What does the phrase "우이를 잡다" literally mean?

ANSWER: To grab a cow's ear.

The word 잡다 means "to grab," and the word 우이 (牛耳) is a Sino-Korean word (한자어) that literally means "a cow's (牛) ear (耳)." But besides meaning "cow's ear," 우이 can also mean "the leader" or "the head," which seems a little strange to me. Why would "a cow's ear" mean "a leader" or "the head"?

 
Though the phrase 우이를 잡다 literally means "to grab a cow's ear," it translates as "to take the leadership of," "to lead," or "to head." That suggests that grabbing and pulling on a cow's ear is one way to lead the cow around, and that means that the person who is grabbing and pulling on the cow's ear is "the leader." So, maybe that is how the word "cow's ear" (牛耳 우이) came to mean "the leader." In other words, maybe 우이 (牛耳) is just an abbreviation of 우이 (牛耳)를 잡는 사람, which translates as "a person who grabs a cow's ear."

By the way, is it just a coincidence that another Korean word for "a leader" or "a boss" is 우두머리? The pure-Korean word for "head" is 머리, but what does the 우두 in 우두머리 mean? Could it mean "cow's (牛 우) head (頭 두)," and then 머리 is just added for clarity? I don't know, but cows are led around by their heads, and maybe their ears, so being a leader in Korea may be someone who knows how to lead both cows and people.

Finally, the word 우이 (牛耳) is also used in the Chinese idiom 우이독경 (牛耳讀經), which literally means "[in] a cow's ear (牛耳), read aloud (讀) scripture (經)," which would be a waste of time since the cow would not understand what is being read to it. So, it would be like "talking to a brick wall" or "preaching to the wind."

 

Is this guy a good teacher?

ANSWER: Yes

 

How will the Korean language change in the future?

ANSWER: I'm not exactly sure how the Korean language will change, but I suspect that Koreans will continue to change their language in ways that help them to better imitate English expressions, thinking that it will make them sound more sophisticated.

For example, the verb 갖다, which is an abbreviation of 가지다, means "to have" or "to hold," in the sense of to possess something, but Koreans also use it to mean "개최하다," which means "to hold or to have (a meeting)" or "to open (an exhibition)." That seems kind of suspicious to me and makes me wonder if Koreans started using 갖다 to mean "to have or to hold (a meeting)" only after they started becoming interested in learning the English language. Anyway, these days it seems that 갖다 is quickly replacing 개최하다 when talking about "to have a meeting" or "to open an exhibition, fair, or competition." Will Koreans soon start thinking of 개최하다 as one of those words that only pretentious people use? 

 

Which sentence is more Korean: (A) 비가 오는 날씨가 되겠습니다 or (B) 비가 내리겠습니다?

 ANSWER: (B)

(A) translates as "It will become rainy weather," and (B) translates as "It will rain."

As the Ghostbusters might say, "There is something strange happening in the [Korean weather-forecasting] neighborhood." Instead of using simple, easy-to-understand Korean-style sentences, Korean weather forecasters seem to be directly translating expressions used by English-speaking weather forecasters. They may be doing it in an attempt to sound more professional, but it results in more awkward-sounding Korean sentences, especially when they try to squeeze 날씨 상태 (weather conditions) into every sentence.

In his book 우리가 정말 알아야 할 우리말 바로 쓰기, former high school Korean-language teacher 이수열 lists awkward-sounding sentences that Korean weather forecasters are using these days. Many of the Korean sentences seem to be direct translations of sentences used by English-speaking forecasters. The result is that the sentences may translate well into English but sound awkward in Korean.

The (A) sentences below seem to be direct translations of English sentences, which makes them sound more awkward and less Korean-like than the (B) sentences. The English translations are mine.

(A) 오늘은 구름이 많이 낀 상태를 보이고 있습니다.
Today is showing very cloudy conditions.
(B) 오늘은 그름이 많이 끼었습니다.
Today is very cloudy.

(A) 오늘도 맑은 날씨가 이어지고 있는 상태입니다.
Again today, clear-weather conditions are continuing.
(B) 오늘도 날씨가 맑습니다.
Again today, the weather is clear.

(A) 중부지방은 비가 내리고 있는 상태입니다.
The central region is rainy conditions.
(B) 중부지방에(는) 비가 내립니다.
In the central region, it is raining.

(A) 남쪽 바다에서 태풍이 비바람을 몰고 오고 있는 상태입니다.
In the southern sea, the condition is that a typhoon is bringing wind and rain.
(B) 남쪽 바다에서 태풍이 비바람을 몰아옵니다.
In the southern sea, a typhon is bringing wind and rain.

(A) 오늘 아침도 쌀쌀한 기온의 날씨를 보이고 있습니다.
This morning, again, is showing weather with chilly temperatures. 
(B) 오늘 아침도 쌀쌀합니다.
This morning, again, is chilly.

(A) 비구름이 아직도 머물러 있는 모습이 보이고 있습니다.
It is showing an image of rain clouds still remaining.
(B) 비구름이 아직도 머물러 있습니다.
Rain clouds still remain.

(A) 남부지방은 흐린 날씨를 보인 가운데 20mm 안팍의 비가 내리겠습니다.
The southern region shows cloudy weather while about 20mm of rain will fall.
(B) 남부지방에는 20mm 안팍의 비가 내리겠습니다.
In the southern region, about 20mm of rain will fall.

