What does 결자해지 (結者解之) mean?

Answer: One who ties a knot must untie it./Solve the problems you yourself create.

결자해지 (結者解之) literally means "One who ties a knot (結者) unties (解) it (之)." In other words, the one who creates a problem should solve it.

結 (결) is the Chinese version of the pure Korean verb 맺다, whose first definition is to knot or to tie [a knot]. In addition, the Chinese character 結 (결) can be used to mean the noun knot (매듭). The Chinese character 解 (해) is the Chinese version of the pure Korean 풀다, which means to untie or to solve.

Besides meaning to knot or to tie, 맺다 or 結 (결) can also mean the following, according to Donga's PRIME Korean-English Dictionary:

• to bear/to produce [fruit/results]: 열매를 맺다 or 결실(結實) / 결과(結果)
• form [a relationship]: 관계를 맺다. or 결교(結交)하다
  form [a friendship]: 우정을 맺다. or 결교(結交)하다
  make [a promise]: 약속을 맺다. or 결약(結約)하다
  make [a contract}: 계약을 맺다. or 결약(結約)하다
  make {a treaty]: 조약을 맺다.
  combine: 둘 이상의 것이 서로 관계를 맺고 합쳐서 하나로 됨: 결합(結合)
• finish, end, conclude [a speech]: 연설을 맺다.
  an epilogue: 끝맺은 말 or 결문(結文)
• harbor, bear, cherish [a grudge]: 원한을 맺다 or 결원(結怨)

By the way, the Korean word for marriage is 결혼 (結婚), which literally means to form (結) a marriage (婚), so you would not say 결혼을 맺다 since the meaning for 맺다 is already in the character 結 (결) in 결혼 (結婚).  Instead, you would just say or write 결혼하다. You could, however, say 백년 가약을 맺다, which is a wedding vow that means to pledge one's eternal love. Actually, the literal meaning is to make a beautiful promise (가약 佳約) for 100 years, so it is not actually for eternity, thank Goodness.

What does "kokutaru" mean?

Answer: cocktail

In a March 1, 2018 article HERE, Bruce K. Grant, author of A Guide to Korean Characters and other Korean- and Korea-related books, writes of his 1980 meeting with General Chun Doo-hwan. This meeting was soon after the coup that year. Mr. Grant was there to "facilitate" communication between an American official and General Chun and his officials. When Mr. Grant arrived (the last to arrive), he was offered a "kokutaru," or cocktail, by a servant. Instead, Mr. Grant asked for and received an orange juice because he was a Mormon and did not drink alcohol. Mr. Grant had first come to Korea in 1960 as a Mormon missionary.

"Kakuteru" (カクテル) is supposedly the Japanese word for cocktail, so it seems Koreans were still using a form of the Japanese word even in 1980.

The combination of "gem" (옥 玉) & "ear" (이 耳) means what?

Answer: earring ( 이 珥)

When 玉 (옥) is used as part of other characters, as is the case with 珥 (이), it is usually written as 王 (왕), which is also the character for king. In other words, when 王 (왕) is used by itself, it means king, but when it is used as part of other characters, it is a variant of  玉 (옥), which means gem or jade.

What does 어언간 (於焉間) mean?

어언간 (於焉間) literally means at (於) some (焉) time (間). It is equivalent to the pure Korean expression 어느새에 (어느 사이에), which translates as in no time at all, before one knows it, or already. It implies surprise at the quick passage of time. The Korean definition for 어느새 is 어느 틈에 벌써, which literally translates as already at some interval.

• 어 (於) is the Chinese equivalent of the Korean 에, which translates as at.
• 언 (焉) is the Chinese equivalent of the Korean 어느, which besides translating as which can also translate as some.
• 간 (間) is the same character used in 시간 (時間), which is the Korean word for time. The character 間 (간) can translate as interval or time.

The adverb 어언간 (於焉間) can be reduced to 어언 (於焉) without any lose in meaning. In fact, today I came across the following sentence:

은나라가 성립된 것이 B.C. 1500년 경이니, 지금으로부터 어언 3500년 前.

 The Yin dynasty (은나라) was established at about B.C. 1500, so it has already been 3500 years.

수신제가치국평천하 (修身齊家治國平天下)?

Morally train (수 修) yourself (신 身), manage (제 齊) a household (가 家), govern (치 治) a country (국 國), [and then] pacify (평 平) the world (천하 天下).

What does 불상사 (不祥事) mean?

Answer: a scandal; a disgraceful affair

The Chinese character 祥 (상) means a good omen, so 불상 (不祥) literally means not (不) a good omen (祥). 사 (事) means affair, matter, or business, so 불상사 (不祥事) literally means an ill-omened (不祥) affair (事)."

