21
votes
Accepted
How to translate generic "you" or "one" in Korean?
Generic "you" or "one" in English is just a filler word for a subject. In Korean you don't need to use it, since you can just drop the subject.
when one is hungry, everything ...
11
votes
Accepted
한국어로 "Koreaboos"
Koreaboo means people who are great fans of Korean pop culture, almost maniacal. But unlike 'K-pop fan', Koreaboo has a little bit of a disparaging nuance.
In Korean, 팬 just means a fan. When ...
10
votes
Accepted
Why does Samsung company name means "Three stars" and not "Three castle"?
If you search for "ant" in a small English dictionary, you will only find about the insect. But "Antarctica" is not ant's Arctic, it's "anti-Arctica", i.e., something ...
8
votes
How to express "I will do it for you" in Korean
Okay, firstly, you can't say you. Should you have to say you, you can't use 너. That's pretty rude.
So, then, just leave the you out and let's go on. There are few variants I recommend.
제가 할게요 ...
8
votes
Accepted
What does "위해" mean here? Not "harm" or "benefit"
-기 위해(서) here means "to"/"in order to".
When you attach -기 위해(서) to verbs, it becomes "to + verb".
For example :
채소를 사기 위해(서) 시장에 갔다.
(I went to the market to buy vegetables).
책을 빌리기 위해(서) ...
8
votes
What is the meaning of 퍼트리?
The verb is 퍼뜨리다, although it is sometimes pronounced [퍼트리다] by some speakers.
It means to spread.
EDIT
Actually, 퍼트리다 is also an alternative standard form of the verb.
This generally applies to ...
7
votes
Please translate the song title '떽떽이를 위한 노래' from the 허수 album '야자하기 싫은날' to English
떽떽이를 위한 노래
떽떽거리다 means speak loudly with stuck-upness
~이 means a person. I think it's the same ~er in English. So 떽떽이 means someone who speaks loudly with stuck-upness.
But here, I think Vladhagen's ...
6
votes
How do I denote an object in a sentence?
Simply put the object with objective particle.
X를 복제할 수 있어요?
Or you can use sort-of passive form by placing X at the subject, depending on the focus of the question.
X가 복제되요?
In this case, you ...
6
votes
How to translate 'a fun little distraction'?
I'm Korean and I am not good at English! Sorry for that.
이것은 재미있는 작은 오락거리다.
저는 인터넷은 일하러 사용하지 않는데, 그것은 그냥 재미있는 작은 오락거리예요.
Yes, both sentences sound natural to me. It's little awkward, but there is ...
6
votes
Please translate the song title '떽떽이를 위한 노래' from the 허수 album '야자하기 싫은날' to English
The best I can come up with for the song is "Song for the Loud Mouth."
The "loud mouth" here is not a literal translation. I have tried to work the phrase "떽떽이" into meaningful English here. "떽떽이" is ...
6
votes
Accepted
When one is not 고수
고수 : expert
중수(joong soo) : intermediate
하수(ha soo) : beginner
However, in the same way, 초보(chobo) is typically more used as Ha Soo
고/중/하 mean high/mid/low. 수 means a hand which could mean a level ...
6
votes
Accepted
What is being said in this short audio clip, translated as "If you vacuum on high, it can't suck dust as much"?
청소기는 너무 세게 틀면 안된다. 먼지가 더 안 들어온다.
"If you use vacuum with too much power, it can't suck dust as much"
I don't think it makes much sense, but apparently mom thinks that she needs to set the vacuum ...
6
votes
Accepted
Translation of 야. 너 인생 그렇게 살지마
Translation, and about why it can be so rude.
First of all, as the context implies, this expression should not even be used unless the "listener" felt he/she is very close to the speaker (not vice ...
6
votes
Accepted
How do I say "the following week" and "the week after next week"?
'다음 주' and '그 다음 주' are little different.
You may understand when seeing the examples.
For example,
you ask to the doctor for reserving your next visit,
and the doctor says, 다음 주에요. Visit next ...
5
votes
Accepted
Is it '봉투 하나' or '봉투 한 장'?
Unless there were any reason to assume a number other than one, just saying 봉투 주세요 would be fine. 봉투 하나 주세요 is also fine, and removes any doubt that only one is needed. 봉투 한 장 주세요 is the most 'proper',...
5
votes
It takes two to tango
손뼉도 마주쳐야 소리가 난다 one hand can't clap alone
I'd say it's pretty common, no native won't recognize it.
5
votes
How to interpret the text on this "희창기계" (Huichang Machine)?
I found following information on google.
(you can find more on google)
http://bizkorea.org/company/view.asp?SEQ=665962
It seems that '희창기계' is a very small korean company located in Daegu
and T.354-...
5
votes
Translation of question about how to use a certain expression, '몇 살 먹었다'
"몇 살 먹었다" 라는 표현은 친구들[하고만or한테만] 사용할 수 있어? 아니면 좀 전에 만나서 잘 모르는 사람[에게or한테] 이 말 사용해도 돼?
*"몇 살 먹었다" is not 질문.
You can ask someone's age like
몇 살이세요?
연세가 어떻게 되세요?
"연세" is honorifics of "나이". So 2. is ...
5
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between gaseum (가슴) and maeum (마음)?
가슴 is breast or chest.
마음 is attitude, thinking or feeling.
Sometimes 가슴 can be used to mean 마음 but 마음 cannot substitute 가슴.
I will give you examples to help your understanding.
내 여자친구는 가슴이 커. (My ...
5
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between gieok (기억) and chueok (추억)?
기억 has a more general meaning, and is used to mean just the fact that you remember something. If you're talking about cognitive memory, you will use 기억.
It can be used for remembering facts, events, ...
5
votes
Accepted
Does ~ 스럽다 mean "worthy of ~"?
Before starting my answer, I would like to mention I don't have a professional knowledge in Korean, but I would like to share what I think as a native speaker.
For the first question, whether ~스럽다 ...
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. ...
5
votes
Accepted
Is the Korean on this van referring to a church?
Oddly, we already have this question on the SE network:
https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/52587/what-is-written-on-the-mini-bus
They've translated it as "Hallelujah Church of Scranton", ...
5
votes
What is the meaning of 헛짚기?
헛- is a suffix for false, fake, or sometimes secondary quality. (E.g., 헛소리 nonsense, 헛짓 meaningless action.)
The original meaning of 짚기 is to put your finger/hand on something, but here it is used ...
5
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of 의전서열?
You call it the order of precedence. Quoting Wikipedia,
Order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of persons. Most often it is used in the context of people by many ...
5
votes
expiry or manufactured date?
유통 기한 (and also 유통기한) means the sell-by date, which is usually close to the expiration date, although these two dates could differ significantly for some products. I have no idea how chemistry affects ...
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