(The problem with sentence (A) just above is that there is no rain without clouds, so it was unnecessary to mention "cloudy weather." It would have been all right to mention the clouds if they had said "cloudy with a possibility of" about 20mm of rain.)

PLEASE DON'T TURN KOREAN INTO TRANSLATED ENGLISH.

Is the Korean word for "a part in one's hair" 가리마 or 가르마?

ANSWER: 가르마 is currently considered the correct word, even though my vintage 1996 Dong-A Korean-English dictionary lists 가리마 instead. 

In my newer 2014 Essense dictionary, however, 가르마 is listed instead of 가리마.

So, sometime between 1996 and 2014, the Korean word for "a part in one's hair" seems to have changed from being 가리마 to being 가르마. And maybe in a few more years, the word will change from 가르마 to 파트 (part), as English becomes more and more a part of the Korean language.

Maybe, they changed the word from 가리마 to 가르마 after they realized that the word 기리마 was already being used to refer to a formal headdress worn by women in old Korea.

What does 나는 좆됐다 mean?

 ANSWER: Well, it is translated below as "I'm screwed," which is said when one realizes that one in a very bad or hopeless situation.

The Korean below is a translation of the first page of the English novel The Martian, which is about an astronaut who is left for dead on Mars. After realizing his situation, the astronaut describes it in a log entry by saying, "I'm screwed," except that in the English novel, he used the "F" word instead. 

The Korean phrase 나는 좆됐다 literally means "I've become a penis," which is the same as saying, "I've become a dick," and in America that means, "I've become an obnoxious jerk," not "I'm screwed."

The Korean slang 좆 됐다 can mean either "to be embarrassed" (망신을 당했다) or "the result is messed up" (결과가 엉망이 되었다), so I think 나는 좆됐다 is supposed to mean, "I screwed up," which means, "I messed up." That meaning is different from "I'm screwed," so I think the Korean translator may have "screwed up" that translation.

UPDATE: On second thought, maybe the translator got the translation right. Afterall, the Korean is 나는 좆됐다, not 내가 좆됐다, so 나는 could possibly mean 내가 있는 상황은, which can translate as "the situation I am in." That means that 나는 좆됐다 could translate as "My situation is screwed up," or more simply, "I'm screwed."

By the way, in the second sentence, shouldn't it be 그것은 instead of 그것이 since the 그것 is referring to the first sentence, which means the first sentence is the topic of the second sentence, and 은/는, not 이/가, are topic markers.

Here is the original English from the book, except that I am using the word "screwed" instead of the "F" word:

I'm pretty much screwed. (아무래도 좆됐다.)
   That's my considered opinion. (그 것이 내가 심사숙고 끝에 내린 결론이다.)
   Screwed. (나는 좆됐다.)

So, that is the beginning of the novel The Martian. 

Is the Korean word for "pillow" 벼개 or 베개?

 ANSWER: 베개

When I first went to Korea in the late '1970s, I thought the Korean word for "pillow" was 벼개 since that was the way most of the Koreans I met at the time seemed to say it. There were some who said 베개, but I thought that was just a regional dialect. Well, I was wrong. Now I know that I got it backwards. 베개 is the correct pronunciation, and 벼개 is not even in my dictionary.

There are two 베다 entries in my Korean-English dictionary. One means "to cut" or "to chop," and the other means "to rest one's head on (a pillow)." The suffix -개 is attached to verb stems and can translate as "a tool," as in 지우개 (an eraser), 덮개 (a quilt), and 깔개 (a rug), so the word 베개 literally means "a head-resting tool," which can translate as "pillow."

I wonder why some Koreans started saying 벼개 for "pillow" instead of 베개. Maybe they were afraid that some people might think that 베개 means "a cutting tool" instead of "a pillow" since the 베다 that means "to cut" is used more often than the 베다 that means "to rest one's head on."

I also wonder why Koreans say 베개를 베다 instead of 머리를 베다. Is it because "head" is already implied in the verb "베다"? Or is it because some people might think 머리를 베다 means "to cut off a head" since that is what 목을 베다 means? Anyway, why say 베개를 베다 instead of 베개에 베다? Is it because the preposition "on" is also implied in the verb 베다? 

So, it seems that the best translation for 베다 would be "to pillow" since 베개를 베다 could then translate as "to pillow a pillow." 

Which is the more traditional Korean expression: "자유를 가진다" or "자유가 있다"?

 ANSWER: 자유가 있다.

So then, why does Article 14 of the Korean Constitution read, "모든 국민은 거주, 이전의 자유를 가진다" instead of "모든 국민에게 원하는 곳에서 살다가 이사할 자유가 있다"?

And why does Article 15 read, "모든 국민은 직업 선택의 자유를 가진다" instead of "모든 국민에게 직업을 선택할 자유가 있다"?

In other words, why does the Korean Constitution read, "Every Korean citizen (모든 국민은) . . . has the right to (자유를 가진다)" instead of, "It is the right of every Korean citizen to (모든 국민에게 . . . 자유가 있다"?

Maybe the person or people who wrote the Korean Constitution got advice from American English speakers since "to have the right to" seems like the way most Americans would say it. For example, American cops usually say, "You have the right to remain silent" instead of "It is your right to remain silent."

What does 전말 mean?

