What's the difference between 백수 and 백세?

ANSWER: One means "100 years old," and the other means "99 years old."

In the video below, they are celebrating the upcoming birthday of Archbishop Emeritus Yoon Kong-hi (윤공희), whose Christian name is Victorinus Yoon Kong-hi (윤공희 빅토리노). The Korean description of the video says that they are celebrating the archbishop's "100th birthday" (백세 百歲), but the banner on the wall in the video reads: "윤공희 빅토리노 대주교 백수 白壽 감사미사 2022. 8. 27," so they are celebrating his 백수 (白壽), not his 백세 (百歲).

Since the Archbishop was born on November 8, 1924, he would have been only 97 years old when the video was made on August 27, 2022, and 98 years old on his birthday that year. But since Koreans traditionally consider themselves to be 1 year old at birth, the archbishop's Korean age would have been 99 on January 1, 2023 since, instead of on their birthdays, Koreans wait until the start of the new year to add that extra year. So, why would they be celebrating his 100th birthday when his Korean age would be only 99?

ANSWER: They are not celebrating his 100th birthday; they are celebrating his 99th birthday.

The Sino-Korean word 백세 (百歲) means "100 years old," and the Sino-Korean word 백수 (白壽) means "99 years old." Notice that the 백 in 백세 (百歲) is written using the Chinese character 百, which means "100," so since the character 歲 (세) means "years," 백세 (百歲) literally means "100 (百) years (歲)." But the 백 in 백수 (白壽) is written as 白, which means "white," so since the Chinese character 壽 (수) can mean "age," 백수 (白壽) literally means "white (白) age (壽)."  But why does "white age" (白壽) mean 99? Because the only difference between writing the Chinese character for "100" (百) and the character for "white" (白) is the stroke "一" (일), which means "one." So, if you take "one" (一) from 100 (百), you get "99" (白).

The person who posted the video below seems to have mistakenly thought that both 백세 (百歲) and 백수 (白壽)  mean "100 years old," but only 백세 百歲 means "100 years old; 백수 (白壽) means "99 years old."

This is an example of why studying Chinese characters can help people better understand Korean.

Which is correct: 벌서다 or 벌쓰다?

ANSWER: Apparently, now they are both correct.

My 1998 edition of "Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary" defines 벌쓰다 as "be punished; suffer punishment; [of a child] stand in the corner," and the verb 벌서다 is not even listed in the dictionary. So, according to my Dong-A dictionary, 벌쓰다 is a passive verb that means "to be punished," and 벌씌우다 is a transitive verb that means "to punish," including the punishment of having a child stand in a corner.

1998 "Dong-A's Prime" Dictionary

However, my 2014 edition of "Minjung's Essence Korean-English Dictionary" defines 벌쓰다 simply as "to suffer punishment," without mentioning anything about [a child] standing in a corner. Instead, it lists the verb 벌서다 and defines it as the punishment "stand in the corner." In other words, my 2014 Essence dictionary separates the punishment of a child standing in a corner from other punishments. So, if a child or person is punished in any other way besides standing in a corner, the verb 벌쓰다 should be used instead of 벌서다.

2014 "Essence" Dictionary

So, either my Dong-A dictionary got it wrong in 1998 or else between 1998 and 2014, the verb 벌서다 became standardized as the verb that refers to the punishment of "[a child] standing in a corner."

Now, I want to know why Koreans say "wear/write" (쓰다) punishment and "stand" (서다) punishment. Could 벌쓰다 be a reduced form of "쓰는 벌을 받다," which could translate as "to receive a writing punishment"? And could 벌서다 be a reduced form of 서는 벌을 받다, which could translate as "to receive a standing punishment"? So, instead of saying, "벌로 쓰라" ("As punishment, write!") and "벌로 서라" ("As punishment, stand!"), did the teacher just say, "벌쓰라 and "벌서라"?

