시도 때도 없다

Korean

Etymology

시(時) (si, “time, hour”, Sino-Korean word) +‎ 도 (do, “even”) +‎ 때 (ttae, “time, moment”, native Korean word) +‎ 도 (do, “even”) +‎ 없다 (eopda, “to be without”): "to be without [a specific] hour or moment [for it to occur]" > "to occur at any moment, to be recurrent".

Compare 한(限)도 끝도 없다 (hando kkeutdo eopda), again juxtaposing a Sino-Korean word with a native synonym for emphasis.

Pronunciation
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ɕʰido̞ t͈ɛdo̞ ʌ̹(ː)p̚t͈a̠] ~ [ɕʰido̞ t͈e̞do̞ ʌ̹(ː)p̚t͈a̠]
  • Phonetic hangul: [시도 때도 업(ː)따/시도 떼도 업(ː)따]
    • Though still prescriptive in Standard Korean, the great majority of speakers (in both Koreas) no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?sido ttaedo eopda
Revised Romanization (translit.)?sido ttaedo eobsda
McCune–Reischauer?sido ttaedo ŏpta
Yale Romanization?sito ttayto ēps.ta

Idiom

시도 때도 없다 • (sido ttaedo eopda)

  1. to be recurrent
    시도 때도 없이 찾아오는 두통 ― sido ttaedo eopsi chajaoneun dutong ― recurrent headache
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