고추

고추

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Korean 고쵸 (kwochyo, "black pepper"). Two hypotheses exist regarding its origin:

1. From Japanese 胡 (こ)椒 (しょう) (koshō), in turn from Chinese 胡椒 [호초 (hocho)].
2. From 고초 (苦草, gocho, “bitter vegetable”), acquiring its current meaning after the introduction of chili peppers in the 17th century.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key)[ko̞t͡ɕʰu]
• Phonetic Hangul[고추]

Revised Romanization? gochu Revised Romanization (translit.)? gochu McCune–Reischauer? koch'u Yale Romanization? kochwu

Noun

고추 • (gochu)

1. The chili pepper, often specifically the Korean chili pepper, a variety of Capsicum annuum.
2. (informal, slang) willy, wee-wee, penis

See also

• (penis): 남근 (namgeun), 음경 (eumgyeong), 자지 (jaji), 좆 (jot)
• 칠리 (chilli)