 ANSWER: My dictionary says that 전말 means "particulars," "details," "a full account," "the course of events," or "the circumstances," and the following three example sentences are given with the definitions:

• 사고의 전말을 이야기하다.
  "Give a full account of the accident."
  
  
• 전말을 상세히 보고하다.
  "Report all the circumstances in detail."
  
  
• 사직하게 된 전말을 설명하다.
  "Explain the circumstances which led to one's resignation."
  
  

Today, I came across the word 전말 in the following sentence:

• 그가 입을 떼는 순간 사건의 전말이 드러나리라 기대하는 사람들이 많습니다.
  

There was no English translation to the above sentence, but Google translates it as follows:

• "Many people expect that the whole story will be revealed the moment he opens his mouth."
  
  

So, Google translated the word 전말 as "the whole story," which is how I would have translated it because the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the word 전말 was the Chinese character 全 (전), which can mean "whole," "entire," or "complete," and the pure Korean word 말, which besides meaning "a talk," "language," or "speech," can also mean "a rumor," "a report," "news," or "an account." So, if you combined the Chinese character 全 (전) with the pure Korean word 말, it could translate as "the whole story."

However, when I looked up the word 전말 in my Korean-English dictionary, I found that the Chinese characters in 전말 are 顚 (전), which means "to fall down," and 末 (말), which means "end." So, according to my dictionary, the word 전말 literally means "the fall down end." Well, something about that smells fishy to me. 

The Chinese characters that make up the word 전말 do not make sense to me, even after listening to the explanation in the video below. Instead of the word 顚末 (전말) for "the whole story," the Chinese use the word 始末 (시말), which literally means "from the beginning (始) to the end (末)." I like the Sino-Korean word 시말 (始末) better than the Sino-Korean word 전말 (顚末), but if 전말 were a combination of the Chinese character 全 (전), which again can mean "whole," and the pure-Korean word 말, which again can mean "story," then I would like it much better. I wonder if it is just a coincidence that the words 전말 (顚末) and 전말 (全말) could both translate as the same thing.

Does the 고사 (姑捨) in 고사하고 mean "to throw away one's mother-in-law"?

 ANSWER: No.

The Sino-Korean word for "anti-aircraft gun" is 고사포 (高射砲), which literally means "high (高) shooting (射) cannon (砲)." But "setting that aside," this morning, after I had looked up 고사포 in my Korean-English dictionary to confirm the Chinese characters used in it, I noticed the word 고사(姑捨)하고 and became curious about the Chinese characters used in the word. 

The word 고사(姑捨)하고 means "setting aside," but the Chinese characters used for 고사 are the characters for "mother-in-law" (姑) and "to throw away" (捨). That didn't make sense to me. In other words, I couldn't understand how "throwing away one's mother-in-law" could mean "setting aside." So, I looked up the Chinese character for "mother-in-law" and noticed, for the first time, that it can also mean 잠시, which means "a short while" or "a little while."

So, the 고사 (姑捨) in 고사하고 does not literally mean "to throw away one's mother-in-law." It literally means "to throw away for a little while," which can translate as "to set aside for a little while."

What does the 인 in 인이 박이다 mean?

ANSWER: Well, it is the first definition under 인 in my Korean dictionary and is defined as 늘 되풀이하여 배다시피 한 버릇, which can be translated as "a habit formed by almost constant repetition."

And listed with that definition is the idiom 인이 박이다, which is defined as 버릇이 되다시피 깊이 배거나 빠지거나 굳어지다. So, 인이 박이다 can be translated as "To become deeply ingrained or hardened to the point of becoming a habit."

Interestingly, the above 인 is the only pure-Korean 인 listed under "인" in my Korean dictionary, if you do not count the particle 인 or the 인 that refers to the English preposition "in." And the fact that it is the only pure-Korean 인 is probably why it was listed before all the Sino-Korean 인s.

So, basically 인 means "a habit formed by almost constant repetition," but, for some reason, that definition is not listed among the 인s in my Korean-English dictionary. Why?

ANSWER: Maybe because it is not used by itself and is only used in the idiom 인이 박이다, and if that is true, maybe it is not really a pure-Korean word. Maybe, it was originally the Sino-Korean 인 (印), which means "a seal" or "a stamp"?

Now, let's look at the 박이다 part of the idiom. My Korean-English dictionary lists the idiom 인이 박이다 under the second definition of the verb 박이다, which is defined as "to become a habit." But that seems a little odd since 인이 박이다 would then literally translate as "a habit becomes a habit." It makes me think that the only reason 박이다 is defined as "to become a habit" is because of the idiom 인이 박이다. Why not just use the third definition: "to be put into print"? Then, 인이 박이다 could be translated as "a habit becomes imprinted."

Finally, there is also the Korean verb 박히다, which can be defined as "be nailed," "be driven into," "be stuck in," and also "be printed." So, besides having similar pronunciations, 박이다 /바기다/ and 박히다 /바키다/ seem to have similar meanings, but 박히다 is a verb that is more commonly used in Korea than 박이다, which makes me wonder if 박이다 is just a misspelling of 박히다.

And, to add to the confusion, my "Korean Language Example Dictionary" (국어용례사전) shows that the idiom is NOT 인이 박이다 but 인이 박히다.

So, which spelling and pronunciation do Koreans use: 인이 박이다 or 인이 박히다? Well, it seems to depend on the Korean:

Is 야하다 a pure-Korean word?