By the way, my Korean-English dictionary, "Dong-a's PRIME" (1998), has mistakenly listed 불상 (不祥) as 불상 (不詳), mixing up the character meaning good omen (祥) with the character meaning details or in detail (詳). The word 불상 (不詳) literally means  not (不) detailed (詳), which is often translated as unclear, unknown, or unidentified.

It is not very often that I find a mistake in my Dong-a dictionary.

What does the "새" in 노새 and 버새 mean?

Answer: I'm not sure.

노새 is the Korean word for mule, a cross between a male donkey and a female horse; and 버새 is the Korean word for hinny, a cross between a female donkey and a male horse. A hinny is generally smaller than a mule, probably because a female donkey is smaller than a female horse. Anyway, the syllable 새 is in both 노새 and 버새, so I am curious about the meaning of 새, which in this case I am guessing does not mean bird. I am also curious to know the meanings of 노 and 버.

If anyone knows, has read something, or has any ideas, please let me know.

What's the difference between 나귀 and 당나귀?

Answer: One has longer ears.

Nagwi (나귀) and dang-nagwi (당나귀) both mean donkey, but 당나귀 was a longer eared donkey that was introduced to Korea from China. Nagwi (나귀) is a pure Korean word, but the dang (당) of dang-nagwi (당나귀) is the Chinese character 唐 (당), which was the character used for China's Tang (唐) Dynasty (618 - 907), a time regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization. When Koreans attach 唐 (당) to words, it usually means something like made in China, so 당나귀 could be translated as a Chinese donkey.

Here are other words I have found in my Korean dictionary that has 당 (唐) attached to them:

• 당가 (唐家) - Chinese (唐) house (家), which is another name for canopy (닫집)
• 당계 (唐鷄), 당닭 (唐닭) - a Chinese (唐) [pet] chicken (鷄), smaller than a regular one
• 당관 (唐官) - Chinese (唐) diplomats (官) sent to Korea during the Ming (明) dynasty
• 당궤 (唐机) - a Chinese (唐) desk (机)
• 당금 (唐錦) - Chinese (唐) silk (錦)
• 당금 (唐錦) 아기: a Chinese silk (唐錦) baby (아기), which means a baby as precious as Chinese silk
• 당까마귀 (唐가마뀌) - a Chinese (唐) crow (까마귀)
• 당나귀 (唐나귀) - a Chinese (唐) donkey (나귀)
• 당나발 (唐나발) > 나팔 (喇叭) - a Chinese trumpet, bigger than a regular trumpet
• 당두루마리 (唐 -) - Chinese (唐) scroll (두루마리), made from Chinese rice-paper (당지 - 唐紙)
• 당먹 (唐먹), 당묵 (唐墨) - Chinese ink
• 당면 (唐麵) - Chinese (唐) noodles (麵)
• 당멸치 (唐 멸치) - a Chinese (唐) anchovy (멸치)
• 당모시 (唐모시), 당저 (唐苧) - Chinese (唐) ramie cloth (모시)
• 당목 (唐木), 당목면 (唐木綿) - "Chinese (唐) tree (木)," but 木 refers to a cotton plant (목면 - 木棉), so 당목 (唐木) means Chinese (唐) cotton goods (木)
• 당묵 (唐墨) - Chinese (唐) ink (墨)
• 당본 (唐本), 당책 (唐冊) - Chinese (唐) book (本), a book printed in China.
• 당부악 (唐部樂) - Chinese-style (唐部) music (樂)
• 당뽕 (唐뽕) - Chinese (唐) mulberry (뽕나무)
• 당수 (唐手) - the Chinese (唐) hand (手), a Chinese-style of fighting
• 당승 (唐僧) - a Chinese (唐) monk (僧)
• 당시 (唐詩) - Tang era (唐) poetry (詩)
• 당악 (唐樂) - Tang era (唐) music (樂)
• 당악기 (唐樂器) - Tang era (唐) musical (樂) instruments (器)
• 당연 (唐硯) - Chinese (唐) inkstone (硯)
• 당옴 (唐옴) - Chinese (唐) scabies (옴), old name for "syphilis"
• 당음 (唐音) - Tang (唐) sound (音), another name for Tang era poetry
• 당의 (唐衣) - Chinese-style (唐) clothes (衣) for women during the Joseon Dynasty 
• 당재 (唐材) - Chinese (唐) medicine (약재 - 藥材), which seems to be another name for 한약 (漢藥), Chinese medicine. By the way, 漢 (한) is another character that means Chinese, as in 한자 (漢字), Chinese characters
• 당저 (唐苧) - Chinese (唐) ramie (苧)
• 당지 (唐紙) - Chinese (唐) paper (紙), or rice-paper
• 당창 (唐瘡) - Chinese (唐) boils (瘡), another name for syphilis (창병 - 瘡病)/(매독 - 梅毒)
• 당청 (唐靑) - a Chinese (唐) blue (靑) dye
• 당체 (唐體) - the Chinese (唐) handwriting style (書體 - 서체) for Chinese characters, another name for 명조체 (明朝體)--the Ming (명 - 明) Dynasty (조 - 朝) writing style (체 - 體)
• 당초문 (唐草紋) - Chinese (唐) grass (草) pattern (紋), which looks a tangle of vines
• 당추자 (唐楸子) - a Chinese (唐) walnut (楸子)
• 당콩 (唐콩) - Chinese (唐) bean (콩) or kidney bean, not a 땅콩 (peanut)
• 당태 (唐태) - Chinese (唐) cotton (태)
• 당판 (唐板) - a Chinese (唐) publication (板)
• 당포 (唐布) - Chinese (唐) hemp cloth (布)
• 당피리 (唐피리) - Chinese (唐) flute (피리)
• 당필 (唐筆) - Chinese (唐) writing brush (筆)
• 당학 (唐學) - Chinese (唐) studies (學)
• 당항라 (唐亢羅) - Chinese (唐) sheer silk (亢羅)
• 당홍 (唐紅) - Chinese (唐) red (紅) dye
• 당화 (唐劃) - Tang era (唐) painting (劃) or simply a Chinese painting
• 당황 (唐黃) - Chinese (唐) yellow (黃), which was an old word for matches

