{"id":7199,"date":"2021-10-07T03:20:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T08:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=7199"},"modified":"2021-10-07T03:20:16","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T08:20:16","slug":"korean-colloquial-expressions-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/korean-colloquial-expressions-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Korean Colloquial Expressions (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I believe colloquial expressions in any language demand that you use your imagination. A long time ago I had a generous friend who taught me colloquial expressions in English. It was almost 20 years ago, and I still remember how fascinated I was by the brilliance of this particular phrase.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDoes it ring a bell?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ding, ding, ding!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Image by Peggy_Marco on Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A bell rang inside my head. I had never heard such an expression before, and it was instantly engraved in my head. The expression was too sensational to forget, and it still is in my <\/span>\uc5b4\ud718 \ubaa9\ub85d (uh-hwei-mok-lok<\/b>: a lexicon).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Afterward, I was intensely interested in learning \u2018living\u2019 English rather than textbook English. In the same way, expanding colloquial expressions in Korean might open a different world for you. Let\u2019s look at some interesting expressions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \uadf8\ub294<\/span> \uc190\uc774 \ud06c\ub2e4. (son-ee-kue-dah<\/b>: He is generous.)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It literally says that his hand is big. <\/span>\uc190 (son:<\/b> a hand) can have different meanings other than a physical body part. In this case, it refers to a unit of measurement. Each person\u2019s amount of \u2018handful\u2019 is different depending on the size of one\u2019s hand. Therefore, if someone says \uc190\uc774 \ud06c\ub2e4, it means that the person is generous to give things away.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In opposition, <\/span>\uc190\uc774 \uc791\ub2e4 (son-ee-jak-dah<\/b>: the hand is small) is not necessarily an antonym of \uc190\uc774 \ud06c\ub2e4. It is incorrect to say this if you want to describe someone as being stingy. In this case, <\/span>\ud1b5\uc774 \uc791\ub2e4. (tong-ee-jak-dah<\/b>: a container is small) is appropriate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>

    Image by andreas160578 on Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    2. <\/span>\uc7e4 <\/span>\uc190 \uc880 \ubd10 \uc918\uc57c\uaca0\ub2e4. (son-<\/b>jom-bwah-joh-ya-get-dah<\/b>: He deserves to be scolded. He needs a lesson.)<\/span><\/p>\n

    It literally says, \u201cI should need to see his hand.\u201d In this case, a verb of \uc190\ubcf4\ub2e4 is used as an idiomatic phrase. It means to fix or repair. Therefore, when someone says <\/span>\uc190 \ubd10 \uc8fc\ub2e4. (son-bwah-ju-dah<\/b>: to be fixed, repaired), you\u2019d better watch out.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    3. \uadf8\ub294 <\/span>\uc785\uc774 \uc9e7\ub2e4. (ip-ee-jjal-dah:<\/b> he doesn\u2019t have a good appetite.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    It literally says that his mouth is short. <\/span>\uc785 (ip:<\/b> a mouth) can mean something other than a physical body part. In this case, it means an appetite. Although we don\u2019t say <\/span>\uc785\uc774 \uae38\ub2e4<\/b> (<\/span>ip-ee-gil-dah: <\/b>a mouth is long) if we want to say that someone has a healthy appetite.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    4. \uc794\uba38\ub9ac \ub3cc\ub9ac\ub2e4. (jan-muh-ree-dol-ree-dah<\/b>: take an easy way by using petty tricks.)<\/span><\/p>\n

    \uc794\uba38\ub9ac<\/b> (jan-muh-ree: <\/b>a trick) can mean baby hair as well, but, in this instance, \uc794\uba38\ub9ac means a scheme or sly maneuver. <\/span>\ub3cc\ub9ac\ub2e4 (dol-ree-dah<\/b>: swirl, twirl) is a verb that comes after it. This idiomatic phrase could be the teachers\u2019 favorite term when students look for an easy way out.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>

    Image by Couleur on Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    5. \ub4b7\ubd81\uce58\ub2e4. (dwit-book-chi-dah:<\/b> Thanks for the history lesson. Hindsight is 20\/20.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Are you a \u2018late-partygoer?\u2019 then, you \ub4b7\ubd81\uce58\ub2e4. \ub4b7\ubd81 literally means drums that are at the back. \uce58\ub2e4 means to hit. Imagine that you arrive late to a party after everyone has been discussing a controversial subject for a half hour and then you repeat something about the same topic. In English, we say that it is like beating a dead horse.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    6. \ud544\ub984\uc774 \ub04a\uae30\ub2e4.(pil-ruem-ee-gguen-gi-dah:<\/b> I blacked out from drinking last night.)<\/span><\/p>\n

    This could be a useful expression depending on the circumstances. \ud544\ub984 is a film. \ub04a\uae30\ub2e4 means to be cut. Let\u2019s say, you and your boyfriend had a bit too much to drink the night before and he said something he should not have said to you. On the next morning, when you ask him about it, he replies,\u00a0 <\/span>\ud544\ub984\uc774 \ub04a\uaca8\uc11c \uae30\uc5b5\uc774 \uc548 \ub098 (pil-ruem-ee-gguen-gyeo-suh-gi-uk-ee-ahn-nah: <\/b>\u201c<\/b>I don\u2019t remember anything because I blacked out.\u201d) I don\u2019t want to get involved with anyone\u2019s love affair, but it is up to you to give him a benefit of the doubt (or not).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>

    Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images on Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Did you enjoy learning Korean colloquial expressions? What did you think about them? Wasn\u2019t it fun to learn about the stories behind them? To be honest, I went too far when I researched this topic. I still have a lot more to share with you, but they can wait for another time. Remember, learning a language requires passion and patience!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

    I believe colloquial expressions in any language demand that you use your imagination. A long time ago I had a generous friend who taught me colloquial expressions in English. It was almost 20 years ago, and I still remember how fascinated I was by the brilliance of this particular phrase.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDoes it ring a bell?\u201d…<\/p>\n

    Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":7204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,82,2871,11,138,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7199","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-idioms","category-korean-language","category-pronunciation","category-slang","category-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7199"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7208,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199\/revisions\/7208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}