What is a good Korean-Korean dictionary for foreigners studying Korean?

ANSWER: I like this one. It is fun and easy.

What does the Chinese word 走水 (주수) literally mean?

 ANSWER: "running (走) water (水)"

So, when the Chinese use 走水 (주수) to mean "to leak" or "to flow," it makes sense, but when they also use it to mean "to catch fire" or "to be on fire," it does not make sense.

This image comes from HERE.

No wonder only 1.3 billion people in the world speak Chinese. 

How do the Chinese say, "I'm not in love"?

ANSWER: Well, at least according to the following song, they say, "I (我 아) have not (沒有 몰유) fallen into (墜入 추입) the river of love (愛河 애하)."

By the way, "the river of love" is an obstacle on the path to enlightenment.

What does 외양간 (喂養間) mean?

 ANSWER: a stable

The 喂 (외) in 喂養間 (외양간) means "to feed [animals or babies], 養 means "to raise [animals or children], and 間 (간) means "a room," so 외양간 (喂養間) literally means "a room to feed and raise animals."

Strangely, however, my Korean-English dictionary does not show 외양간 (喂養間) as a Sino-Korean word, though my Korean-Korean dictionary does. And my Chinese character dictionary (옥편) does not even show the character 喂 (외), which causes me to wonder why since 외양간 (喂養間) is a pretty common Korean word.

Also, only Koreans seem to use 喂養間 (외양간) to mean "a stable." The Chinese word for "a stable" is 馬房 (마방), which literally means "a horse (馬) room (房)" or "a horse house."

And, finally," the Chinese also use the character "喂" (외) to mean "hello," at least when they answer the telephone. So, "喂" (외) is the Chinese equivalent of the Korean word 여보시오.

中(중)國(국)人(인)接(접)電(전)話(화)的(적)時(시)候,(후)先(선)說(설)"喂."(외)

"When the Chinese answer the phone (中國人接電話的時候), [they] first (先) say (說), 'Wéi (喂).'"

How do you say "ideal husband" or "Mr. Right" in Chinese?

ANSWER: 如意郎君 (여의낭군) literally means "ideal (如意) husband (郎君)."

But in Chinese, 對 (대) can mean "right" or "correct," so for "Mr. Right," I was wondering this morning why the Chinese don't just say "對先生 (대선생)," which literally means "Mr. Right."

Well, after wondering that, I decided to search for 對先生 on YouTube and found the following video. And for "Miss Right"? What about 對小姐 (대소저)?

What is a good drinking song?

ANSWER: Well, I like this one.
   

저 먼바다로 떠나던 배

바다의 끝을 향하고 있었지

바람이 뱃머릴 삼키니

오 바람아 더 불어라

우릴 구할 보급선이

설탕과 럼주를 가져와

고래잡이를 마치면

다시 떠날 거야

배가 떠남 후 며칠 뒤

모습을 드러낸 고래

선장은 크게 외쳤지

내가 고래를 잡고야 말겠어

우릴 구할 보급선이

설탕과 럼주를 가져와

고래잡이를 마치면

다시 떠날 거야

Da da da . . . 

선원들이 물에 닿기도 전에

고래의 꼬리는 배를 때리고

쏟아지는 작살을 피해

고래는 잠수했지

우릴 구할 보급선이

설탕과 럼주를 가져와

고래잡이를 마치면

다시 떠날 거야

자율 잃은 슬픈 고래

나쁜 마음은 아니었어도

선장은 결국 고랠자고

고래는 배를 끄네

우릴 구할 보급선이

설탕과 럼주를 가져와

고래잡이를 마치면

다시 떠날 거야

Da da da . . .

수많은 날이 흐르고

줄은 풀렸다 조였다

남은 선원도 적지만

고래는 배를 끄네

우릴 구할 보급선이

설탕과 럼주를 가져와

고래잡이를 마치면

다시 떠날 거야

아직도 그들의 싸움은

끝없이 흘러간다네

보급선은 종종 찾아가

그들을 지켜보지

우릴 구할 보급선이

설탕과 럼주를 가져와

고래잡이를 마치면

다시 떠날 거야

우릴 구할 보급선이

설탕과 럼주를 가져와

고래잡이를 마치면

다시 떠날 거야

 

What does 提筆忘字 (제필망자) literally mean?

ANSWER: "Lift (提) a pen (筆) [and] forget (忘) the character (字)." In other words, "Chinese amnesia."

Writing Chinese characters reminds me of the old saying, "If you don't use it, you lose it." In other words, if you do not write Chinese characters regularly, you will forget how to do it, and this applies even to the Chinese, who, by the way, created the Chinese saying.

Reading Chinese characters and typing them using a computer keyboard are different from writing them by hand. Writing them by hand is harder.

 

What color is a good friend?

 ANSWER: usually bright red, dark brown, or black

The Chinese word for "good friend" is 好朋友 (호붕우). The character 好 (호) means "good," and 朋友 (붕우) means "friend." But I have read that 好朋友 (호붕우) is also Chinese slang for a woman's "menstrual period."

Where do cows learn how to cross a river or stream?

 ANSWER: At Oxford (牛津 우진)

牛 (우) means "cow" or "ox

津 (진) means "ferry" or "ford"

Who is Sofia Shkidchenko?

