부패

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 腐敗, from 腐 (“rot”) 敗 (“wither”)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈpu(ː)pʰɛ] ~ [ˈpu(ː)pʰe̞]
• Phonetic hangul: [부(ː)패/부(ː)페]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	bupae
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	bupae
McCune–Reischauer?	pup'ae
Yale Romanization?	pū.phay

Noun

부패 • (bupae) (hanja 腐敗)

1. decomposition
2. corruption

   부패한 책임자 ― bupaehan chaegimja ― corrupt boss

Synonyms

• 비리 (非理, biri, “corruption, irregularity”)
• 썩다 (sseokda, “rot”)
• 썩어빠지다 (sseogeoppajida, “be utterly rotten”)

Antonyms

• 청렴 (淸廉, cheongnyeom, “upright”)

Derived terms

• adjective: 부패하다 (bupaehada, “be corrupt”)

Related terms

• 부정부패 (不正腐敗, bujeongbupae, “corruption”)