씨발

Korean

Alternative forms

• 18, 시발 (sibal), 씨팔 (ssipal), 씨배 (ssibae), ㅅㅂ (sb)

Etymology

From the verb form 씹할 (ssiphal, “who will fuck”), clipped from the phrase 씹할 놈 (ssiphal nom, “bastard who will fuck”), itself ultimately from 지 어미 씹할 놈 (ji eomi ssiphal nom, “that bastard who will fuck his own mother”) or 니 어미 씹할 놈 (ni eomi ssiphal nom, “you bastard who will fuck your own mother”). See Cho Hang-beom 2019, pp. 399–402. Not attested until recently, but this may be due to prudishness.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɕ͈iba̠ɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [씨발]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	ssibal
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	ssibal
McCune–Reischauer?	ssibal
Yale Romanization?	ssipal

Interjection

씨발 • (ssibal)

1. (vulgar) fuck! shit! [since at least 1960s]

   아, 씨발, 큰일났다.

   A, ssibal, keunillatda.

   Oh, fuck, I'm doomed.

Related terms

(from the same vulgar phrase)

• 니애미 (niaemi, literally “your mother”)
• 니미럴 (nimireol, literally “with your mother”)
• 지미랄 (jimiral, literally “with his mother”)

Descendants

• → Chinese: 阿西吧 (āxiba)