Not many adults are punished by having them stand is a corner, so maybe the verbs 벌쓰다 and 벌서다 were originally referring to punishments for school children. If a student talked in class, for example, and was told to write 100 times "I will not talk in class" as punishment, could that have been "a writing punishment" (쓰는 벌), and if a student was told to stand in the corner as punishment for something, could that have been "a standing punishment" (서는 벌)? I do not know it that was the origins of the verbs 벌쓰다 and 벌서다; I am just thinking out loud now.

Is the Korean Story Lab website a good way to study Korean?

ANSWER: Judge for yourself.

Korean Story Lab

Is "아는 것으로부터의 자유" a good Korean book title?

ANSWER: No.

There was a fairly popular book published in Korea in 2002 entitled "아는 것으로부터의 자유." I have not read the book, but the title of the book was used as an example in a Lee O-doek (이오덕) book I have that is entitled "우리글 바로쓰기," which is a book on how not to write Korean.

Mr. Lee suggested that a more traditional way of writing the Korean title would be something like "아는 것에서 [자유롭기]," and I agree. In other words, why write 으로부터의 when you can just write 에서? Does stringing a bunch of Korean prepositions together (으로 + 부터 + 의) make the title sound more sophisticated? I don't think so, but that string of prepositions seems to be a popular thing to do in Korea these days, at least back when Mr. Lee wrote his book.

By the way, I wonder how AI is changing the way Koreans write. Hopefully, AI will get rid of silly things like "으로부터의".

Below, I have posted a screenshot of the "Yes24" page where the 2002 book is advertised and a couple of videos talking about Mr. 이오덕: 아는 것으로부터의 자유 | 지두 크리슈나무르티 | 물병자리 - 예스24

Can the Korean verb 빌다 be used to mean "to borrow"?

ANSWER: No, at least not anymore.

I started learning Korean in 1976 and remember learning sometime back then that 빌다 was used to mean "to borrow," and 빌리다 was used to mean "to lend," but apparently that is no longer the case. Today, 빌리다 is used to mean both "to borrow" and "to lean," so now 돈을 빌리다 can mean either "to lean money" or "to borrow money." Therefore, to avoid confusion, it would probably be better to use 돈을 빌리다 to mean "to borrow money" and 돈을 빌려주다 to mean "to lend money." In fact, the tiny little Underwood/Tuttle English-Korean dictionary I bought back in 1976 says that "to borrow" is 빌리다 and "to lend" is 빌려주다.

1975 Underwood/Tuttle English-Korean Dictionary

1975 Underwood/Tuttle English-Korean Dictionary

But apparently, not everyone got the memo because my 1998 "Donga Prime Korean-English Dictionary lists 빌다 as meaning "to borrow" and 빌리다 as meaning "to lend," without mentioning anything about 빌리다 meaning "to borrow."

1998 Donga's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

1998 Donga's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

But in my 2014 "Minjung's Essence Korean-English Dictionary," they finally got it right by getting rid of the 빌다 that means "to borrow" and including the meaning "to borrow" under the word 빌리다. I hope they stop changing things on me.

2014 Minjung's Essence Korean-English Dictionary

2014 Minjung's Essence Korean-English Dictionary

Have things changes in Korea since I first went there in 1977?

ANSWER: Yes. One thing that has changed is that back in 1977, foreigners could impress Koreans by speaking just a few simply Korean phrases. Though I left Korea more than 15 years ago, I suspect that it would take much more than just a few simple phrases to impress Koreans today with one's Korean language skills, especially since Koreans today speak English way better than they did in 1977.

What is a 흰자위?

ANSWER: It depends. If you are talking about an egg, it is the white inner part of the egg, but if you are talking about an eye, it is the white part of the eye. The 흰 part of the word means "white," but I am not exactly sure what the 자위 part of the word means except that it seems to mean either "color" or "part" when referring to eggs or eyes. In North Korea, 자위 is also used to refer to the color of fruit when it starts to ripen, so maybe at one time in the past 자위 meant "color" since it requires a color adjective in front of it for it to have any real meaning today.

