깔(따구)
[ggal(dda-gu)]
a girlfriend; (someone’s) bitch
Meaning & context
1990년대에 청소년들에 의해 사용되어지기 시작했다. 깔따구는 각다귀라는 단어에서 변
형되어졌다. 각다귀는 통속적으로 줄무늬 모기, 기생충 또는 흡혈귀를 의미한다. 이와같 이, 이 단어는 부정적 의미를 함축하고 있다. 아마도 이 단어는 한국사람들이 데이트를 할 때 남자들이 주로 돈을 쓰는 것에서 유래한 것 같다. 젠장!
Started in the 1990’s by teenagers, ggalddagu comes from the word gagdagui (각다귀), literally meaning a stripped mosquito, and referring to a parasite or a bloodsucking girlfriend. As such, it has a negative connotation, possibly in reference to the fact that when Koreans date, the man is almost always expected to pay for everything. Damn!
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 32–33. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
남자의 세상?
English
A Man’s World?
병식이 요새 안보이네?
Haven’t seen Byungshik lately?
그 새끼 깔 생겼어.
That SOB got a ggal.
아~ 깔따구 생겨서 요즘 잠수타는거구나.
Ah~ got a ggalddagu.... That’s why he’s submerged these days.
응. 걔 우리랑 놀 돈도 없을걸?
Eung. Even if he’s not with her, he’s got no money left to hang out with us.
그래. 그 깔 때문에 우린 친구 한 명을 또 잃었어.
Yep, because of that ggal, we lost another friend.
이제 우리 둘만 남았네? 우린 서로 배신하지 말자...
Now we only have each other left. Let’s not betray each other. . . .
그래, “하나를 위한 둘 그리고 모두를 위한 하나.”
Yeah, “Two for one and one for all.”
From the book: notes & culture
Sound Box
What Sounds Like Onomatopoeia?
The Korean language is rich with onomatopoeia or eui-seong-eo (의성어) and other expressive sound words. Below are just a few.
•아야 [a-ya] Ouch!
•앗 [at] Oops!
•음 [mm] Um…
•응 [eung] similar to the English “yeah.”
•으 [eu] a true lazyman’s “yes.” Also – 어 [oh], 엉 [eong], 아 [ah].
•우와 [woo-ah] an expression of awe and surprise, similar to “wow!”
•에이 [ae-i] an expression of disbelief.
•으이구 [eu-i-gu] poor you. Equivalent to the Korean expression igo (아이고). Igo, meaning “oh my,” “good gracious” or “woe is me,” would be used as a type of sigh or expression of frustration or surprise to oneself. The euigu, however, would be used for another person (not oneself) as with the English “poor baby.”
•흥! [heung] or 치! [chi] (or some combination thereof) a snarky expression for when a Korean girl sulks to her boyfriend.
•딸랑딸랑 [ddal-rang-ddal-rang] the sound of a bell on a dog’s collar used to represent a kiss ass or someone who sucks up to a boss.
•휴 [hyu] equivalent to the American “whew” (used to express relief).
•냠냠 [nyam-nyam] a sound made when chewing food.
•칙칙폭폭 [chik-chik-pok-pok] chugga chugga choo choo train sound.
•쾅 [kwang] a crashing sound.
•빵 [bbang] Bang!
The Straight Scoop
잠수타다 [cham-su-ta-da] literally to ride a submarine, as with someone who is submerged, or gone into hiding to avoid contact with others.
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