ANSWER: No, the 야 in 야하다 is the Chinese character 冶 (야), which besides meaning "to smelt" or "to cast," can also mean "to be seductive in appearance." I don't know why the definition in my Korean-English dictionary uses "gaudy" instead of "seductive."

And here is an example of 冶 (야) being used with the meaning "to smelt" or "to cast."

Finally, 冶容 (야용) can literally translate as either "a seductive (冶) face (容)" or "to cast (冶) a face (容)," which means to put on makeup to make one's face more seductive. Korean "kisaengs" (기생 妓生) apparently used to use makeup, and 황진이 was one of the most famous.

What do 나가다 and 나오다 have in common?

 ANSWER: Both words have the syllables 나 and 다 in them.

My Korean-English dictionary lists about 20 different definitions for 나다, but the definition that seems to be missing is the one that can mean both 나가다 and 나오다, which means that 나다, by itself, can mean either "to go out" or "to come out." Luckily, however, my Dong-A New Korean dictionary (동아새국어사전) does list the 나다 with those meanings but claims that is it is an old (옛) usage of the word.

Since I do not like the example sentence in the above definition--because I am not sure what it means--here is the example sentence from my "Korean Language Example Dictionary (국어용례사전):

"길동이 부모를 이별하고 문을 나매 일신이 표박아여 정처없이 행아더니" (고전 - "홍길동 전") 

"After parting with his parents, Kil-dong came out of the gate and wandered alone aimlessly," (Classical Literature: "The Tale of Hong Gil-dong")

NOTE: I hope I got that English translation right. The 매 after the 나 in the above example is a sentence connector, so I think 나매 is similar to saying "나와서."

Some may be wondering, "Why should I learn an old definition for 나다?" Because Koreans still seem to use some expressions that use that old definition.

In Korea, there is the idiom 의가 나다. The 의 in 의가 나다 is an abbreviation of 정의, but which 정의? Is it the one that means "righteousness" or "justice," the one that means "a definition," the one that means "friendship" or "friendly feelings," or the one that means "the exact meaning"?

ANSWER: It's the 정의 (情誼) that means "friendly feelings," which is not as popular as the 정의 that means "justice" or the 정의 that means "a definition." In fact, the 의 (誼) in 정의 (情誼) is not even among the 1800 Chinese characters that Korea used to teach in its middle schools and high schools. It would have been more of a college-level character.

The 誼 (의) in 정의 (情誼) means "right" (옳다), but it can also mean 정분 (情分) and 교분 (交分). 정분 means "a cordial friendship," "affection," or "intimacy," and 교분 (交分) means "friendship," "friendly relations," or "intimacy," so 誼 (의) is the 의 used in the idiom "의가 나다."

Now, what about the 나다 used in the idiom 의가 나다? Is it the 나다 that means 생기다 (to come out," "to grow," or "to spring up")? Or is it that old 나다 that means 나가다 ("to go out")? If it is the 나다 that means "생기다," then the idiom 의가 나다 could translate as "Friendly feelings grow," but if it is the old 나다, then 의가 나다 would translate as "Friendly feelings go out."

Well, as some may have already guessed, 의가 나다 literally means, "Friendly feelings go out," which could be translated as "a loss of intimacy" (친한 사이가 나빠지다) or "to have a falling out [with a friend or relative]." It is similar to saying 의(誼)가 상하다, which is used in the following sentence from my Korean-English dictionary:

"사소한 일로 그 친구들은 의가 상했다."
"A small matter divided the friends." / "They fell out over some trifling matter."

Now, here is an example of the use of 의가 나다 from a book I have:

"형제가 돈 때문에 의가 나서 연락도 하지 않고 산다니 도대체 그게 말이 되는가?"
"Does it make any sense that brothers would live without contacting each other because they had a falling out over money?"

Finally, what would Koreans do without the verb 나다?

Is 방정 a good thing or a bad thing?

 ANSWER: If it is the Sino-Korean 방정 (方正), it is a good thing, but if it is the pure-Korean 방정, it is a bad thing. Besides meaning "square" or "direction," the Chinese character 方 (방) can also mean "honest" or "fair," so since the Chinese character 正 (정) can also mean "honest" or "upright," the Sino-Korea word 방정 (方正) could be translated as either "honest and upright" or "fair and square," which is a good thing. The pure-Korean 방정, on the other hand, refers to "rash or careless behavior," which is a bad thing.

Koreans seem to use the good 방정 (方正) only on special occasions, but they seem to use the bad 방정 quite frequently. Nevertheless, how can you know which 방정 is being used in conversation? Well, one way you can tell is that if 떨다 or 맞다 is attached to it, that's the bad 방정.

So, 방정떨다 means "to act imprudently or rashly," but what word do you use when someone is acting REALLY imprudently or rashly? Then you can say 오도방정을 떨다.

In the following video, the guy is talking and using the expression 오도방정 떨다, which the girl believes should be pronounced 오두방정 떨다," though she never corrects the guy. So, who is right, the guy or the girl?

So, is the girl right or the guy right in the above video?

ANSWER: They were both right. 오두방정 is just the "큰말" of 오도방정, which means that though both words have the same meaning, 오두방정 gives the word a stronger feeling. So, even though 방정, 오도방정, and 오두방정 all essentially mean the same thing, the feeling 방벙 gives off is weaker or smaller than that 오도방정, and 오도방정 is weaker or smaller than that 오두방정."

