피눈물

Korean

Etymology

(pi, blood) +‎ 눈물 (nunmul, tear).

Pronunciation

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?pinunmul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?pinunmul
McCune–Reischauer?p'inunmul
Yale Romanization?phinwunmul

Noun

피눈물 • (pinunmul)

  1. (literal) blood from one's eyes, haemolacria
  2. tears brought on by extreme agony, grief, or frustration
    • c. 1790, 樂學拾零 (Akhak Seumnyeong) [Tidbits of the Musical Sciences]:
      ()()ᄒᆞ던 피눈물 ᄂᆞᆫ지 만지 / ()()() ᄂᆞ린 프른 젼혀 업ᄂᆡ
      nibyeol-hadeon nar-e pinunmur-i nanji manji / Amnokgang narin mur-i peureun bich-i jyeonhyeo eomnae
      On the day of leaving her, did I shed tears of blood or not? / In the water coming down the Yalu, I see not a shade of blue
    • 2011, “"첫 바깥나들이가 살처분이라니…" [cheot bakkannadeuriga salcheobunirani…"]”, in The Hankyoreh[1]:
      태어난지 2~3밖에 죽여 포클레인 하나 3~4마리 엮어 싣는 보니 강심장 피눈물 나더라
      taeeonanji 2~3jubakke an doen so-deur-eul jugyeo pokeullein hana-e 3~4marissik yeokkeo sinneun geos-eul boni gangsimjang-in jeo-do pinunmur-i nadeora
      When I saw them kill the calves that were barely two, three weeks old and load three or four of them trussed up onto a single excavator, even someone as strong-hearted as me shed tears of blood.
    • 2020, “천일염 가격 상승..생산자들은 울상 [cheoniryeom gagyeok sangseung..saengsanjadeureun ulsang]”, in Mokpo MBC[2]:
      불행히 저희 같이 1차 산업 종사하는 생산자 정말로 피눈물 정도입니다.
      Bulhaenghi-deul-do jeohui-deul gachi 1cha saneob-e jongsahaneun saengsanja-deur-eun jeongmallo pinunmur-i nal jeongdo-imnida.
      Unfortunately, producers who work in the primary industries, like us, are truly on the verge of shedding tears of blood.