ANSWER: ping-pong (乒乓) soldier (兵)
핑퐁 (乒乓) is a Sino-Korean word that refers to the game "ping-pong," or table tennis, even though my Korean-English dictionary does not show it as a Sino-Korean word. Koreans also refer to the game as 탁구 (卓球). Both 핑 (乒) and 퐁 (乓) are sounds that are made when striking objects, similar to the sounds made when hitting ping-pong balls. They both can also be pronounced as "병," so 병병 (乒乓).
The Chinese character 兵 (병) means "soldier," so 병병병 (乒乓兵) or 핑퐁병 (乒乓兵) can literally translate as "ping-pong soldier." I am reminded of the character Forrest Gump in the movie "Forrest Gump."
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| From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary |
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| From Naver's Chinese Character Dictionary |
Never heard of this expression before, it's very interesting!:)
ReplyDeleteThere is no formal expression "ping-pong soldier" (핑퐁병 乒乓兵) that I know of. I just made that up to introduce the Chinese characters 乒乓 (핑퐁), which is the way the Chinese refer to the game "ping-pong" or "table tennis." Koreans use the word 탁구 (卓球) more than 핑퐁 (乒乓), but they don't seem use the Chinese characters with 핑퐁, suggesting that the Korean word 핑퐁 is referring to English pronunciation of the game, not the Chinese.
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