ANSWER: She is a Ukrainian Yodeler.

 

What does the Chinese phrase 中菜西吃 (중채서흘) literally mean?

ANSWER: "Chinese food (中菜), Western eating (西吃)," which can translate as "to eat Chinese food in the Western way."

That would usually mean that instead of having communal dishes in the center of the table that everyone eats from by using their chopsticks, each person would have his or her own plate or bowl and serving utensils would be used to transfer the food from the communal dishes at the center of the table to each person's own plate or bowl. That way people could avoid sharing spit with each other.

What is the Chinese word for "lunch"?

ANSWER: 中飯 (중반), which literally means "middle (中) meal (飯)."

The Korean word for "lunch" is 점심 (點心), which literally means "dot (點) heart (心)." I don't usually eat "dot hearts." In China, 點心 (점심) is a kind of dumpling that the Chinese pronounce as "dim (點) sum (心)." 

 

Besides "teacher," what does the Chinese word 先生 (선생) mean?

ANSWER: husband

And what does a good wife do for her husband?

ANSWER:

她每天給她先生做早飯 (타매천금타선생주조반)

"She (她) everyday (每天) for (給) her (她) husband (先生) makes (做) breakfast (早飯)."

And here is me just being silly: 

Where have all the good women gone?

And where are all the goddesses?

Where's my kitchen Aphrodite,

To cook and clean for me?

Isn't there a beauty with spatula and pan?

I look at my dirty kitchen

And dream of what I need.

I need a housewife.

What is the Chinese word for "flattery"?

ANSWER: 馬屁 (마비), which literally means "horse (馬) farts (屁)," though in China 屁 (비) can also mean "butt." Why?

Because in China 屁 (비) is also used as an abbreviation of 屁股 (비고), which is the Chinese word for "butt," though it literally means "farting (屁) thigh (股)." That suggests that the Chinese consider the "butt" to be part of a person's thighs, the farting part.

 

What is the Chinese word for "tiger"?

ANSWER: 老虎 (노호), which literally means "old (老) tiger (虎)."

兩隻老虎 (양척노호), 兩隻老虎 (양척노호)

Two old tigers, two old tigers

跑得快 (포득쾌), 跑得快 (포득쾌)

Running fast, running fast

一隻沒有耳朵 (일척몰유이타), 一隻沒有眼睛 (일척몰유안정)

One of them with no ears, one of them with no eyes

眞奇怪 (진기괴), 眞奇怪 (진기괴)

Very strange, very strange

    

I am trying to teach myself to read Chinese books and writings using Korean pronunciations instead of Chinese. Why? Because I already know the Korean pronunciations of many Chinese characters and do not want to spend the time to also learn the Chinese pronunciations. If I wanted to learn to speak Chinese, then I would need to learn Chinese pronunciations, but since I only want to learn to read Chinese, I think I can skip Chinese pronunciations and just focus on Chinese grammar. 

 It took me decades to learn to speak Korean, and I do not have decades left to also learn to speak Chinese. 

 Koreans used to write in literary Chinese, and a majority of Korean words are Sino-Korean, which means they are formed from Chinese characters, so by learning to read Chinese I am hoping that I will also learn more about the Korean language. If I were a young man, I would be interested in learning to speak Chinese, but I am no longer a young man.

Who won the Eurovision song contest this year?

ANSWER: Ukraine

 

Why would the Russians be mining cemeteries in Ukraine?

ANSWER: To prevent Ukrainians from burying their dead?
   

How many Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine in the past 76 days?

 ANSWER: 26,650 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine in the past 76 days. That averages out to about 351 dead Russian soldiers for each day of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

• Russian soldiers killed: 26,650
• Russian Tanks Destroyed or Captured: 1,195
• Russian Combat Armored Vehicles Destroyed: 2,873
• Russian Artillery Systems Destroyed: 534
• Russian Multiple Rocket Systems Destroyed (MLRS): 191
• Russian Air Defense Equipment Destroyed: 87
• Russian Aircraft Destroyed: 199
• Russian Helicopters Destroyed: 161
• Russian Vehicles Destroyed: 2,019
• Russian Ships / Boats Destroyed: 13
• Russian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): 398

How many Russian soldiers have been killed in the first 75 days of Putin's invasion of Ukraine?

 ANSWER: 26,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine in the past 75 days. That averages out to about 347 dead Russian soldiers for each day of the invasion. If this rate of death continues, there will be 126,533 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine on the 1-year anniversary of the invasion.

How many Russian soldiers in Ukraine will see their mothers again?

 ANSWER: I don't know, but 25,500 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine in the 73 days since Putin's army invaded there, so they will definitely not be seeing their mothers again. That averages out to 349 dead Russian soldiers for each day of the invasion.

• Russian soldiers killed: 25,500
• Russian Tanks Destroyed or Captured: 1,130
• Russian Combat Armored Vehicles Destroyed: 2,741
• Russian Artillery Systems Destroyed: 509
• Russian Multiple Rocket Systems Destroyed (MLRS): 179
• Russian Air Defense Equipment Destroyed: 89
• Russian Aircraft Destroyed: 199
• Russian Helicopters Destroyed: 156
• Russian Vehicles Destroyed: 1,961
• Russian Ships / Boats Destroyed: 12
• Russian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): 360