Why would a Korean woman named 말숙 probably have a sister?

The Chinese character 淑 (숙) is pronounced "sook" in Korean and means clear, pure, or virtuous. For example, 숙녀 (淑女) means a lady, and 정숙 (貞淑) means chaste or virtuous, so many Korean parents have used 淑 (숙) as one of the usually two characters used to create the names of daughters.

Han Moo-sook (한무숙 - 韓戊淑), for example, was a famous Korean female writer who lived from 1918 until 1993. She had an elder brother named Han Bok (한복 - 韓宓) and a younger sister named Han Mal-sook (한말숙 - 韓末淑), who was also a writer. The younger sister's name, 말숙 (末淑), means "the last (末) Sook (淑)," which implies the last daughter since 淑 (숙) is a common character used in the names of daughters.

If Korean parents name a daughter 말숙 (末淑), it means they want no more daughters, but it also implies the parents are disappointed they had another daughter instead of a son, which is why I would never name a daughter 말숙 (末淑).

What does 토설 (吐舌) mean?

토설 (吐舌) literally means "spit/vomit (吐) [one's] tongue (舌)," but it seems to have been the Sino-Korean equivalent of 혀를 차다, which usually translates as click one's tongue, a sign of disapproval in Korea. The sound associated with Korean tongue-clicking is 쯧쯧, which can be placed in front of 혀를 차다 in written Korean for the onomatopoeic effect.

I used to hear a lot of tongue-clicking, or teeth-sucking, in the 1980s when I would walk down the sidewalks of Korea past a group of Korean men, usually older men. The clicking or sucking was so exaggerated that I suspected it was done to show their disapproval of me, a foreigner walking down their streets. By the time I left Korea in 2010, I hardly heard any tongue-clicking, possibly because by then there were so many foreigners walking the streets of Korea that it would have been a burden to try to click at all of them, or more probably because Koreans were just more accepting of foreigners by then.

What does 명약관화 (明若觀火) mean?

명약관화 (明若觀火) is the Korean equivalent of the English expression "as clear as day," which means to be obvious. The Korean literally translates as follows:

[as] bright/clear (明) as (若) looking (觀) [at] fire (火)

What does 물경 (勿驚) mean?

勿 (물) can mean either Do not or without, and 경 (驚) means surprise or surprised, so it seems 물경 could mean either Do not be surprised or without surprise. However, according to my Korean-English dictionary, 물경 translates as surprisingly (enough) or It will surprise you (but), which somewhat confusingly suggests that 물경 should be translated as Don't be surprised. In fact, my Korean-Korean dictionary explains it more clearly:

[놀라지 말라는 뜻으로] 엄청난 것을 말할 때 앞세워 이르는 말.

[With the meaning of "Don't be surprised"], it is said before saying something that is surprising or absurd.

Even though it literally translates as "Don't be surprised, [but]," the adverb "surprisingly" seems to be a better translation these days. Here is the example sentence from my Korean-English dictionary:

쌓인 빚이 물경 100만 원이었다.

The debt went on increasing, reaching at last a surprising amount of one million won. 

I am not sure how often 물경 is used these days, but, instead, I use the adverb 놀랍게도, which seems to be the pure Korean substitute.