I found this sentence '제까짓 게 어쩌껬어', I know what 어쩌겠어 is but i can't figure out what it possibly means because there's not much example for '제까짓 게' and i couldn't find the meaning of that word
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제까짓 is a word meaning "a mere ... at that level." It is also looking down on someone to mention her or him using 것 and 거 that usually refer to a thing.– KlmoAug 4, 2019 at 5:26
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1 Answer
To just paraphrase it, 제까짓 게 means someone(he/she) that the speaker is referring to in a condescending way.
제까짓 게 어쩌겠어 can be translated something like What is he/she going to do(?) in a condescending manner. It is expected that he/she can't do anything about the speaker or situation caused by the speaker.
It could sound a little bit different depending on who says that phrase. If it was used by a speaker unrelated to causes of situation, it could sound more like he/she can't do anything... in a helpless way.
To break down,
제here sounds like a dialect of he/she(could be plural) to me.-까짓is an affix to제to address제in a condescending manner.게is a shortened form of것(thing)+이(propositional particle).
It is not so often used in conversational Korean - sounds quite snobbish. I've only heard it from few dramatic scenes in K-drama and Korean literature...
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So just to make sure, by someone(she/he), does that means the speaker is refering to another person or naybe the one they talked to?– ArinAug 3, 2019 at 3:29
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Yes the speaker is referring to someone outside of that conversation. If the speaker wants to address the listener 'you' in a condescending manner,
*네*까짓 게 어쩌겠어might have been used. Which can be translated like 'What are you going to (about me/about this situation)?' If you can elaborate more on where you picked up that phrase I think I can explain better.– SomSomAug 3, 2019 at 4:56