By the way, the word 발광 (發狂) means "insanity," "madness," or "craziness," but if 오도 or 오두 is attached to 발광 to form 오도발광 or 오두발광, it gives off a stronger feeling of craziness.

In the following video, you can see what people look like when they are acting "imprudently" (오도방정 떨다), and you can also see that the two women who gave the correct answer of 오도방정 got screwed when they were told that their answer was wrong.

And for further reference, there is this video:

What skin color are Koreans?

ANSWER: Apricot?

The Korean word for "flesh" is 살, and the Korean word for "color" is 색, so together 살색 (pronounced 살쌕) means "flesh color," for which Koreans also use the word 살빛. But a problem arose when foreign workers started coming to Korea with skin colors very different from that of Koreans, and some of those foreigners claimed that the word 살색 was racist, and many Koreans agreed, so in 2002, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea decided to replace the color 살색 with the word 연주황색 (軟朱黃色), which literally means "light (軟) orange (朱黃) color (色)." That suggests that Koreans considered their skin color to be "light orange." So, after that, everyone was happy, right? Wrong!

Some Korean grade school kids did not like the new name for the color because it was Sino-Korean and therefore too difficult to remember, so in 2004, they petitioned Korea's National Human Rights Commission to change the color from 연주황색 (light orange color) to either the pure Korean word 살구색 (apricot color) or 복승아색 (peach color). The Commission accepted their argument and decided in 2005 that the color would be called 살구색 (apricot color).

So, in Korea, avoid using the racist word 살색, and if you need a new pet name for your Korean girlfriend, you might try "My Sweet Apricot."

 

Does 시쳇말 mean "dead language," "poetic language," or "popular language of the time"?

ANSWER: 시쳇말 is defined as "그 때에 유행하는 말," which could be translated as "popular [or fashionable] language [or expression] of the time."

시쳇말 is a combination of two words: 시체 and 말, which are connected with a 사이 시옷 (ㅅ). The 말 part of the word can be translated as "language" or "expression," but what does the 시체 mean? My Korean-English dictionary shows three possible choices: 1) "verse style," 2) "dead body," and 3) "the fashion of the day." In the case of 시쳇말, the third choice is the correct one.

 
Besides meaning "body," the Chinese character 體 (체) can also mean "form" or "style," so since 時 (시) means "time," the word 시체 (時體) can literally translate as "the time (時) style (體)."

The Korean video below says that 유행어 and 요샛말 are synonyms of 시쳇말 (時體말), but neither 유행어 nor 요샛말 have the "그때" (that time) in their definitions, so to use 유행어 to refer to "past" popular expressions (유행어)," one would have to say, "그때에 유행어."

The reason I am being so picking about the word 시쳇말 is that I recently came across it while reading a book entitled "내 몸 사용설명서" (YOU, The Owner's Manual). Here is the passage to which I am referring:

In the above paragraph, the writer refers to 꽃미남 (a young man as handsome as a flower) as 시쳇말, which seems a little vague to me. In other words, is the writer is referring to 꽃미남 as "a popular word" these days or in the past? If the writer is referring to 꽃미남 as a popular word these days, then I think it would have been clearer if he or she had written 요샛말 instead of 시쳇말 since 요새 means "recently" or "these days." Or maybe I just do not understand the use of 시쳇말 well enough.

By the way, what is a 시체양반 (時體兩班)?

ANSWER: It refers to rich, successful businessmen.  Already in the Korea of the 1930s, the "new yangban of the time" (시체양반) were the rich capitalists, the people with the money.

In his 1934 novel "고향," the author 이기영 wrote the following: "그는 아주 훌륭한 시체양반이 되였다," which could be translated as, "He has become a respected businessman." In old Korea, businessmen did not get much respect and were not usually called "yangban" (양반).
  

Finally, in the above video, the word 초주검 is mentioned. Since 초 (初) can mean either "first" or "the beginning" and 주검 means "corpse" or "dead body," the word 초주검 can literally translate as "the beginning of a dead body," implying that a person is near death.

What does 용빼다 mean?

ANSWER: "큰 힘을 쓰다," which could be translated as "to use great strength."

By the way, why isn't 용빼다 in the dictionaries I normally use? It isn't in my Dong-A Prime Korean-English Dictionary or my 동아 새國語辭典. It is not even in my giant Si-Sa Elite Korean-English Dictionary (엘리트 韓英大辭典). I thought I had forgotten how to look up words in a dictionary until I finally found the word in a dictionary I hardly ever use.

Finally, in my 국어용례사전 (Korean Sentence Example Dictionary), I found 용빼다 defined as "큰 힘을 쓰다."

There is even a Korean idiom that uses the word: 용빼는 재간이 없다, which I would translate as "to be beyond one's ability to do no matter how hard one tries."

Again, why isn't 용빼다 in my other dictionaries? The first example under the word in my "Korean Sentence Example Dictionary" comes from a book entitled 馬上淚 (마상루), which was published in 1912. So, is the word 용빼다 just too old fashion for modern Korean dictionaries?

Why should you think of the 병 that means "sickness" and "disease" (病) before you think of the 병 that means "bottle" (甁)?

 ANSWER: Because out of the 133 keywords listed under 병 in my Korean-English dictionary there are only 5 that start with the 병 (甁) that means "bottle" but 60 that start with the 병 (病) that means "sickness" and "disease."

