The Flashcard
The original illustrated card, front and back.


Meaning & context
겁나게의 본래 의미는 무섭거나 두려운 것을 의미한다. 하지만 전라도와 충청남도의 사투 리에서는 두려울 만큼 많은 양을 의미하여 엄청, 매우의 의미로 사용되어진다.
Geopnagae’s original meaning is “to be scared,” but in the Jeollado and South Chungchungdo dialects, it is used to mean very much, or literally, as much as a good scare. Similar to the English intensifiers “heaps” or “wicked.” Also, geopna (겁나) for short.
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 19–19. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
겨울의 날씨
English
Wintry Weather
날씨가 왜이래? 일주일 내내 영하 20도야!
What’s with the weather? It’s been 20 degrees below for a week!
응, 밖에 겁나게 추워.
Yeah, it’s gopnagae cold out there.
추운걸 무서워한다고?
You’re scared of the cold?
아니 바보야, 겁나게는 남쪽 사투리로 좆나게 춥다는 말이야!
No silly, gopnagae is southern dialect for really fucking cold!
From the book: notes & culture
The Straight Scoop
좆나게 [jot na gae] very or much. Similar to the English intensifier “fucking,” it literally means for a penis to get hard or “come out.”

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