By James | September 4, 2009
첫술에 배부르랴
cheot sul e bae bu-reu-rya
첫 (Cheot): first
술 (sul): spoonful; alcohol
배(bae): stomach
부르다 (bu-reu-da): to be full; to be pregnant; to be swollen
So you get: Will the first spoonful fill the stomach? The ~(으)랴 ending means will it do/ will it be, in a rhetorical sense. So the gist of the proverb is that you can’t [...]
Posted in Proverbs, korean | Also tagged korean |
By James | September 3, 2009
도토리 키 재기
Do-to-ri ki jae-gi
도토리: Acorn
키: Height
재다: To measure/gauge/survey/weigh, and many others
Adding it all up: ‘Like measuring the height of acorns.”
This is used either when you’re trying to compare ‘apples to oranges,’ or when you are trying to compare two things that are so similar that the differences aren’t even really worth mentioning- like [...]
Posted in Proverbs, food, korean | Also tagged beer, food, korean |
By James | September 2, 2009
급히 먹는 밥이 목에 멘다.
or
빨리 먹으면 체한다.
geup-hi meog-neun bap i mok-e men-da.
급히: hastily
먹는: eaten (as adjective)
밥: rice
목: throat
메다: to choked; stopped up.
In other words, the hastily eaten rice chokes the throat. Or the English proverb that’s usually chosen as an equivalent is: ‘Haste makes waste.’
By James | August 29, 2009
거지도 부지런하면 더운 밥을 얻어 먹는다.
geojido bujireon hamyeon deoun babeul eodeo meogneunda
거지 = beggar
부지런하다 = to be diligent or hard-working
덥다 / 더운 = to be hot (descriptive verb) / hot (adj. form)
밥 = rice (but also is used as meal)
얻다 = to get; to obtain; to win; to receive
먹다 = to eat
But apparently the combination [...]
Posted in Proverbs, korean | Also tagged korean, Rice, seal men |
By James | August 28, 2009
개밥에도토리
kaebap e dotori.
The truth is that I don’t really understand this expression. I’m going to try and get an explanation for it when we start Korean class again on Monday. According to the Naver dictionary, and a few other online sources, it means, ‘an outcast,’ or ‘an ostracized person.’ The literal translation is what I’m [...]
By James | August 27, 2009
밥 먹여 주나?
bap meogyeo juna?
Will the rice fill me up? Or maybe, it won’t fill me up. Apparently, Koreans say this when they are opposing or questioning something that will not benefit them.
By James | August 26, 2009
I’m going to see how many rice proverbs I can find, so here’s another:
배고픈 놈이 이밥 조밥 가리랴.
bae go peun nom i ibap jobap karirya.
Something like: ‘It surely won’t do for a hungry fellow to be picky about this rice or that rice.”
In other words, ‘beggars can’t be choosers,” or, “any port in a storm.”
By James | August 20, 2009
So this is yet another proverb involving ddeok (떡), or rice cakes. Rice cakes are often eaten on special occasions, and at important times of the year. Traditionally, one of the most important times of the year in Korea is when the ancestral rites are performed. I would like to say I have learned something [...]
By James | August 18, 2009
개구리 올챙이 적 생각을 못 한다.
kaeguri olchaeng i jeok saenggak eul mot handa.
This proverb is something like: “Danger past, God forgotten.” Or, “the parish priest forgets that he has ever been a holy water clerk.” I’m not really familiar with either of those sayings, but I get the gist of it. The truth is that [...]
Posted in Proverbs, korean | Also tagged frogs, korean, tadpoles |
By James | August 12, 2009
I have been seriously slacking of late in my Korean studies, and I am quickly losing any ground that I may have gained in the first half of this year. I don’t want to put words in her mouth, but I think Charlotte would tell you the same. After a two-month break, we [...]
