspirates a subsequent plosive.

##### Derived terms

* 수고양이 (sugoyang'i, “male cat”)
* 수꿩 (sukkwong, “male pheasant”)
* 수나사 (sunasa, “bolt”)
* 수놈 (sunom, “male animal”)
* 수소 (suso, “male cow”)
* 수캉아지 (sukang'aji, “male puppy”)
* 수캐 (sukae, “male dog”)
* 수컷 (sukeot, “male animal”)
* 수탉 (sutak, “rooster”)
* 수탕나귀 (sutangnagwi, “jackass”)
* 수퇘지 (sutwaeji, “male pig”)
* 수평아리 (supyeong'ari, “male chick”)
* 숫기 (sutgi, “assertiveness; confidence”)

### Etymology 4

Sino-Korean word from 水 (“water”), from the Middle Korean reading 슈〮 (Yale: syú).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
** Audio:(file)
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Noun

수 • (su) (hanja 水)
* water, as one of the Five Phases of East Asian cosmology
    Synonym: (in general) 물 (mul, “water”)
    Hypernym: 오행(五行) (ohaeng, “Five Phases”)
    Coordinate terms: 목(木) (mok, “tree”), 화(火) (hwa, “fire”), 토(土) (to, “earth”), 금(金) (geum, “metal”)
* Short for 수요일(水曜日) (suyoil): Wednesday

##### Derived terms

* See the hanja entry at 水 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (水, su).

### Etymology 5

Sino-Korean word from 繡 (“embroidering”), from the Middle Korean reading 슈〯 (Yale: syǔ).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu(ː)]
* Phonetic hangul: [수(ː)]
** Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

#### Noun

수 • (su) (hanja 繡)
* embroidering (in cloth)
    Synonym: 자수(刺繡) (jasu)
    비단에 수를 놓다 ― bidan-e su-reul nota ― to embroider silk

##### Derived terms

* 수(繡)를 놓다 (su-reul nota)
* See the hanja entry at 繡 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (繡, su).

### Etymology 6

Sino-Korean word from 首 (“head”), from the Middle Korean reading 슈〮 (Yale: syú).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
** Audio:(file)
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Counter

수 • (su) (hanja 首)
* A counter for poems.
* (formal) A counter for animals.
    Synonym: (more common) 마리 (mari)

##### Derived terms

* See the hanja entry at 首 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (首, su).

### Etymology 7

Sino-Korean word from 受 (“accept”), from the Middle Korean reading 슈 (Yale: syù).
The sense of "bottom" is orthographic borrowing from Japanese 受け (uke).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
** Audio:(file)
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Noun

수 • (su) (hanja 受)
* (Buddhism, philosophy) vedanā (sensation in Buddhist philosophy)
* (slang) bottom (in a gay sexual relationship); uke
    Synonym: 바텀 (bateom)
    Antonym: 공(攻) (gong, “seme”)
    Hyponym: 공수(攻受) (gongsu)

##### Derived terms

* See the hanja entry at 受 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (受, su).

### Etymology 8

Sino-Korean word from 髓 (“bone marrow”), from the Middle Korean reading 슈〯 (Yale: syǔ).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Noun

수 • (su) (hanja 髓)
* (logging) pith (of wood)
    Synonym: 수심(樹心) (susim)
* (uncommon) bone marrow
    Synonym: 골수(骨髓) (golsu)

##### Derived terms

* See the hanja entry at 髓 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (髓, su).

### Etymology 9

Sino-Korean word from 隋 (“the Sui”).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Proper noun

수 • (Su) (hanja 隋)
* (formal, academic) the Sui, a short-lived Chinese dynasty
    Synonym: 수나라 (Sunara, “the Sui”, usual non-academic term)

##### Usage notes

As with all historical Chinese polities with a single-character name, the Sui are usually referred to with the suffix 나라 (nara, “nation, country”) as 수나라 (Sunara, “the Sui country”) outside of academia.

##### Derived terms

* See the hanja entry at 隋 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (隋, su).

