How does "snot" come from 泗(사)?

The Chinese character 泗 has two meanings. One is a "name used for water," and the other is "snot." The character is a combination of "water," 氵(수) and the number "four," 四(사). Though I could understand why the character for water would be used in a character for "snot," I could not understand why "four" would be used, so I decided to research it. Here is what I found out.

Up until sometime about the "Warring States" period, the Chinese character for "four" was four stacked horizontal lines, but because it was often confused with the character for "three," 三(삼), the Chinese started using 四(사) to represent "four." Originally, 四 represented "breath coming out of a nose," but over time that meaning disappeared leaving only the meaning for "four." Therefore, if we think of 四 as a nose and combine it with water, 氵, we get "snot," 泗.

The story of the lying sheep

There is a Chinese character that is written as 詳(상), which means "detailed." The character is a combination of two other characters, 言(언), which means "talk," and 羊(양), which means "sheep." The combination of the characters seems to be referring to "a talking sheep," but what does a talking sheep have to do with the meaning "detailed"? I have no idea, but after a little research, I have found another meaning for 詳 that makes a little more sense to me.

The character 詳 actually has two pronunciations, 상 and 양. The 상 pronunciation carries the meaning "detailed," as I meantioned above, but the 양 pronunciation carries the meaning "lie," as in 거짓말. Though I cannot think of any example where the 양 pronunciation is used, I remember hearing a story a long time ago that may explain why the 詳 character also has the meaning of "lie." However, the story I heard did not take place in China, but somewhere in the United States during the Old West, when indians still roamed the plains.

Here is the story:

A cowboy rides into an indian village after crossing the desert. He and his horse are thirsty. The cowboy rides up to a teepee, where an old indian is sitting out in front with a horse, a dog, and a sheep. The cowboy stops and asks the old indian if he can get a drink of water at his well. The old indian nods his head, "yes."

While the cowboy is drinking, he looks over at the dog lying behind the old indian and asks the indian, "Do you mind if I talk to your dog?"

The old indian replies, "Dog no talk."

Ignoring the indian, the cowboy looks at the dog and asks, "How are ya?"

The dog answers, "Fine."

The indian is shocked because he had never heard his dog talk before.

The cowboy then asks the dog, "How does your master treat you?"

The dog replies, "He is good to me. He feeds me everyday, and lets me sleep in the teepee when it rains. He even takes me down to the river to play sometimes."

The old indian is amazed. He can hardly believe that he had been living with a talking dog all these years.

Then the cowboy looks at the old indian and asks, "Do you mind if I talk to your horse?"

The old indian replies, "Horse no talk."

The cowboy looks at the horse and says, "Howdy?" The horse also replies with "howdy."

Again, the old indian is amazed to hear his horse talk.

The cowboy asks the horse, "How does your master treat you?"

The horse replies, "He is very good to me. He only rides me two or three times a week, and he always wipes me down afterwards. Every morning he takes me to a nearby field where the grass is especially tasty. Yes, he is very good to me."

The old indian is flabbergasted because he never knew that he had a talking horse.

Then the cowboy looks at the old indian and asks, "Mind if I talk to your sheep?"

The old indian sits up straight, folds his arms across his chest, and says in a very clear, stern voice, "Sheep lie."

How about using 姓 to replace 産?

If you have ever wondered why the Chinese are known for being inscrutable, then pay attention because I am about to give you an example.

The Chinese character for "birth" is 産(산). It is a composite of two characters, 生(생) and the abbreviated version of 彦(언). 生 means "birth" or "life," which makes it a logical choice for one of the composite elements, but why in the heck did the Chinese decide to use 彦 for the other composite element?

彦(언) means "a (classical) scholar" or "a learned man." Putting 生 beneath 彦 would seem to imply that a learned man is capable of giving birth. However, no matter how learned a man may be, he cannot give birth, not even a man without whiskers, 彡(삼). Therefore, I think we need to consider replacing this absurd, unnatural character with one that makes more sense. Here is my suggestion.

姓(성) would be the perfect replacement for 産 since it is composed of 女(여), which means "woman," and 生(생), which means "life" or "birth." The combination would imply that a "woman gives birth," which is absolutely true. I cannot think of a better replacement for 産.

Not only is 姓 the logically choice to carry the meaning, "give birth," it would give us an opportunity to find a more logical choice to carry the current meaning of 姓, which is "family name." Afterall, what relationship does "woman" and "life" have with "family name"? When a woman gives birth, doesn't the child usually get the father's family name, not the mother's?

What does the "주" in 재주 mean?

