8
votes
Accepted
Money Drinking Hippo? What is a 돈먹는하마?
It's a word play on 물먹는 하마, a very famous brand of moisture absorber (see picture).
[So the word play is that like this "water eating hippo" product absorbs water, the olympic stadiums in a post-...
- 7,452
5
votes
how I can say I am dizzy in korean : 자꾸 어지러워?
The word for dizzy in Korean is 어지럽다.
You don't need to use 자꾸 - this word indicates something that "keeps happening" - I think you would say "자꾸 어지러워" if you were getting dizzy a lot, as in ...
- 6,014
5
votes
Accepted
"더러" grammar in 알더러 새가 되라는 말처럼 어려울 수 있다 (translation)
See 더러 in Naver dictionary:
(사람을 나타내는 체언 뒤에 붙어) 어떤 행동이 미치는 대상을 나타내는 격 조사.
As far as I can remember it's only used for verbs like 시키다, 묻다, or 부탁하다, that is, where a person is speaking to another. ...
- 7,452
5
votes
Accepted
Why "날 좋아하는 거 알아" means "I know you like me"
날 is a shortened term of 나를(나+를), meaning 'me'. 나 means I, and 를 is attached right after 나 in order to transform the meaning to 'me'. 거 and 것 is the same: roughly means 'thing'. And 을 is omitted - it ...
- 758
4
votes
Native English Translations that capture the intended emotion of "그래야 비로소"
As you say, I think the business of 'spirit capturing' is easier done for sentences than phrases. How about:
Not till then shall our lives begin to bear such fruit as shall please the Lord.
By ...
- 1,337
4
votes
Accepted
Usage of 한국어 도서
I think "한국어 도서" is similar to "books in Korean".
"한국 책" can be used in first and second senses, but not third sense.
I'm Korean native, and I think another native wouldn't think "한국어 도서" as "...
- 589
4
votes
Help me with this "왜"
It's exactly the same as using "why" with a coma; that is, why used as an interjection.
왜, 그 있잖아, 코 큰 사람.
Why, you know, that guy with a big nose.
- 610
4
votes
Accepted
Is this a saying?
비가 오다 or 비가 내리다 means "to rain". 비(rain) is the subject here which 오다(comes) or 내리다(falls).
와라 is 오다 + -라. Verb + -라 is the form used to command or suggest someone else to do something. When ...
- 694
4
votes
Accepted
-라고 with (으)면 되다?
It means:
Instead of "뭐라고?", you can also say "어?" with voice raised at the end.
Probably it's best to consider that "하면서" is omitted after "'어?'라고".
"...
- 7,452
4
votes
Accepted
Difference in nuance between 미안하다, 죄송하다 and 송구하다
미안 未安 means I'm worried.
죄송 罪悚 means I'm fearful (as if I committed a sin).
송구 悚懼 means I'm both worried and fearful.
So in terms of gravity 미안 < 죄송 < 송구 and you can sort of think of it like ...
- 565
3
votes
What do "졌다고" and "없기다" mean in this paragraph?
Good afternoon,
The sentences can be translated as below:
Man: Sister, what are you doing? I'm bored. Let's get out and play badminton.
Woman: Fine. But you should not be upset like last time ...
- 1,678
3
votes
한국대학교 전화번호 부탁드립니다.
Yes, that means 'Please give(tell) me the phone number of Hangook(Korea) University.'
If you are able to read a bit complicated Korean, it would be helpful to see this Q&A: http://krdic.naver.com/...
- 758
3
votes
Accepted
What do **미나리 먹다** and **도라지 먹다** mean?
Haha. This is just a comedy show. There is no idiomatic meanings here
The key word is 맛. 맛 means taste like spicy(매운맛), salty(짠맛), sweet(단맛) etc.
but, sometimes, 맛 is used for the other purpose. ...
- 957
3
votes
Accepted
아이들하고 노는 것이 재미있어요 = It is fun to play with kids or playing with kids is fun
In Korean, adding -는 것 is a 'nominalisation' (a way of making a 'noun') that still keeps the sense of the action 'happening'.
