꽝이다
[gwang-i-da]
to come up empty; zilch; all for nothing
Meaning & context
축어적 의미 – 아무것도 아니다. “꽝”은 보통 망치를 두드리는 것과 같은 무엇인가에 충 격을 주는 소리(꽝꽝)이지만, 이 표현에서는 바라던 무엇인가의 부재를 의미한다.
Literally “it’s nothing.” Gwang is normally a percussive sound (꽝꽝~ gwang gwang) like the banging of a hammer, but here it means the absence of something – usually, something wished for or narrowly missed, as with a losing lottery ticket.
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 41–41. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
당첨자와 비당첨자
English
Winners and Losers
와우, 나 10캔 당첨이야 ~ 너 것도 봐봐. 뚜껑에 뭐라고 나왔는지.
Wow, I won a 10 can prize ~ Take a look! Take a look at yours and see what you got.
에이. “다음기회를 이용해 주세요.” 꽝이다... 내가 하는건 전부 꽝이야. ㅉㅉ.
Ay-e. “Please try again.” Gwangida. . . . all I ever get is gwang. Ts ts.
From the book: notes & culture
Sound Box
The Sweet Sound of a Snigger
ㅉㅉ [jj-jj] or [ts ts] similar to a tisk tisk sound, this sound means “too bad.” ㅋㅋ [kh-kh] the sound of sniggering, ㅎㅎ [he-he] short for laughter. ㄷㄷ [deu-deu] from 후덜덜 [hu-deol-deol] make me shiver (when scared or cold)
쿄쿄 [kyo-kyou] cute giggling, 캬캬 [kya-kya-kya] evil laugh, snigger
음훼훼훼 [eum-hwe-hwe-hwe] sinister laughter or a guffaw when victorious
푸하하 [pu-ha-ha] for actual laughter, (ㅋㅋ or ㅎㅎ are most often used to lighten the mood of a conversation rather than indicate real laughter)
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