I know that 재주 means, "talent" or "ability." (Here is the Naver dictionary definition of 재주.) What I do not know is why the 주 was added to 재(才)?

재(才) and 재주 mean the same thing, so why is the 주 needed? Regardless of what the Naver dictionary may say, the 주 of 재주 has no Chinese character orgin that I know of, and I have found no pure Korean word or suffix that might explain it. It just seems to be acting as a filler.

Was 주 added to distinguish 재(才) from other 재's, such as 재(財), which means "property"? For example, without 주 we would not know if 재가 있는 사람 means "a man of talent" or "a man of property." However, when we talk about "a man of property," we normally say 재산 있는 사람, so we could say 재(才)가 있는 사람 without causing any confusion.

Maybe 재주 was originally a pure Korean word, and someone back in history just decided to spice up the word by replacing the pure Korean 재 with the Chinese character 재(才)?

I am not going to answer my question because I do not know the answer; I just wanted to pose it.

Does anyone know of any other examples of a non-Chinese-character 주 being attached to other Chinese characters?

What does 지족(知足)하다 mean?

지족(知足) means "contentment," but when I first saw the Chinese characters for this word, I could not understand how "contentment" could be achieved by "knowing one's foot" (知 means "know," and 足 means "foot"). After doing a little research, however, I found that besides meaning "foot," 足(족) can also mean "enough," "sufficient," or "plenty." Therefore, 지족(知足)하다 literally means, "know enough."

It seems that people can find contentment when they know their place in life and are satisfied with what they have.

Of course, none of this explains why the Chinese character for "foot" is also used to mean "enough"?

What does 유명하다 literally mean?

유명(有名)하다 means "famous," but the literal meaning of the word's Chinese characters is "having a name." Koreans also say a person is famous by saying 이름있다, which seems to be a pure Korean translation of 유명(有名).

At one time, did simply having a name make one famous in Korea? I do not know, but we have a similar expression in English, which is, "Make a name for one's self."

What does 좀처럼 mean?

좀처럼 is an adverb that can mean "rarely; seldom; least likely" or " (not) easily; (not) readily." Here is my dictionary's definition:

[여간해서는] seldom; rarely; hardly; scarcely; [쉽사리] (not) easily; (not) readily.

¶ 좀처럼 성내지 않다 be slow to take offense. 문이 좀처럼 안 열린다 The door will not open. 그는 좀처럼 그곳에 가지 않는다 He hardly[scarcely] ever goes there. 그는 일요일에 좀처럼 집에 없다 He is seldom at home on sunday. 그것은 좀처럼 얻기 어려운 기회다 It is a rare chance.／(일생 단 한번의) It is the chance of a lifetime. 그런 사람은 좀처럼 없다 He is one in a thousand. 그는 좀처럼 승낙하지 않을 걸세 I don't think he will give a ready consent. 나는 좀처럼 남에게 속지 않는다 I am not easily fooled.

You may notice from the above example sentences that the adverb, 좀처럼, is used with negative sentences, not positive. For more examples, here is a link to the Naver dictionary.

I am writing about 좀처럼 because I do not use it in conversation, but think I should, even though it seems a little awkward to say. I am not sure why it seems awkward, but maybe it is because it has three syllables instead of two? Afterall, the English equivalents "rarely" and "seldom" have only two syllables. Or maybe it seems awkward because it sounds similar to 처음처럼, which means, "like the beginning"? At any rate, from now on, I will try to use 좀처럼 more often in conversation.

By the way, I wonder if 좀처럼 could have possibly come from 조금처럼, which would mean, "like a little"? Is such an expression even possible?

What does 더불어 mean?

더불어 has three meanings, but it usually means "together" (함께). Here is my dictionary's definition:

1 [함께] together; […과 함께] with; together[along] with; in company with; […에 따라서] as; with. ¶ 나이와 더불어 with(the) years／with one's years／as one grows older. 더불어 살다 live together／live under the same roof. 그와 더불어 고락을 같이하다 share joy and sorrow with him. 더불어 운명을 같이하다 share one's fate／cast in one's lot . 시대와 더불어 나아가다 keep pace with[abreast of] the times.

2 [한가지로] alike; equally. ¶ 남녀[노소]가 더불어 men and women[young and old] alike.

3 [상대로 하여] with; against. ¶ 적과 더불어 싸우다 fight with[against] the enemy. 그와 더불어 다툴 필요가 없다 need not quarrel with him.

Notice that 함께 can substitute for 더불어 in all the examples in the first definition, so why do Koreans use 더불어, given that 함께 sounds so much better? Personally, I think they use it to confuse foreigners who are studying Korean. However, maybe foreigners are not the only ones confused since I have seen some Koreans use 더불어 and 함께 together, as in "더불어 함께," which is redundant.