In Korea, the white part of an egg is called 흰자위, and the yellow part, or yolk, is called 노른자위. Both 노랗다 and 노르다 mean "yellow," but when talking about the yolk of an egg, you should say 노른자위, not 노란자위. 

When you are talking about the white part of an eye (눈), you should probably say 눈의 흰자위 so that people won't think you are talking about the white part of an egg. Likewise, you could say 달걀의 흰자위 to clarify that you are talking about an egg (달걀), not an eye (눈).

Finally, what does 검은자위 mean? The word 검다 means either "black" or "dark," but when Koreans say 검은자위, they are referring to the colored "iris" of the eye, not to the black "pupil" of the eye. So, the better literal translation of 검은자위 would be "the dark part of the eye" rather than "the black part of the eye," especially since Korean eyes tend to be dark brown, making it harder to distinguish the colored "iris" of the eye from the black "pupil." For the black pupil of the eye, Koreans use the word 눈동자. By the way, 가맣다 or 까맣다 also means either "black" or "dark," but when talking about the colored iris of the eye, you should say 검은자위, not 까만자위.

By the way, instead of 흰자위, 노른자위, and 검은자위, some Koreans say 흰자, 노른자, and 검은자. 

What's the difference between 정형수술 and 성형수술?

ANSWER: One means "surgery (수술 手術) to repair the shape [of something]," and the other means "surgery (수술 手術) to make or form the shape [of something]." The word 정형 (整形) can literally translate as "to repair (整) a shape (形)," and 성형 (成形) can literally translate as "to make or form (成) a shape (形)."

If you break your nose, the surgery you need to repair it is 정형수술, but if you want to change the shape of your nose, the surgery you need to reshape it is 성형수술, though the guy in the video below is recommending that you get a broken nose repaired with 성형수술. The definitions can be a little confusing, but you just need to remember that the Korean phrase for "cosmetic surgery" is 미용성형외과 (美容成形外科), NOT 미용정형외과, despite the example in the definition for 정형 below, which is probably one reason many people get the two confused. The word 외과 also means "surgery." 

By the way, does picking your nose make your nostrils bigger?

ANSWER: No. You would have to pick your nose long and hard for that to happen.

 

What is the difference between 도련님 and 서방님?

ANSWER: Both words are used by married women in Korea to refer to or to address the younger brothers of their husbands. The difference between the two is that if the younger brother of the husband is unmarried, the wife of the older brother addresses the younger brother as 도련님, but if he is married, then she addresses him as 서방님. In the past, Korean women also addressed their husbands as 서방님 and may still do so in a joking way.

Titles and forms of address are very important in Korea, but it seems that Koreans are starting to get a little uncomfortable with some of them, especially Korean women, who wonder why Korean men are shown more respect when they are addressed than Korean women.

In Korea, 처 (妻) means "wife," and 부 (夫) means "husband," so Korean women are starting to wonder why they have to address their husbands' younger brothers as 도련님 and 서방님 while the husbands get to address the younger brothers of their wives as simply 처남 (妻男), which can refer to either a married younger brother or an unmarried younger brother. And the honorific 님 does not have to be attached to 처남.

So, more and more Korean women are asking, "Why can't I just address my husband's younger brother as 부남 (夫男), whether he is married or not, since my husband gets to address my younger brother as 처남 (妻男)?" Personally, I think that is a good question.

When talking to others, when do you refer to your father as 아버님?

ANSWER: After he dies. Until then, you should refer to him as 아버지, and use 아버님 to refer to other people's fathers. You should, of course, use 어머니 and 어머님 in the same way.

"우리 아버님 살아계셨을 때, . . ."
"When my father was alive, . . ." 

What does 한글 literally mean?

ANSWER: "Great (한) Alphabet (글)." It is composed of the 6th meaning of 한 and the 2nd meaning of 글.

By the way, the 한 in 한글 is pronounced with a long vowel sound, so /한:글/ or /하안글/.

