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
No comments:
Post a Comment