Keywords that start with the 병 (甁) that means "bottle":

1. 병 (甁) bottle [under this keyword is listed 병맥주, which means "bottled beer"]
2. 병마개 (甁--) bottle cap
3. 병목 (甁--) the neck of a bottle
4. 병배 (甁--) a bottle-shaped pear
5. 병술 (甁--) bottled liquor

Here are the keywords that start with the 병 (病) that means "sickness" and "disease." By the way, words that start with the "sickness" and "disease" 병 (病) are pronounced with a long vowel sound, so /벼영/:

1. 병 (病) a sickness; an illness; a disease
2. 병가 (病家) a patient's house
3. 병가 (病暇) sick leave
4. 병객 (病客) a sick person; a patient
5. 병결 (病缺) absence on account of (due to) illness
6. 병고 (病故) an illness, a sickness, a disease
7. 병골 (病骨) a sickly person; a feeble person
8. 병구 (病軀) a sick body; ill health; a sickly constitution
9. 병구완(病救援)하다 to nurse (a sick person). [Note: 병구완 was originally pronounced 병구원.]
10. 병균 (病菌) a germ; a virus
11. 병근 (病根) the cause of a disease
12. 병나다 (病--) 1) to get sick; 2) to be out of order, to break down
13. 병내다 (病--) 1) to make a person sick; 2) to put out of order, to cause a breakdown
14. 병독 (病毒) disease germs; the virus poisons
15. 병동 (病棟) a hospital ward
16. 병들다 (病--) to get sick
17. 병력 (病歷) the case history (of a patient)
18. 병리 (病理) the pathology (of a disease)
19. 병리학 (病理學) pathology
20. 병리 해부학 (病理 解剖學) morbid (pathological) anatomy
21. 병마 (病魔) the demon of ill health; (the curse) of a disease
22. 병막 (病幕) a quarantine station (camp); an isolation hospital
23. 병명 (病名) the name of a disease (malady)
24. 병몰 (病沒) death from sickness = 병사 (病死)
25. 병사 (病死) death from disease; a natural death
26. 병사 (病舍) an infirmary; a hospital
27. 병상 (病床) one's sickbed
28. 병상 (病狀) the condition of a patient
29. 병상병 (病傷兵) the sick and wounded (soldiers); the invalid soldiers
30. 병색 (病色) a sick complexion; a sickly appearance
31. 병석 (病席) a sickbed = 병상 (病床)
32. 병세 (病勢) the condition of a disease (of a patient)
33. 병소 (病巢) a focus (a localized area of a disease)
34. 병소감염 (病巢感染) focal infection
35. 병신 (病身) 1) a deformed person; a cripple; 2) a sickly person; a chronic invalid; 3) a stupid person; a fool; a dunce; 4) an incomplete (a defective) thing; an odd set
36. 병신 구실 (病身 --) unworthiness; uselessness; behavior to be expected of a defective
37. 병신성스럽다 (病身--) (be) foolish; silly; stupid; moronic
38. 병실 (病室) a sick room; an infirmary
39. 병약 (病弱) weakness; infirmity; delicate constitution
40. 병와 (病臥) to sick in bed
41. 병원 (病院) a hospital; an infirmary; a nursing home
42. 병원 (病原) the cause of one's illness; the origin of a disease
43. 병인 (病人) a sick person
44. 병인 (病因) the cause of a disease; an etiological cause (factor)
45. 병자 (病者) a sick person; a patient
46. 병적 (病的) morbid; diseased; unsound; pathological; abnormal
47. 병점 (病占) [a fortuneteller) predict (foretell, prognosticate) the course of a disease
48. 병주머니 (病--) a person with many (chronic) diseases; a bag of woes
49. 병중 (病中) during one's illness
50. 병증 (病症) the nature of a disease (an illness)
51. 병집 (病--) 1) a weakness; the trouble with (a person); a flaw; 2) the cause of a disease
52. 병주기 (病--) a sickly person; an invalid
53. 병충해 (病蟲害) damages by blight and harmful insects
54. 병태 (病態) the condition (of a patient)
55. 병통 (病--) trouble (with a thing); malfunction; something wrong (with); a hitch
56. 병폐 (病廢) disablement (deformity) by an illness or disease
57. 병폐 (病弊) an evil; a vice; evil practices; abuses
58. 병해 (病害) blight (농작물의)
59. 병환 (病患) [your, his] disease; illness
60. 병후 (病後) convalescence; the convalescent stage

Besides the 5 병 (甁) that mean "bottle" and the 60 병 (病) that means "sickness" and "disease," there are also 40 keywords that start with the 병 (兵) that means "soldier" or "weapon." That means that those three 병s make up 105 of the 133 keywords in my Korean-English dictionary that start with 병. And of remaining words, only one is a pure-Korean word: 병아리 (a chick). The rest start with one of the following 병:

• 병 (丙) the third; the third of ten Heavenly Stems
• 병 (竝) together; side by side
• 병 (倂) merge; combine

Finally, the 병 in all the keywords are pronounced as /벼영/, except for the words that start with the "bottle" 병 (甁), the "soldier" or "weapon" 병 (兵), and the pure-Korean 병 in 병아리.

