농땡이
[nong-ddaeng-i]
a slacker; a goof-off; an idler or lazybones
Meaning & context
재미, 장난을 뜻하는 농이라는 단어가 땡이라는 접미사와 결합되어 만들어진 말. 축어적으 로, 다른 사람들은 열심히 일 할 동안에 노는 사람을 의미하는 등 부정적인 의미를 함축하 고 있고 이것은 종종 동사 치다와 함께 쓰여진다.
Nong (농), meaning sport, fun or play, is combined with the ending ~ddaengi (땡이). Literally “a person that plays while others are working hard,” it has a negative connotation and is often used as a verb with chida (치다) to play or hit. Similar to the English expressions: “goof off” or “fuck around.”
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 76–77. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
대장 농땡이
English
Corporal Nongddaengi
대장 농땡이 어디갔어?
Where’s corporal Nongddaengi?
창현? 열심히 일하고있어. 하! 아마 평소대로 자고 있을거야!
ChangHyun? Working hard. Ha! Probably sleeping as usual!
할 일 있을 때는 절대 나타나지 않아.
Never around when there’s work to do.
그 귀차니스트 농땡이. 걔는 아무것도 안해!
That guichanist nongddaengi. He never does anything!
어, 충성! 언제 오셨습니까?
Uh, Sir! How long have you been here?
니들 뒤땅듣고 충분히 피곤해질만큼은 됐어. 벌로 커피나 뽑아와.
Long enough to be tired of your shit. Go get me a coffee.
와우, 벌 주는것도 귀찮아서 커피 사오라는것은 진짜 농땡이다.
Wow, he’s too much of a nongddaengi to even punish us!
From the book: notes & culture
Digut’s Depth Revealed
Don’t deign to decide about digut ㄷ
until the letter’s depth is revealed.
Tongue tipped on mouth-top put,
unaspirated, yet plosive it peeled.
From two swift strokes, digut shoots out soft.
Deftly drawn for 다디 (daddy),
Yet doubly difficult in its double d,
and kinda 뜨뜨뜨 dangerous too.
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