What does 잠자리 mean?

ANSWER: It depends. If it is pronounced /잠자리/, then it means "dragonfly," but if it is pronounced /잠짜리/, then it means "bed."

What is the Korean word for "reindeer"?

ANSWER: 순록 (馴鹿), which literally means "tamed (馴) deer (鹿)" and is pronounced /술록/, according to Korean pronunciation rules.

By the way, the Sino-Korean word for "to tame" or "to domesticate" is 순육(馴育)하다. Notice that it also uses the Chinese character 馴 (순), which again means "tame."

What's the difference between 할일없다 and 할일 없다?

 ANSWER: One means "unavoidable" or "inevitable," and the other means "have nothing to do."

할일없다, without a space, is an adjective that means "unavoidable," and 할일 없다, with a space, is a noun + adjective that means "have nothing to do." The 할일 is the noun, and the 없다 is the adjective. Since 할일 is a noun, you can use a subject marker and say 할일이 없다 instead of just 할일 없다.

However, the 할일없다, without a space, usually appears in the dictionary 하릴없다, which represents how it is pronounced. When it is pronounced, the ㄹ in 할 moves over to 일, resulting in /하릴/. Some may ask, "But wouldn't the 할일 없다, with a space, be pronounced the same as the 할일없다, without a space? The answer is, "No." 

If you want to say, "It is unavoidable," you say, /하릴없따/, but if you want to say, "I have nothing to do," you say, /할릴없따/. In other words, the difference in pronunciation is /하릴/ versus /할릴/. The reason the second one is pronounced as /할릴/ instead of /하릴/ is because a ㄴ was added to it to get 할닐, which then changes to /할릴/ because a ㄴ sound preceded by a ㄹ sound changes to a ㄹ sound.

So, if you want to say, 오늘 별로 할일 없어요 (Today, there is not much to do), be sure to pronounce the 할일 as /할릴/.

What does 춘 mean?

 ANSWER: "Spring," of course.

Every word in my Korean-English dictionary that starts with the syllable 춘, except for two (춘부장 椿府丈 / 춘사 椿事), are Sino-Korean words that start with the Chinese character that means "spring" (春). And as far as I know, there are no pure Korean words that start with 춘.  Also, there are only two other 춘 characters (椿, 杶) in my Chinese character dictionary, and they both refer to the same tree, a Toona sinensis, commonly called Chinese mahogany or Chinese cedar. So, if you see a Korean word that starts with the syllable 춘, it is almost certain to be using the 춘 (春) that means "spring."

Here are the words that start with 춘 in my Korean-English dictionary:

• 춘경 (春耕) spring plowing
• 춘경 (春景) spring scenes (scenery)
• 춘계 (春季) spring
• 춘곤 (春困) fatigue in the spring tide; languor which affects people in the spring: "spring fever"
• 춘광 (春光) spring scenes
• 춘궁 (春宮) the crown prince; the Prince Imperial
• 춘궁기 (春窮期) the farm hardship period; the season of spring poverty (shortage)
• 춘기 (春期) spring; the spring season; springtime
• 춘기 (春機) sexual desire
• 춘기발동기 (春機發動期) the age of puberty; adolescence; the period of sexual awakening
• 춘난 (春暖) spring warmth; genial (balmy) weather of spring
• 춘뢰 (春雷) spring thunder
• 춘맥 (春麥) early (spring-sown) barley
• 춘면 (春眠) drowsiness (fatigue) in the spring; sleep on a spring morning
• 춘몽 (春夢) spring dreams; a spring fantasy; an empty dream
• 춘복 (春服) clothes for spring wear; spring wear
• 춘부장 (春府丈 / 椿府丈) your (honored) father
• 춘분 (春分) the vernal (spring) equinox
• 춘사 (春思) spring sentiments (musings); feelings of spring; spring fever, thoughts of sex
• 춘사 (椿事) an accident; a mishap; a disaster
• 춘산 (春山) mountains in springtime
• 춘삼월 (春三月) March of the lunar month
• 춘색 (春色) spring scenery; the vernal beauty of nature; a sign of spring
• 춘설 (春雪) spring snow
• 춘소 (春宵) a spring evening (night)
• 춘수 (春水) spring water
• 춘수 (春愁) spring sadness; melancholy aroused in springtime
• 춘신 (春信) tidings of spring; signs of spring
• 춘심 (春心) spring sentiments; lustful desires
• 춘야 (春夜) spring night
• 춘약 (春藥) an aphrodisiac (dose); a sexual stimulant
• 춘양 (春陽) spring sunshine; the spring sun; the spring season
• 춘우 (春雨) spring rain
• 춘일 (春日) spring day
• 춘잠 (春蠶) spring silkworms
• 춘절 (春節) the spring season; springtime
• 춘정 (春情) sexual (carnal) desire; sexual urge; lust; passion
• 춘초 (春初) early spring; the beginning of spring
• 춘추 (春秋) spring and autumn; age; years
• 춘추필법 (春秋筆法) the guiding principle of Confucius in writing the Annals
• 춘파 (春播) sow in spring
• 춘풍 (春風) the spring breeze (wind)
• 춘하추동 (春夏秋冬) the four seasons; all the year around; always
• 춘한 (春寒) the lingering cold in spring
• 춘화 (春花) spring flowers
• 춘화 (春畵) an obscene picture; a pornography
• 춘화도 (春畵圖) an obscene picture; a pornography
• 춘화현상 (春化現象) vernalization
• 춘흥 (春興) the charms (pleasures) of spring; the spring fever; the lure of spring

Do Koreans pronounce 색연필 as /새견필/ or /생년필/?

ANSWER: They pronounce 색연필 as /생년필/. Why? Because they think it is easier to add an ㄴ sound to the word and say /생년필/ than attaching the ㄱ in 색 to the 연 and saying /새견필/. And /생년필/ does seem to roll off the tongue a little easier than /새견필/. By the way, 색연필 means "a colored pencil."

So, when do Koreans add a ㄴ sound to the pronunciation of their words?

First, the word has to be a Sino-Korean word, a derived word (파생어), or a compound word (합성어). A derived word is a base word with something added to it to make a new word, so, for example "salt" is the base word of "salty," which is a derived word. Or it must be a compound word, which is a word made up of two or more words, such as "sunflower."

Second, the syllable of the word just before the syllable where the ㄴ sound is added must end in a consonant, and the syllable to which the ㄴ sound is added must start with one of the following vowel sounds: 이, 야, 여, 요, or 유. That means that a ㄴ sound is not added to a syllable that starts with 아, 어, 오, 우, 으, or any of the other vowel sounds. And then after the ㄴ sound is added, you must then follow the other rules of Korean pronunciation to get the final sound of the word. So, for example, after you add a ㄴ sound to 색연필 to get 색년필, you then have to follow the rule that says that when a ㄱ is followed by a ㄴ, the ㄱ sound changes to a ㅇ sound, resulting in 색년필 being pronounced as /생년필/. So, the process for 색연필 is 색연필 to /색년필/ to /생년필/.

But sometimes Koreans permit two pronunciations for a word. For example, the Sino-Korean word 금융 (金融), which means "finance," can be pronounced as either /그뮹/ or /금늉/.

So, some of you may now be thinking. "Wow! Korean pronunciation is harder than I first thought." Why do I say that? Because that is what I am thinking.

In the linked song below, are they pronouncing 산토끼 correctly?

ANSWER: 산토끼 literally means "a mountain (산 山) rabbit (토끼)," which refers to a wild rabbit, so the 산 in 산토끼 should be pronounced with a short vowel sound since the 산 for "mountain" is pronounced with a short vowel sound. If you pronounce it with a long vowel sound /사안토끼/, then is means "a live rabbit" (산 토끼) since 살다, the word for "live" or "alive," is pronounced with a long vowel sound.