Also, for fun, 병아리오줌, which literally means "chick urine," translates as either "a chickenhearted person," "a dull conservative person," or "a stick-in-the-mud," but a better translation would probably be "chicken-poop" but with the S-word replacing poop. Chickens do everything from one hole, including laying their eggs.

REMEMBER: I have only listed the 병 keywords that are in my Korean-English dictionary. My Korean dictionary has a few others. 

How many 되s make a 말?

ANSWER: Ten 되s make a 말 (mal). And since ten 홉s make a 되, 100 홉s make a 말. And, by the way, 10 말s make a 섬, which is a big straw sack. So, five 말s of rice is equal to half a sack (섬) of rice.

섬, 말, 되, and 홉 were measurements used in Korea to measure grains. They are all pure-Korean words. Their Chinese character equivalents are 石 (석), 斗 (두), 升 (승), and 合 (합).

The Sino-Korean word 오두미 (五斗米) literally translates as "five (五) mal (斗) of rice (米)" but is used in Korea to mean "a small salary," referring back to a time when Korean government officials were paid in rice and other grains. Five mal of rice is equal to half a sack (섬) of rice. Imagine trying to live off of that for a year.

By the way, when Sino-Korean words start with the character 五 (오), the 오 is pronounced with a long vowel sound, so 오두미 (五斗米), for example, is pronounced as /오오두미/. Here are other Sino-Korean words that start with of 오 (五), which means the 오 is pronounced as /오오/.

• 오각형 (五角形) a pentagon
• 오감 (五感) the five senses
• 오경 (五經) the five classics (of ancient China)
• 오계 (五戒) the five Buddhist commandments (against murder, theft, adultery, falsehood, and intemperance)
• 오곡 (五穀) the five grains (rice, millet, beans, wheat, and barnyard millet)
• 오관 (五官) the five sensory organs
• 오뉴월 (五六月) May and June of the lunar calendar
• 오대양 (五大洋) the Five Oceans
• 오대주 (五大洲) the Five Continents
• 오륜 (五倫) moral rules to govern the Five Human Relations (of master and servant, of father and son, of husband and wife, of brothers, of friends)
• 오리 (五里) five ri (Korean miles)
• 오리무중 (五里霧中) literally means "five (五) ri (里) in a fog (霧中)" but is used to mean "utter bewilderment."
• 오만 (五萬) literally means "fifty thousand," but is used to mean "innumerable."
• 오만상 (五萬相) a distorted [frowning, wry, puckered)] face; a grimace; a scowl
• 오미 (五味) the Five Tastes (of sour, bitter, pungent, sweet, and salty)
• 오배 (五倍) five times (as many as), fivefold
• 오복 (五福) the Five Blessings (longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, peaceful death)
• 오분 (五分) 1) to divide into five parts, 2) five minutes
• 오색 (五色) the five cardinal colors (blue, yellow, red, white, black); variegated colors
• 오색잡놈 (五色雜놈) a reprobate; a rogue; a scamp
• 오십 (五十) fifty
• 오언절구 (五言絶句) a quatrain with five Chinese characters in each line
• 오열 (五列) the Fifth Column; secret agents
• 오월 (五月) May
• 오일 (五日) five days; the fifth day of the month
• 오장 (五腸) the five viscera (of the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys)
• 오장육부 (五腸六腑) the five viscera and the six entrails (of gall bladder, stomach, small and large intestines, the paunch, the bladder, and the bowels)
• 오채 (五彩) the five colors
• 오체 (五體) the (whole) body; the whole frame; the limbs
• 오촌 (五寸) one's cousin's son (daughter); one's father's cousin
• 오층 (五層) five stories (floors, levels); the fifth floor
• 오행 (五行) the Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth)
• 오현금 (五絃琴) a five-stringed musical instrument; a pentachord

What does 열 일 mean?

 ANSWER: "All work," "all things," or "everything."

The 열 in 열 일 is the pure Korean word for "ten," and 일 is the pure Korean word for "work," but the 열 in 열 일 is translated as "all," not as "ten." Why? Because when you count from 1 to 10 on your fingers, 10 is "all" of your fingers. It is similar to saying 만사 (萬事) or 백사 (百事), which literally mean "ten thousand things" and "a hundred things," respectively, but are translated as "all things." By the way, be sure to put a space between the 열 and the 일 when writing "열 일."

The Korean idiom 열 일을 젖혀놓다 can translate as "to put all work aside," implying that one does so in order to focus on something else. The verb 젖히다, which is pronounced as /저치다/, is a little strange since it has four very different meanings in my dictionary, but the meaning used in the idiom here is the fourth one. If you do not like the verb 젖히다, you can substitute the verb 제치다, which seems to be more popular.

Here are some example sentences from Naver's Korean-English dictionary:

• 그는 내가 어려울 때면 열 일 제쳐 두고 도와 주러오곤 했다.
  He would drop everything else and come running to help me in my hour of need.
  
  
• 나는 열 일을 제쳐 두고 그를 찾아갔다.
  I put aside all my work to go see him.
  
  
• 오늘은 열 일을 제쳐 놓고 잠부터 자야겠어요.
  Today, I am going to sleep before I do anything else.

Did Koreans used to feed their dogs in the morning or the evening?

 ANSWER: Probably in the evening.

개밥 means "dog (개) food (밥)," and a 바라기 is "a small porcelain food dish," so 개밥바라기 literally translates as "a small dog-food dish," but Koreans use the phrase to refer to the planet Venus. Why?

Venus can also be called either "the evening star" or "the morning star," depending on when it appears in the sky. In the early evening, it appears in the western sky and can then be called "the evening star." In the early morning, it appears in the eastern sky and can then be called "the morning star."

Koreans use 개밥바라기 to refer to Venus when it appears in the western sky in the early evening, so that suggests that Koreans normally used to feed their dogs in the evening, probably with food scraps collected throughout the day. Besides 개밥바라기, Koreans also refer to "the evening star" as 어둠별 (dark star), 태백성 (太白星), and 장경성 (長庚星).

The word that Koreans use to refer to Venus when it appears in the early morning sky is 샛별, which is probably an abbreviation of 새벽의 별 (morning star) since 샛바람 means "an easterly wind." Another name for "the morning star" is 계명성 (啓明星), which literally means "opening (啓) bright (明) star (星)," but since "bright star" (明星) is just another name for "morning star," it can literally translate as "opening morning star."

What is the Sino-Korean word for "seasickness"?

 ANSWER: 선훈 (船暈)

The pure Korean word for "seasickness" is 배멀미, which literally means "boat (배) nausea (멀미)," but the Sino-Korean word is 선훈 (船暈), which literally means "boat (船) dizziness (暈)." Interestingly, at least to me, the Chinese word for "seasickness" is 暈船 (훈선), which literally means "dizzy (暈) boat (船)." The character 暈 (훈) can also mean "halo."

By the way, there are not many Korean words that start with 섣, which is pronounced with a long vowel sound, so /서어ㄷ/.

What does 잡아떼다 and 시치미떼다 have in common?

ANSWER: They can both mean "to feign ignorance" or "to play innocent."

잡다 means "to grasp" or "to take hold of," and 떼다 means "to remove" or "to take off," so 잡아떼다 literally means "to grab [something] and remove [it]." So, why can 잡아떼다 also mean "to feign ignorance" or "to play innocent"? In other words, what is the relationship between "removing something" and "playing innocent"?

ANSWER: 잡아떼다 is just another way of saying 시치미떼다, which literally means "to remove a 시치미." But what is a 시치미?

A 시치미 was an identification tag that Koreans who hunted with falcons used to attach to a tail feather of their falcons. The tag identified the owner of the falcon and where its owner lived in case the falcon ever got lost. Anyone who found the lost falcon could then return it to its owner.

However, apparently some people who found a lost falcon would sometimes remove the 시치미 and keep the falcon. If the real owner later came along and asked the person who found the falcon if the falcon had had an identification tag on it, the person who removed the tag would lie and say, "No."

I have read that although 잡아떼다 and 시치미떼다 both essentially mean "to lie," 잡아떼다 is a more determined lie.

Are 강권 (强權) and 강권 (强勸) pronounced the same?

 ANSWER: No.

This morning, I noticed a mistake in my Korean-English dictionary, in regard to the Korean words 강권 (强權), which literally means "strong (强) authority (權)," and 강권 (强勸), which literally means "strongly (强) recommend (勸)." So, what is the mistake?

ANSWER: The mistake is that the phrases 강권발동, 강권정치, and 강권주의 should be listed under 강권 (强權), not under 강권 (强勸).

Some may say, "So? What's the problem? 강권 (强權) and 강권 (强勸) are both pronounced the same, so the underlying Chinese characters would not make any difference in conversation. But the problem is that the words are NOT pronounced the same.

강권 (强權) is pronounced /강꿘/, and 강권 (强勸) is pronounced /강권/, so the phrases 강권발동, 강권정치, and 강권주의 should be pronounced /강꿘발똥/, /강꿘정치/, and /강꿘주의/, respectively.

What happens to "winter bugs" (冬蟲 동충)?

 ANSWER: They turn into "summer grass" (夏草 하초), which essentially means they turn into mushrooms.

In Korea, if a dead bee turns into a mushroom, it is called a 벌동충하초. If the larva of a silkworm turns into a mushroom, it is called a 번데기동충하초.

Cordyceps militaris in Arkansas | Mushroaming - Daniel Winkler's Webpages Dedicated to Mushrooms and Nature Tours

What's the difference between 오호 and 오호호?

ANSWER: One means "Alas!" and the other means "Ha ha!"

오호 (嗚呼) means "Alas!" and is said when something sad happens. 오호호 means "Ha ha!" and is said when something funny happens. Don't get the two confused.

By the way, in China, the idiom 一命嗚呼 (일명오호) means "to die," though it literally translates as "A life (一命), alas (嗚呼)!"

What is the Korean name of the bowl in the photo below?

 ANSWER:

청자양각연화당초상감모란문은구발
靑磁陽刻蓮花唐草象嵌牡丹文銀釦鉢

LINK

What's the difference between 입을 축이다 and 목을 축이다?

ANSWER: One means to drink one's fill of something while the other means to drink less than one would like.

입 can mean either "mouth" or "lips," and 목 can mean either "throat" or "gullet," so since 축이다 means "to wet" or "to moisten," 입을 축이다 literally means "to wet one's lips or mouth" while 목을 축이다 literally means "to wet one's throat or gullet." That means that one needs to drink more to wet one's throat than to just wet one's lips and mouth. Therefore, 목을 축이다 implies that one drinks one's fill of something while 입을 축이다 implies that one does not drink as much as one would like. 

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