As with 함께, 더불어 is usually preceded by 와 or 과; however, you may notice that it is used without 와 and 과 when it is used to mean "alike," as shown in the second definition.

I cannot rememeber ever hearing 더불어 used in conversation, though I see it all the time in written Korean. I suspect that Koreans like to use 함께 in conversation, and 더불어 in written Korean, possibly in an attempt to sound more intelligent?

What is this guy talking about?

Sometimes, even Koreans cannot understand what Koreans are saying. The following is a transcript of some "city construction designer" talking about a new book on the KBS program, "TV 책을 말하다."The guy is Korean, really.

제가 사실은 이제 이 책에서 저도 상당히 현실을 강조를 하는데 사실은 이 책이 제가 보고 있으면 참 재미있어요. 일본에 사실 92년도에 사실은 뭐 이 책은 시오노 선생님이 일본 사람들에게 얘기하고 싶은 내용을 담았을 겁니다. 그런데 지난 10년을 보면은 일본 같은 경우 잃어버린 10년이거든요. 그런데 여전히 이 책이 나왔어도 여전히 일본은 지리멸렬하고 우리도 여전히 뭐 우리는 그렇게 표현은 안 하겠습니다만. 하여튼 이제 뭐 그렇게 뭐 하여튼간에 저 뭐 근데 그런 이런 얘기가 근데 전 뭐냐면 이 책을 갖다가 지금 진중권 선생님이 얘기하엿듯이 이것이 영웅주의라든가 신화를 꼭 만들려는 것은 아니고 사실은 책을 내용을 보면은 사실은 상당히 저는 현실이 들어가 있다고 생각을 합니다.

What does 바야흐로 mean?

According to my dictionary, 바야흐로 has two meanings. Here is what my dictionary says:

1 [한창] at the height ; in full swing[operation]; [바로] just; really; truly. ¶ 바야흐로 봄이다 Spring is really here.／We are now in the midst of spring. 바야흐로 딸기철이다 Strawberries are now in season. 가보니 바야흐로 싸움이 한창이었다 I found them at the height of quarrel.

2 [이제 곧] about to ; on the point[brink／verge] of ; almost; nearly. ¶ 해가 바야흐로 지려고 하고 있다 The sun is about to sink[set]. 꽃봉오리가 바야흐로 벌어지려고 한다 The buds are just ready to burst. 바야흐로 승리를 위해 나아갈 순간이다 This is the moment to go for victory.

I do not like this word because it is too long and sounds foreign in orgin. In fact, the "로" at the end of the word reminds be of Japanese, for some reason. I have tried to find information on the orgin of this word, but have been unsuccessful. The only thing I can say about it is that when it is used to mean "be about to," it is almost always followed by the "-려 하다" ending.

If anyone has any information on the orgin of this word, I would be interested to hear it.

What are the 7 basic Korean sentence patterns?

I am reading a book that claims there are seven basic Korean sentence patterns. Those patterns are as follows:

1. 주어 + 완전 자동사
   
   지구가 돈다.
   아이들이 논다.
   물이 흐른다.
   꽃이 핀다.
   짐승들이 모인다.
   
   
2. 주어 + 보어 + 불완전 자동사
   
   시골이 도시가 된다.
   물이 얼음이 된다.
   철수가 의사가 된다.
   
   
3. 주어 + 목적어 + 타동사
   
   아이가 젖을 먹는다.
   학생이 노래를 부른다.
   사람이 소를 부린다.
   
   
4. 주어 + 여(탈)격 조사 + 목적어 + 불완전 타동사
   
   형이 아우에게 책을 준다.
   아우가 형에게서책을 받는다.
   스승이 제자에게 은혜를 베푼다.
   제자가 스승께 은혜를 갚는다.
   
   
5. 주어 + 완전 형용사
   
   경치가 아름답다.
   산이 높다.
   곰은 미련하다.
   소금은 짜다.
   
   
6. 주어 + 보어 + 불완전 형용사
   
   세균은 동물이 아니다.
   그 괴한이 도둑임이 틀림없다.
   갑이 을보다 낫다.
   을이 갑만 못하다.
   
   
7. 주어 + (체언 + 서술격 조사)
   
   이것은 꽃이다.
   저것은 나무다.