'To play' in your examples is called the infinitive in English, and '...
- 13.6k
3
votes
Accepted
What are the mistakes in this paragraph?
I am afraid to say this, but there are more than three mistakes.
First of all, 서울 식당 is used too many times, although it is not a grammatical mistake. Even if 서울 식당 is a name of a restaurant, the ...
- 3,258
3
votes
Meaning of 걸래는 빨아도 걸래다
It literally means "A rag is still a rag, even if you wash it".
빨다 here means "to wash (clothes)".
Figuratively, it means "No matter how hard you try to improve a thing in a certain way, its innate ...
- 7,536
3
votes
What is the feeling behind "나 하나쯤이야"
The '쯤' of '나 하나쯤이야' means 'approximate degree' meaning the same as '정도' that comes right after nouns, '-(이)야' shows the perception of looking down on someone/something or taking /someone/something ...
3
votes
Accepted
Meaning of '멀다 하고'?
Both of them are idioms. The sentences "하루가 멀다 하고" and "사흘이 멀다 하고" mean someone feel a day(하루) or three days(사흘) is too long to wait for them, so they do something repeatedly ...
- 270
3
votes
Accepted
떠들고 다니다 meaning
Basically it means that he went around saying he would confess.
다니다 is one of a few verbs that often gets paired up with another, to link the actions together. It emphasizes that the person is going ...
- 6,014
3
votes
-라고 with (으)면 되다?
@jick answer is great, but to supplement
"뭐라고?" mean "pardon?"(It is the same until raising the end note)
"어?" mean "eh?"
Neither is formal.
- 61
3
votes
Accepted
Why this sentence are wrong?
기분이 좋아요 is a kind of in-between case. It is primarily used for the first person but also for the third person sometimes (e.g. 영철이는 오늘 기분이 좋아요).
This is one difficulty aspect with the emotional words. ...
- 1,224
3
votes
Accepted
What does "있어" mean in this sentence?
X-에게 있어 (or 있어서, the original form before contraction) signifies "considering it from the standpoint of X" or "as it pertains to X".
X-에게 있어서 = X-에게 (to X) 있다 (belongs/pertains) + ...
- 1,224
3
votes
Accepted
What does 참코 애발매일 mean?
Had no clue at first sight. Searched up a bit to figure it out.
“참코: 애 발매일.”
참코: 참가參加 joining 코드code; passcode required to join.
애: the name of the Stray Kids’ digital single “Mixtape:애.”
발매일: 발매發賣 ...
- 2,830
3
votes
Accepted
What does 티격태격 mean?
티격태격 is a common onomatopoeic adverb describing two people quarreling, usually in a trifling way rather than seriously (You can also say 티격태격하다, to quarrel).
e.g. 아이들이 늘 티격태격 싸운다 = The children always ...
- 1,224
2
votes
Accepted
Native English Translations that capture the intended emotion of "그래야 비로소"
I believe the phrase if only and only then finally fits well.
무엇인가 해야 (하다 + 그래야) 비로소 무언가를 이룰 수 있다.
We must do something. If only and only then we can finally achieve something (we have been ...
- 521
2
votes
할 말을 잃다 vs 할 말을 잊다
From Naver's online dictionary:
잃다:
(물건·집·자리 등을) lose; (빼앗기다) be deprived of
잊다
(기억하지 못하다) forget
잃다 is used when you forget or lose material possession. It is also used when you are unable ...
- 2,954
2
votes
Translation of North Korean poster :"지식은 창조와 건설의 최대의 재부!"
First of all, according to this post on Naver knowledge search, 재부 is, as you guessed, a North Korean version of "재산". So it can mean property, assets, riches, etc.
The phrase "최대의 ~" can mean "...
- 6,014
2
votes
Accepted
What is ~없어서는, how is it used?
I'm pretty sure 없어서는 is a typo of 있어서는.
~에(게) 있어서는 is a common idiom meaning "when it comes to ..." or "to ..." as in "그들에게 있어서는 매우 중요한 문제였다 (To them, it was a very important matter)".
- 7,452
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible