Monday, August 17, 2009

What does 빌린 것이 없다 mean?

빌리다 can mean both "to borrow" and "to loan," so Koreans frequently distinguish the two by saying 빌려 오다 or 빌려 받다 for "to borrow" and 빌려 주다 for "to loan." However, in the case of 빌린 것이 없다, one would have to look for other clues in a sentence to figure out its meaning. See the following examples:
  • 나한테 빌린 것이 없다.
    (You) have loaned nothing to me.
  • 나한테서 빌린 것이 없다.
    (You) have borrowed nothing from me.
  • 너한테 빌린 것이 없다.
    (I) have loaned nothing to you.
  • 너한테서 빌린 것이 없다.
    (I) have borrowed nothing from you.

The fact that Koreans use the same word for both "to loan" and "to borrow" is the most likely reason they frequently misuse "loan" and "borrow" when they speak English.

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