Here is what the author had to say about the above patterns:

이와 같은 일곱 유형에 종결 · 연결 · 전성(轉成)의 서법(敍法)과, 사동 · 피동의 태(態), 과거 · 과거 회상 · 현재 · 미래의 시제(時制), 다양한 수식법과 우리말의 특유한 존대법을 적절히 적용하면 아무리 복잡하고 다양한 생각도 완벽하게 표현할 수 있다. 이를 잘 익혀 바르게 쓰지 못하고 섣불리 외국어 표현 형식을 흉내 내서 우리말의 우수한 특성을 해치는 짓은 하지 말자.

If we add to the above seven patterns the appropriate endings, conjunctions, or derivatives of mood; causative or passive voice; past, reflective, present, or future tense; any of the various modifiers and the special honorifics used in our language, then we can fully express any of a variety of thoughts, no matter how complicated. Let's become familiar with these patterns and use them correctly, and stop degrading the superior aspects of our language by carelessly imitating the styles of expressions used in foreign languages.

Why have I mentioned the seven basic sentence patterns? Well, I was planning to talk about the following sentence, but have decided to put it off for another time:

나는 어머니보다도 그녀와 같이 다니는 것이 더욱 즐거웠다.

Who is Stephen Revere?

Stephen Revere is one of the hosts of the Arirang TV program, "Let's Speak Korean," Besides being a TV celebrity here in Korea, Stephen has made a name for himself by being the first foreigner (white foreigner?) to receive a master's degree in "Korean Language Education" in Korea. Actually, I think his degree was in "Teaching Korean as a Second Language."

Anyway, tonight, MBC News did a report on Stephen, who has recently published a Korean language textbook for foreigners. If you would like to see the MBC News report, it is right here.

Wow! In front of the camera, Stephen is like a fish in water.

Congratulations, Stephen.

What does 등에 업다 mean?

I came across this long, complicated sentence today, and noticed an expression that I find a little strange. Focus on the part in red.

평론가들의 번지르르한 평을 등에 업고 서점에서 선량한 독자를 유혹하고 있는 수많은 소설과 수필을 보면서 가끔 우리 작가와 평론가들이 독자들을 상대로 부정직한 노름을 하고 있다는 생각을 한다.

Looking in the bookstores at all the novels and essays using the glowing praises of book reviewers to seduce naive readers, I sometimes think that the authors and book reviewers are in cahoots to deal readers a dirty hand.

등에 업다 means "to carry (a person, a pack, etc.) on one's back." One idiomatic meaning of this expression is "to rely on a person's authority, influence, or power." The above quote is using the idiomatic meaning of the expression to say that the authors are relying on the influence of the book reviewers to sell their books.

Okay. I understand the idiomatic meaning of 등에 업다, but does it really make sense? Think about it for a second. The authors are carrying the praises of the book reviewers on their backs. In other words, the authors are the ones carrying the burden, not the book reviewers, right? So if the authors are carrying the burden, wouldn't it be the book reviewers who are relying on the authors, not vice versa?

Okay, so what is my point? Well, I do not have a point, except to say that I find the idiom a little strange.

By the way, the idiom 등에 업다 means the same as 등대다.

What does 놀려 먹는다 mean?

Today, I came across the following expression:

"아이들이 그를 병신이라고 놀려 먹는다. "

The sentence caught my attention because 놀려 먹는다 just seemed a little strange for some reason. I think I have probably heard the expression before, but it still seemed strange. However, one expression I have heard quite often is, 잊어 먹었다, which means, "I completely forgot."

When the ending, 어/아/여 먹다, is attached to a verb stem, it emphasizes the action of the verb. Therefore, one translation of the above sentence might be as follows:

"The children mercilessly tease him, calling him a 'freak.'"

In the above sentence, I used the adverb, "mercilessly," to translate 어 먹는다.

By the way, the expression 잊어 버렸다 means the same as 잊어 먹었다, but 잊어 버렸다 is considered more refined. The ending, 어 먹는다, is considered somewhat crude.

---------------------- Update 1 -------------------------

I am wondering if the above sentence can also be translated as follows?

"The children tease him by calling him 'stupid,' and then eat him."

---------------------- Update 2 ------------------------

If I really wanted to say, without confusion, that "the children eat the guy," I would have to rewrite the Korean as follows:

아이들이 그를 병신이라고 놀려서 먹는다

Notice that I added a 서 to 어 to avoid confusing it with the auxillary connector 어. The phrase 놀려서 먹는다 means "tease and then eat," but the phrase 놀려 먹는다 means, "tease [excessively]."

Always include the 서 with the conjuction 어/아/여(서) to avoid any confusion.

What does "곧 여섯 시가 되겠다 mean?

Which of the following is the more accurate translation of "곧 여섯 시가 되겠다"?