By the way, the word 산새 literally means "mountain (산) birds (새)," so the 산 in 산새 should also be pronounced with a short vowel sound. In addition, the 새 in 산새 should be pronounced as /쌔/. If you say /사안새/, it means "a live bird" (산 새), and if you just say /산새/, it means "a bought bird" (산 새). So, /산쌔/ means "a mountain bird"; /사안새/ means "a live bird"; and /산새/ means "a bought bird."
Finally, what does 새머리 mean?

ANSWER: My dictionary says it means "spareribs" and is pronounced as /새애머리/. When the 새 for "bird" is the first syllable in a word, it is pronounced with a long vowel sound. This makes me wonder how Koreans say, "bird head." Because even if they say, "새의 머리," it would probably still sound a lot like the Korean word for "spareribs" since most people are probably too lazy to pronounce 의 as /으이/ and just pronounce it as /에/.

What does 눈싸움 mean?

 ANSWER: It depends. If the 눈 is pronounced with a long vowel sound /누운/, then it means "a snow-ball fight," but if it is pronounced with a short vowel sound /눈/, then if means "a staring match."

I'm thinking about writing a book in Korean entitled "눈사람의 침입," which translates as "Invasion of the Eye People." The book will start something like this:

"그 들이 왔을 때, 눈이 내리는 중이었다. 그 후 얼마 지나지 않아 눈싸움이 시작했다. 그들은 '눈보라, 눈보라'하면서 돌아다니었다. 하지만 그들의 눈을 본 사람들이 눈 깜박한 순간에 그 자리에서 죽었다."

"When they came, it was snowing. And it was not long after that when the eye fights started. They would wander around saying, 'Look at my eyes. Look at my eyes.' But people who looked at their eyes would die on the spot as soon as they blinked."

By the way, the 눈 meaning "snow" is only pronounced with the long vowel sound /누운/ when it is the first syllable in the word. When it is not the first syllable in the word, then it is pronounced with the short vowel sound /눈/, like the 눈 for "eye." So, the 첫눈 meaning "the first sight" and the 첫눈 meaning "the first snow of the season" are both pronounced the same way, though my 1992 edition "동아" Korean dictionary says differently.

What does the phrase "우이를 잡다" literally mean?

ANSWER: To grab a cow's ear.

The word 잡다 means "to grab," and the word 우이 (牛耳) is a Sino-Korean word (한자어) that literally means "a cow's (牛) ear (耳)." But besides meaning "cow's ear," 우이 can also mean "the leader" or "the head," which seems a little strange to me. Why would "a cow's ear" mean "a leader" or "the head"?

 
Though the phrase 우이를 잡다 literally means "to grab a cow's ear," it translates as "to take the leadership of," "to lead," or "to head." That suggests that grabbing and pulling on a cow's ear is one way to lead the cow around, and that means that the person who is grabbing and pulling on the cow's ear is "the leader." So, maybe that is how the word "cow's ear" (牛耳 우이) came to mean "the leader." In other words, maybe 우이 (牛耳) is just an abbreviation of 우이 (牛耳)를 잡는 사람, which translates as "a person who grabs a cow's ear."

By the way, is it just a coincidence that another Korean word for "a leader" or "a boss" is 우두머리? The pure-Korean word for "head" is 머리, but what does the 우두 in 우두머리 mean? Could it mean "cow's (牛 우) head (頭 두)," and then 머리 is just added for clarity? I don't know, but cows are led around by their heads, and maybe their ears, so being a leader in Korea may be someone who knows how to lead both cows and people.

Finally, the word 우이 (牛耳) is also used in the Chinese idiom 우이독경 (牛耳讀經), which literally means "[in] a cow's ear (牛耳), read aloud (讀) scripture (經)," which would be a waste of time since the cow would not understand what is being read to it. So, it would be like "talking to a brick wall" or "preaching to the wind."

 

Is this guy a good teacher?

ANSWER: Yes