기사 메일전송
Don't Misunderstand, Idiom!
  • 이희원 기획부장
  • 등록 2017-03-27 14:13:07
  • 수정 2017-05-04 12:08:48
기사수정

  There are university students who have various nationalities at Kyonggi university. Foreign students have trouble understanding to idiom while living Korea. Also, Korean students have trouble understanding to foreign's idiom as well as foreign students. The reason why difficult of learning idiom is they don't know real meaning and it can lead to misunderstanding. The Pharos will explain frequently used idioms and their meanings for these Kyonggi students. Also, we will help students can understand more easily by giving some everyday conversation.

 

Jack: What is an idiomatic phrase?

Pharos: The idiomatic phrase is composed of two or more words and the meaning of the whole sentence can not be understood only by the meaning of the each word. Because of this, if you are foreign it can be difficult to know the meaning of the idiomatic phrase at once.

 

 

Sally: I heard that "발이 넓다" from my Korean friend. What is the meaning of “발이 넓다”?

Pharos: If you hear that sentence, you may misunderstand that is the size of your feet. However, it doesn't mean size of your feet. The real meaning of the sentence is that wide range of personal connections. A similar expression in English is that have a wide acquaintance.

For example) She's such an out-going person so she has a wide circle of acquaintance.

 

Amy: I made an appointment with my Korean friend, but she said me “나 바람맞히면 안돼!” What is the meaning of "바람 맞다”?

Pharos: "바람 맞다” is easy to misunderstanding sentence. This is because you might misunderstand blowing the wind from nature. In Korea, however, this means that the partner breaks one's promise and do not show up. In English, it used to say "I was stood up." It is easy to remember this way. "바람 맞다” means that I got the wind because partner didn't come out.

For example) We were supposed to meet up for dinner and drinks, but she stood me up!

 

Harry: I made some food my Korean friend's house. And he told me, "너 손이 크다."

Did my friend say that my hands are really big? Actually, my hands are small. That's strange.

Pharos: There are two ways of saying “손이 크다.” First, the size of the hand is big. Secondly, it means a person who is generous and broad-minded. Namely, it's used to describe people who can confer a favor upon a person and kindhearted person. In English, it used to say "have an open hand."

For example) My mom is an open hand so she makes food a lot every time.

 

 

Kim Mi-ran: My foreign friend said “It's a piece of cake” while talking with me. I misunderstood that sentence there is a piece of cake behind me. Then she laughed aloud. Why she laugh? What does it mean?

Pharos: Usually, Korean students will think of "a piece of cake" is edible cake and imagine cutting a piece of cake. However, in English, it means something very easy to do. In this phrase, if you perceive cake as easy, you will understand more easily. In Korea, it used to say "식은 죽 먹기" or "누워서 떡먹기."

For example) Passing that driver's test was a piece of cake.

 

Park So-hee: My foreign friend has broken up with her boyfriend. Suddenly, she said, "He's a bad egg." At that time, I couldn't understand the meaning of the expression. What is the meaning of the sentence?

Pharos: Literal translation, that sentence means “He is an egg and it is bad.” Most people think "Huh? How does she call a person an egg?". The meaning of "Bad egg" is on the outside he seems good guy, but looking inner side he is a bad man. In Korea, it is said that “겉과 속이 다르다.”

For example) He is a bad egg. So you have to keep him away.

 

 From now on, we talk about Korea and English idiom. Also, we introduced about similar expressions which used in English and Korean. Hopefully, Korean and foreign students will understand and learn more about Korean, English language through this article.

TAG
3
모바일 버전 바로가기