[Korean Culture & Language] You can understand these if you're a Korean 1


Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers

Aoccdrnig to a rseearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%BA%A0%EB%A6%BF%EB%B8%8C%EC%A7%80%20%EB%8C%80%ED%95%99%EC%9D%98%20%EC%97%B0%EA%B2%B0%EA%B5%AC%EA%B3%BC

Did you comprehend the above sentences without difficulty?

Below is one of the popular Korean emojis, titled ‘한국 사람이면 이해 가능 (If you’re a Korean, you can understand these)’. 

카카오톡 이모티콘 <한국 사람이면 이해 가능> 출시! (병맛 이모티콘 작가 스푸너리즘 두음전환) : 네이버 블로그

https://m.blog.naver.com/parfum25/222029394417

The first emoji reads ‘달개 날린 천사세요?’

There is no such Korean word as ‘달개’. However, since most Koreans can instantly understand a word even when its first and last letters are switched, ‘달개 날린’ can be instantly read as ‘날개 달린’. ‘날개’ means ‘wings,’ ‘달린’ means ‘to have,’ ‘천사’ means ‘an angel,’ ‘세요?’ means ‘are you?”.

So ‘날개 달린 천사세요?’ means ‘Are you an angel with wings?’

The second one reads “아니 이런 귀한 곳에 누추하신 분이…,” which means ”What an honor to have such a shabby person over at my precious place”. Since humility is highly valued in Korean culture, it is a good manner to say “What an honor to have such a precious person over at my shabby place.”

The third one reads ‘메장 외모리가 많이 부족하니?’. There’s no such Korean word as ‘매장’ or ‘외모리’. However, if you switch the first letters of each words ‘매’ and ‘외,’ it becomes ‘외장’ and ‘메모리’. 

‘외장’ means ‘external’ 메모리 ‘means’ ‘memory’. ‘외장 메모리가 많이 부족하니?’ is sarcastically asking ‘Are you short on external memory?,’ which means “Do you have trouble remembering things?” or “do you have a memory problem?”


Do you know of any additional Korean phrases or sentences that can be easily understood even if the words are rearranged?


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