### Etymology 10

Sino-Korean word from 守 (“defend”).

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰu]
* Phonetic hangul: [수]

#### Noun

수 • (su) (hanja 守)
* (historical) From the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, two government offices both belonging to the 정사품(正四品) (jeongsapum, “upper degree of the fourth rank of government”):
** An office supervising court food supplies
** An honorary office given to distant royal relatives

##### Derived terms

* See the hanja entry at 守 for Sino-Korean compounds of 수 (守, su).

### Etymology 11

Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

#### Syllable

수 • (su)
* 水: water
    (eumhun reading: 물 수 (mul su)) (MC reading: 水 (MC sywijX))
* 手: hand
    (eumhun reading: 손 수 (son su)) (MC reading: 手 (MC syuwX))
* 受: accept
    (eumhun reading: 받을 수 (badeul su)) (MC reading: 受 (MC dzyuwX))
* 授: give
    (eumhun reading: 줄 수 (jul su)) (MC reading: 授 (MC dzyuwH))
* 首: head
    (eumhun reading: 머리 수 (meori su)) (MC reading: 首 (MC syuwX|syuwH))
* 守: protection
    (eumhun reading: 지킬 수 (jikil su)) (MC reading: 守 (MC syuwX|syuwH))
* 收: collect
    (eumhun reading: 거둘 수 (geodul su)) (MC reading: 收 (MC syuw|syuwH))
* 誰:
    (MC reading: 誰 (MC dzywij))
* 須:
    (MC reading: 須 (MC sju))
* 雖: although
    (eumhun reading: 비록 수 (birok su)) (MC reading: 雖 (MC swij))
* 愁:
    (MC reading: 愁 (MC dzrjuw))
* 樹: tree; plant
    (eumhun reading: 나무 수 (namu su)) (MC reading: 樹 (MC dzyuX|dzyuH))
* 壽:
    (MC reading: 壽 (MC dzyuwX|dzyuwH))
* 數:
    (MC reading: 數 (MC srjuX|srjuH|sraewk))
* 修: discipline
    (eumhun reading: 닦을 수 (dakkeul su)) (MC reading: 修 (MC sjuw))
* 秀: outstanding, remarkable, escellent
    (eumhun reading: 빼어날 수 (ppaeeonal su)) (MC reading: 秀 (MC sjuwH))
* 囚:
    (MC reading: 囚 (MC zjuw))
* 需:
    (MC reading: 需 (MC sju))
* 帥: commander
    (eumhun reading: 장수 수 (jangsu su)) (MC reading: 帥 (MC srwijH|srwit))
* 殊:
    (MC reading: 殊 (MC dzyu))
* 隨:
    (MC reading: 隨 (MC zjwe))
* 輸: to transport; to send
    (eumhun reading: 보낼 수 (bonael su)) (MC reading: 輸 (MC syu|syuH))
* 獸:
    (MC reading: 獸 (MC syuwH))
* 睡: sleeping
    (eumhun reading: 졸음 수 (joreum su)) (MC reading: 睡 (MC dzyweH))
* 遂:
    (MC reading: 遂 (MC zwijH))
* 垂:
    (MC reading: 垂 (MC dzywe))
* 搜:
    (MC reading: 搜)
* 洙:
    (MC reading: 洙 (MC dzyu))
* 琇:
    (MC reading: 琇 (MC yuwX|sjuwH))
* 銖:
    (MC reading: 銖 (MC dzyu))
* 粹:
    (MC reading: 粹 (MC swijH))
* 穗:
    (MC reading: 穗 (MC zwijH))
* 繡: embroider; gorgeous
    (eumhun reading: 수놓을 수 (suno'eul su)) (MC reading: 繡 (MC sjuwH))
* 隋:
    (MC reading: 隋 (MC zjwe|thwaX))
* 髓: bone marrow
    (eumhun reading: 뼛골 수 (ppyeotgol su)) (MC reading: 髓 (MC sjweX))
* 袖: sleeve
    (eumhun reading: 소매 수 (somae su)) (MC reading: 袖 (MC zjuwH))
* 嗽:
    (MC reading: 嗽 (MC suwH|suwk|sraewk))
* 嫂: sister-in-law; elder brother's wife
    (eumhun reading: 형수 수 (hyeongsu su)) (MC reading: 嫂 (MC sawX))
* 岫:
    (MC reading: 岫 (MC zjuwH))
* 戍:
    (MC reading: 戍 (MC syuH))
* 漱:
    (MC reading: 漱 (MC srjuwH|suwH))
* 燧:
    (MC reading: 燧 (MC zwijH))
* 狩:
    (MC reading: 狩 (MC syuwH))
* 璲:
    (MC reading: 璲 (MC zwijH))
* 瘦:
    (MC reading: 瘦 (MC srjuwH))
* 綏:
    (MC reading: 綏 (MC swij))
* 綬:
    (MC reading: 綬 (MC dzyuwX|dzyuwH))
* 羞:
    (MC reading: 羞 (MC sjuw))
* 茱:
    (MC reading: 茱 (MC dzyu))
* 蒐:
    (MC reading: 蒐 (MC srjuw))
* 蓚:
    (MC reading: 蓚)
* 藪:
    (MC reading: 藪 (MC suwX))
* 邃:
    (MC reading: 邃 (MC swijH))
* 酬:
    (MC reading: 酬 (MC dzyuw))
* 銹:
    (MC reading: 銹)
* 隧:
    (MC reading: 隧 (MC zwijH))
* 鬚: beard
    (eumhun reading: 수염 수 (suyeom su)) (MC reading: 鬚 (MC sju))
* 䳠:
    (MC reading: 䳠)
* 賥:
    (MC reading: 賥 (MC swijH))
* 豎:
    (MC reading: 豎 (MC dzyuX))
* 讎:
    (MC reading: 讎 (MC dzyuw))
* 睢:
    (MC reading: 睢 (MC xjwie|swij|xjwij|xjwijH))
* 睟:
    (MC reading: 睟 (MC swijH))
* 瓍:
    (MC reading: 瓍)
* 宿: sleep; lodging
    (eumhun reading: 잘 수 (jal su)) (MC reading: 宿 (MC sjuwH|sjuwk))
* 汓:
    (MC reading: 汓 (MC zjuw))
* 㻽:
    (MC reading: 㻽)
* 叟:
    (MC reading: 叟 (MC suwX))
* 售:
    (MC reading: 售 (MC dzyuwH))
* 廋:
    (MC reading: 廋 (MC srjuw))
* 晬:
    (MC reading: 晬 (MC tswojH))
* 殳:
    (MC reading: 殳 (MC dzyu))
* 泅:
    (MC reading: 泅 (MC zjuw))
* 溲:
    (MC reading: 溲)
* 瞍:
    (MC reading: 瞍 (MC sew))
* 祟:
    (MC reading: 祟 (MC swijH))
* 籔:
    (MC reading: 籔 (MC srjuX|suwX))
* 脺:
    (MC reading: 脺)
* 膄:
    (MC reading: 膄)
* 膸:
    (MC reading: 膸)
* 陲:
    (MC reading: 陲 (MC dzywe))
* 颼:
    (MC reading: 颼)
* 饈:
    (MC reading: 饈)
* 寿: Alternative form of 壽
    (MC reading: 寿)
* 脩: Alternative form of 修
    (MC reading: 脩 (MC sjuw))
* 穂: Alternative form of 穗
    (MC reading: 穂)
* 峀: Alternative form of 岫
    (MC reading: 峀)
* 竪: Alternative form of 豎
    (MC reading: 竪 (MC dzyuX))
* 讐: Alternative form of 讎
    (MC reading: 讐)
* 濉: Alternative form of 睢
    (MC reading: 濉 (MC swij))

### References

* Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea (대한민국 대법원, Daehanmin'guk Daebeobwon) (2018). Table of hanja for personal names (인명용 한자표 / 人名用漢字表, Inmyeong-yong hanja-pyo).