# 누나
## Korean
### Etymology

Contracted from 누이 (nu'i, “sister of a male”) +‎ 님 (-nim, honorific) +‎ 아 (-a, “hey”, vocative particle), ultimately from pre-Middle Korean */nup/ "sister" or similar; see 누이 (nu'i) for more. The phonologically conservative Gyeongsang and Yukjin dialects conserve the original /p~b/ in this word.
Korean colloquial family terms commonly stem from a fused vocative. See Category:Korean terms suffixed with -아 (vocative).

### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [ˈnu(ː)na̠]
* Phonetic hangul: [누(ː)나]
** Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
* South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 누나의 / 누나에 / 누나까지Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch only on the first syllable, and lowers the pitch of subsequent suffixes.

### Noun

누나 • (nuna)
* older sister of a male
    Synonym: (honorific) 누님 (nunim)
    Coordinate term: 형 (hyeong)
* (men's speech, in informal friendly settings) somewhat older female friend or acquaintance
    그 누나랑 나랑 나이 차이가 두 살이지?geu nuna-rang na-rang nai chai-ga du sar-iji?The age difference between her and me is two years, right?
    그 누나가 나한테 너무 잘 해 줬어.Geu nuna-ga na-hante neomu jal hae jwosseo.She helped me so much.

#### Usage notes

This term is used as a de facto second-person pronoun by men to address both older sisters and unrelated women of somewhat older age. This is because Korean does not permit the use of true second-person pronouns towards a social superior. See 너#Usage notes for more.

#### Synonyms

Historical and regional synonyms of 누나 (nuna, “older sister of a male”) :
| view map; ||||
| Group | Region | Location | Words |
| Standardised forms | South Korean Standard Language | South Korean Standard Language | 누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.) |
| Standardised forms | North Korean Cultured Language | North Korean Cultured Language | 누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.) |
| Historical forms | Middle Korean | Middle Korean | 누의 (nwùùy) (also y.) |
| Historical forms | Early Modern Seoul Korean | Early Modern Seoul Korean | 누의 (nuui) (also y.), 누위 (nuwi) (also y.) |
| Central Korean | Gyeonggi | Modern colloquial Seoul | 누나 (nuna), 누님 (nunim) (hon.) |
| Central Korean | Yeongdong | Gangneung | 누우 (nùú), 누 (nù) |
| Central Korean | Yeongdong | Jeongseon | 누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.) |
| Central Korean | South Chungcheong | Seosan | 뉘님 (nwīnim) |
| Central Korean | South Chungcheong | Yesan | 뉘나 (nwīna) |
| Central Korean | South Chungcheong | Hongseong | 뉘님 (nwīnim) |
| Central Korean | South Chungcheong | Boryeong | 뉘나 (nwina) |
| Central Korean | South Chungcheong | Buyeo | 누님 (nunim), 누이 (nu'i) |
| Central Korean | South Chungcheong | Seocheon | 누님 (nunim), 눈님 (nunnim) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | North Gyeongsang | Daegu | 누'부 (nu bu) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | North Gyeongsang | Mungyeong | '누나 ( nuna), 누님 (núnìm) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | North Gyeongsang | Andong | 누 (nu), 누님 (núnìm) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | North Gyeongsang | Gumi | 누'우 (nu u) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | North Gyeongsang | Goryeong | 누'부 (nu bu) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Busan | 누'부 (nu bu), 누임 (núìm) (hon.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Ulsan | 누'부 (nu bu), 누부 (nubu) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Changwon | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Geochang | 누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Hapcheon | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Changnyeong | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'비 (nu bi), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Miryang | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), '누나 ( nuna), 누'우야 (nu uya) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Hamyang | 누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Sancheong | 누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 누우님 (nùúnìm) (hon), 눈님 (núnnìm) (hon.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Uiryeong | 누'우 (nu u) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Hadong | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), 누 (nu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 누님 (núnìm) (hon.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Jinju | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Haman | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Gimhae | 누'부 (nu bu) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Yangsan | 누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Sacheon | 누'우 (nu u) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Goseong | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Namhae | 누'부 (nu bu), 누'우 (nu u) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Geoje | 누'우 (nu u), 누'야 (nu ya) (chil.), 엉가 (éunggà) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | South Gyeongsang | Ulju | 누'부 (nu bu), '누나 ( nuna) |
| Gyeongsang Korean | Diaspora | Harbin | 눈님 (núnnìm) |
| Jeolla Korean | North Jeolla | Gunsan | 누 (nu), 누님 (nunim) |
| Jeolla Korean | North Jeolla | Iksan | 누나 (nuna), 누님 (nunim) |
| Jeolla Korean | North Jeolla | Muju | 누지 (nūji), 누나 (nuna), 성 (seong), 형님 (hyeongnim) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Yeonggwang | 누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Gokseong | 누 (nu) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Hampyeong | 누임 (nūim) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Muan | 누 (nu), 뉘 (nwī), 매씨 (messi) (married) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Gwangyang | 누님 (nūnim) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Jindo | 누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Wando | 누나 (nūna), 누 (nu), 누님 (nūnim) (hon.), 뉨 (nwīm) (hon), 매씨 (messi) (married) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Goheung | 누님 (nūnim), 누나 (nūna) (voc.) |
| Jeolla Korean | South Jeolla | Yeosu | 누나 (nūna), 누님 (nūnim) |
| Pyongan Korean | South Pyongan | Ryonggang | 누이 (nu'i) (unmarried, also y.), 누님 (nunim) (married) |
| Pyongan Korean | South Pyongan | Mundok | 누이 (nu'i) (unmarried, also y.), 누님 (nunim) (married) |
| Pyongan Korean | North Pyongan | Sonchon | 뉘 (nwi) |
| Pyongan Korean | North Pyongan | Ryongchon | 누이 (nu'i), 누님 (nunim) (hon.) |
| Pyongan Korean | North Pyongan | Chosan | 누이 (nu'i), 누님 (nunim) (married) |
| Pyongan Korean | Diaspora | Shenyang | 누야 (nuya) (also y.) |
| Hamgyong Korean | North Hamgyong | Samsu | 누'어미 (nu eomi) |
| Yukjin Korean | Yukjin | Kyongwon | 누비 (nùbì), 누배 (nùbàe) |
| Yukjin Korean | Diaspora | Hunchun | 느비 (nèubì), 느베 (nèubè) |
| Yukjin Korean | Diaspora | Longjing | 누애 (nùàe), 누얘 (nùyàe), 누이님 (nùìním) (married) |
| Jeju | Jeju | Jeju City | 누님 (nunim) |
| Jeju | Jeju | Daejeong | 누님 (nunim) |
| Jeju | Jeju | Gujwa | 누님 (nunim) |
| Jeju | Jeju | Seogwipo | 누님 (nunim) |
| hon.: honorific / voc.: vocative / chil.: childish (exact age range may differ) also y.: refers to any sister of a male, regardless of relative age ||||
| This table is an amalgamation of surveys of speakers mostly born before 1950 and may not reflect the language of younger speakers, which has lexically converged towards the standard Seoul dialect in both North and South Koreas. ||||

#### Descendants

* → English: noona, nuna
* → Japanese: ヌナ (nuna)
* → Mandarin: 怒那 (nùnà), 努那 (nǔnà)

#### See also

* 동생(同生) (dongsaeng, “younger sibling”)
* 언니 (eonni, “older sister of a female”)
* 오빠 (oppa, “older brother of a female”)