Monday, November 15, 2010

My favorite Korean words/phrases

Lately I've been studying vocabulary and I've come across a lot of interesting expressions. I came across most of these words in vocab lists, not in actual use, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are old-fashioned or rare. But I like all of them either because of the meaning or just because of the way they sound. In some cases, I'm intrigued that the language has a word for certain specific concepts.

콧노래 - humming (literally means nose song)
거짓말 투성이 - full of lies
문틈 - the crack in a door
탈피하다 - break from convention
칠전팔기 - perseverance, never giving up (literally means upset 7 times, rise 8 times)
겉멋 - superficiality, vanity
사람멀미 - fear of crowds
뜻밖 - unexpected, by surprise
동문서답 - a response that comes out of nowhere
오리무중 - completely in the dark (literally it means you are 5 ri in and surrounded by fog)
막상막하 - to be neck-in-neck (literally means neither high nor low)
탈색 - discolored, faded
내색하다 - when your face gives away what you are really thinking (literally it means inner colors)
헛걸음 - a false step, wasted effort
손버릇 - a habitual action of the hands
물벼락 - suddenly pouring water on a person (literally means water thunder)
여태껏 - up until this very moment
팔짱끼다 - folding your arms over your chest
풋사랑 - puppy love (literally means unripe love)
비몽사몽 - neither asleep nor awake, lucid dreaming (literally means not asleep but feels like sleep)
먹자판 - an orgy of feasting (literally means "a let's eat scenario")

Friday, November 12, 2010

~것만은 아니다

...isn't just ... / ... isn't all ... / ... isn't necessarily ...
~것만은 아니다


상판과 백 패널 없이 투명한 막 안에 노트북의 정보들과 영상이 표시되는 형태입니다.
하지만 투명 AMOLED 노트북, 마냥 반가운 것만은 아니군요.
...But it seems the see-through AMOLED notebook isn't always a good thing.

곰팡이, 알고보면 더럽고 해로운 것만은 아니네요!
When you see mold, it's not entirely a dirty and harmful thing.

시험 없는 세상도 행복한 것만은 아니더라.
A world without tests wouldn't necessarily be a happy one.

그런것만은 아니란다
It's more than just that.

기분 나빠도 웃고 있어야 하는것만은 아니잖아
When you feel bad, just laughing isn't gonna make everything better.

수입이 나쁜 것만은 아니군요
Class isn't all bad.

손님을 위해 물어보는 것만은 아니겠지요
It should be more than just asking questions for the guests.

이직이란게 쉬운것만은 아니군요!?
This changing jobs thing isn't as easy as I thought...