[Korean Culture & Language]Mimetic Words


 

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


(24) 반짝반짝 작은별 | 인기동요 | 자장가 | Twinkle Twinkle Little Star | 키즈퐁당 - YouTube

Does this song sound familiar? I am sure you know the English version of it, since it is one of the most popular English kids’ songs sang around the world. However, did you know that ‘twinkle’ is called a mimetic word?

When you search ‘mimetic words’ on google, most of the results show “Korean mimetic words,” which probably means that it’s used mostly in Korea. Some may have not even heard of the term before learning Korean. 

Mimetic words describe the shape, attitude, and behavior of a person or an object. ‘Twinkle’ is a mimetic word since it describes a ‘behavior’ of a star. The star ‘twinkles’. 

There are so many ways to even describe how a person walks: 성큼성큼, 살금살금, 후다닥, 휘청휘청, 터덜터덜, 뒤뚱뒤뚱, etc. 성큼성큼 describes a way a person walks with long steps, usually with confidence. 

You can say “When it was his turn, he 성큼성큼 walked to the stage”.
“그의 차례가 되자 그는 성큼성큼 무대위로 걸어갔다.”

On the other hand, when someone walks 살금살금, it is to walk quietly so no one would notice. People usually 살금살금 walk when they have to hide from someone or when they don’t want to wake someone up. 

“The baby was sleeping so, Jane 살금살금 walked to her bed”.
“아기가 자고 있어서 Jane은 그녀의 침대로 살금살금 걸어갔다.”

후다닥 describes a walk/run or a movement when someone was surprised or caught doing something. 

휘청휘청 is the way a person walks when they are drunk or exhausted

You would walk 터덜터덜 when you’re really tired.

뒤뚱뒤뚱 is to wobble. 

The mimetic words can be combined with suffixes such as '-거리다, -거린다, -하다' to form numerous verbs like “반짝거리다,” “휘청거리다,” or “뒤뚱거리다” 


So, can you say “Stars twinkle in the sky,” or “Ducks wobble” in Korean? 

“하늘에 별이 반짝거린다”.

“오리는 뒤뚱거린다”

댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

[Korean Culture & Language] Switching between the liver and the gallbladder

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! “Saving face” has always been a very important part of Korean culture. Most Koreans try hard to “ 체면을 세우다 (build one’s face),” and “ 체면을 지키다 (maintain one’s face),” and not to “ 체면을 잃다 or 체면을 구기다 (lose one’s face).” ‘ 세우다 ’ means ‘to build’ ‘ 지키다 ’ means ‘to keep’ ‘ 잃다 ’ means ‘to lose’ ‘ 구기다 ’ means ‘to crumple’ or ‘to damage’ ‘Saving one’s face’ means ‘to build one’s reputation,’ ‘maintaining’ one’s face’ means ‘to keep one’s reputation,” and ‘losing one’s face’ means ‘to lose or damage one’s reputation.’ However, some people are more concerned about their profit than “saving or maintaining their face.” They “ 간에 붙었다 쓸개에 붙었다 한다. ” ‘ 간 ’ means ‘liver’ ‘ 붙다 ’ means ‘to stick’ ‘ 쓸개 ’ means ‘gallbladder’ It is directly translated to “It sticks to the liver for a second and then moves to the gallbladder to stick to it for another.” It describes the behavior of someone who switches between two opposing teams or groups for completely selfish reasons. The...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Stagnant Water

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! Stagnant water, often referred to as ‘standing water,’ provides an ideal breeding ground for biofilms. It is unsafe to drink water that has been left out or pooled in one spot for a long time because it contains bacteria or fungi that may carry various germs. Consuming them can cause waterborne diseases like legionella.   Stagnant water may also corrode metal and damage utility infrastructure. Photo by   Jordan Whitfield   on   Unsplash There is an old idiom in Korea ‘ 고인물은 썩는다 ’. It is translated as ‘ stagnant water will certainly go bad ’. ‘ 고인 ’ means ‘ stagnant ,’ or ‘ pool of’ ‘ 물 ’ means ‘ water’ ‘ 썩는다 ’ means ‘ to spoil’ https://youtu.be/jNWHNL1OWig Today, ‘ 고인물 ’ is used as a slang term to describe someone who has spent a significant amount of time in a particular social group or organization, most commonly an online community . The term originated from a gaming community, and it refers to someone who has spent a lot of time playin...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Squid Game/Red light green light

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Korean Culture & Language / Squid Game / “Red Light, Green Light”: a somewhat literary critique Translation is not just about delivering the meanings of words; it’s also about delivering the experiences that those words inspire. Therein lies the difference between literal and liberal translation. And “Red Light, Green Light” is a liberal translation of the following phrase: Korean 무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다 sound Mu-gung-hwa kko-chi pi-yeot-seum-ni-da meaning Mugunghwa flower has blossomed Mugunghwa is the national flower of South Korea, and it’s a very pretty flower, but of course it is not well-known outside of Korea. For this reason and others, I presume, the Netflix translator(s) took the liberty to drop the literal meaning of the original phrase while conveying the rules of the game. But I can’t help but feel a little dissatisfied with this translation, because it sacrifices the musical and poetic elements of the game that I love. So in this piece, I will t...
자세한 내용 보기