[Korean Culture & Language] Big hand, short mouth


Hello, this is Uptempo!


When we say “Give one a big hand,” it means to offer someone a round of applause that is loud and enthusiastic, usually as a display of approval or appreciation. For example, one can say “Let’s give our special guest a big hand!”.


Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash

In Korea, there’s an expression ‘손이 크다(One has a big hand)’. It means ‘one is generous and giving’. The expression is used a lot especially to describe someone who often cooks a lot of food and likes to share them.

ex)

A: 무슨 음식이 이렇게 많아? 우리 파티해?
A: Why so much food? Are we having a party?
B: 엄마가 왔다 가셨어. 우리 엄마 항상 음식 많이 하시는거 알잖아.
B: My mom was here. You know she cooks enough for an army.
A: 아 맞다. 너네 어머니 손이 크시지!
A: Oh, that’s right. I remember your mom has a big hand!


Photo by hui sang on Unsplash

‘입이 짧다(One has a short mouth),’ on the other hand, means ‘one eats very little’. 

Ex)

A: 너는 입도 짧은데, 뷔페를 왜 좋아하는거야?
A: Why do you even like going to a buffet? You eat like a bird!
B: 적게 먹더라도 여러가지 먹는게 좋아!
B: Because I love eating a wide variety of food!

Ex)

A: 너네 엄마는 손이 크신데 너는 입이 짧아서 서로 불편하지 않아?
A: Your mom has a big hand (손이 크다), while you have a short mouth (입이 짧다). Has that ever caused you a trouble?
B: 괜찮아. 만드시면 이웃집에 다 나눠주시거든.
B: No, not at all. She shares her food with all of our neighbors.

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