1. "It is almost 6 o'clock."
   .
2. "I think it is almost 6 o'clock."

The answer is Sentence 2.

The pre-final ending -겠 is used to express either one's conjecture or one's volition. If you use it to talk about someone or something else, you are expressing conjecture. If you use it to talk about yourself, you are expressing volition.

In the sentence, "곧 여섯 시가 되겠다," the speaker is talking about "the time," not about him- or herself, which means the speaker is using -겠 to express conjecture. In other words, the speaker is simply guessing (conjecture) at the time. If the speaker had known the time, he should have said one of the following:

• 곧 여섯 시가 된다.
  .
• 곧 여섯 시가 될 것이다.

What does 바람이 분다 mean?

Which of the following would you use to translate "The wind is blowing hard?

1. 바람이 몹시 분다?
   .
2. 바람이 몹시 불고 있다?

Sentence 1 is written in the present tense, and Sentence 2 is written in what could be called the present continuous tense. Since the English sentence is written in the present continuous, one might expect Sentence 2 to be the correct translation, but, in Korean, the present tense can often be used to refer to present continuous, too. In fact, many Koreans might say that Sentence 1 is more natural.

The verb 불다 normally implies a continuing action. In other words, the wind does not just blow a puff and then stop, but continues to blow for a certain period of time. Therefore, the Korean logic seems to be, "why add '고 있' if you do not have to since it is obviously a continuing action?"

Compare the following:

• 지금 잔다.
  지금 자고 있다.
  .
• 지금 운다.
  지금 울고 있다.

Like 불다, 자다 and 울다 are actions that continue over a period of time, not just an instant; therefore, there is no need to use "고 있" with these verbs when explaining an action that is currently happening, especially when 지금 is also used.

What does 구태여 mean?

Some Korean words do not flow off my lips very easily. One such word is 구태여, which is an adverb meaning "intentionally; on purpose" or "especially; particularly." Actually, since this word is used only with negative sentences or in questions expressing doubt, better translations might be "not really on purpose" or "not especially."

Here are some example sentences and their translations from my dictionary:

• 그 모임에 구태여 출석할 필요는 없다.
  You need not bother to attend the meeting.
  .
• 구태여 반대하지는 않겠다.
  I have no particular objection to it.
  .
• 구태여 그녀에게 병문안하러 가지 않아도 된다.
  You need not take the trouble to inquire after her health.

My dictionary says that 일부러 or 특별히 can [usually] be used instead of 구태여, and I hear 일부러 and 특별히 all the time, but I do not think I have ever heard 구태여 used in conversation. In written Korean, however, 구태여 pops up all the time. In fact, tonight the word has popped up at least 10 times in a book I am reading, which, by the way, is what prompted me to make this quick post.

Finally, look at the last example sentence I listed. When the adverb is that far away from the verb, there is just something about the sentence that does not seem right. In such cases, this adverb, and others too, seems more like a filler word than an adverb.

What does 기상천외 mean?

기상천외(奇想天外) literally means "strange ideas from beyond the heavens." It is often used in the form of 기상천외의 to mean "most fantastic." Here is the example sentence from my dictionary:

그것은 기상 천외의 생각이다.
It is a most unexpected idea.

The Korean example sentence seems redundant since 기상천외 already includes the meaning "생각" (想). Why not simply say the following?

그것은 기상 천외이다.

The Korean definition for 기상천외 is "아주 기발하거나 엉뚱한 것," which, as you may notice, does not mention anything about 생각. Since 생각 is not mentioned in the Korean definition, it would probably be prudent to use my dictionary's example sentence instead of the one I suggested above.

What does 사발농사 mean?

사발농사(沙鉢農事) literally means "farming in a china 'rice' bowl." 사발 means "china bowl," and 농사 means "farmiing." This expression is used to mean "begging." Buddhist monks and others used to carry a bowl with them to beg for rice.

I posted the expression because I think it is clever.

What does 다반사 mean?

다반사(茶飯事) means "an everyday occurence; a daily event." It is an abbreviation of 항다반사(恒茶飯事), which literally means, "an incident as common as tea and rice." In other words, 다반사 is used to refer to something that occurs as frequently as "drinking tea" and "eating rice," which is something people in Korea and other places do everyday.

Some Koreans precede 다반사 with "일상" or "일상의," which means "daily." However, since 다반사 already has "daily" in its meaning, the expression "일상의 다반사" is redundant. Use 다반사 without 일상.

Here is an example sentence from my dictionary:

요즈음 살인 사건이 다반사로 일어난다.
Murders are daily events these days.