Thursday, March 21, 2024

What do "Ants (螞蟻 마의) Climbing a Tree (上樹 상수)" look like?

ANSWER: Delicious

Why do the Chinese call this dish "Ants (螞蟻 마의) Climbing a Tree (上樹 상수)"?

ANSWER: Because when they hold up the noodles with their chopsticks, they think that the ground beef that is stuck to each noodle looks like ants climbing up a tree (the noodle).

The Chinese have not only interesting food but also interesting food names.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

What does 結束 (결속) mean?

 ANSWER: It depends. In China, 結束 (결속) means "to end," "to finish," or "to conclude," but in Korea, it means "union," "unity," or "solidarity."

I am not sure if it was China or Korea, but one of them has screwed up.


Friday, March 15, 2024

When would a Chinese person say "丫"?

ANSWER: When a doctor is looking in his or her mouth.

Doctor: "Open (張開 장개) mouth (嘴巴 취파) [and] say ( 설) 'Ahh' ( 아)."

Thursday, March 07, 2024

What does the Korean word 콘서트 mean in English?

ANSWER: 콘서트 is the transliteration of the English word "concert."

The Sino-Korean word for "music concert" is 음악회 (音樂會), which can literally translate as "sound" (音) enjoying (樂) meeting (會)," but Koreans also use the transliterated word 콘서트 to mean "music concert."

Though Koreans seem to use word 음악회 (音樂會) to mean just "music concert," they seem to use the transliterated word 콘서트 to mean both "music concert" and "lecture." I wonder why.

Besides meaning "sound," the character 音 (음) can also mean "talk," so 음악회 (音樂會) could also literally translate as "a talk (音) enjoying (樂) meeting (會)," which could describe "a lecture." 

It is interesting that the following video clip from the TV series "Young Sheldon" equates "a concert" with "a lecture" since Koreans sometimes also do that, though usually just in book titles. In fact, I am kind of getting tired of seeing Korean book titles with the word "콘서트" in them.

Below is a photo of a book I have that is entitled 과학 콘서트, which literally translates as "A Science Concert" but which really means "A Science Lecture," a book in which the author explains and answers questions about "Science."

I hope you have enjoyed my brief "concert" on the word "콘서트."