배째라
[bae-jjae-ra]
I’d rather die; my mind is made up
The Flashcard
The original illustrated card, front and back.
Meaning & context
글자 그대로는, 나의 배를 갈라라. 이는 어쩌면 할복자살을 의미하는 일본어 셉뿌꾸로부터 유래된 것일지도 모르겠다. 누군가 막무가내로 행동할때, 혹은 문제를 해결할 의지가 없을 때 쓰인다.
Literally “cut my stomach.” Baejjaera is used to describe one’s own stubbornness or unwillingness to alter a position to the death, which may come from the Japanese for committing seppuku – a ritual suicide, cutting the stomach. It can also mean, “what’s done is done” and loosely relates to the Shakespearian expression “take a pound of flesh” or the line from Guys and Dolls: “so sue me, sue me, shoot bullets through me. . . ”
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 120–120. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
일파운드의 살점
English
A Pound of Flesh
민식. 여기 공평한 제안을 가져왔다.
MinShik. I made a fair offer for your house.
이 집, 너에게 팔 수 없다고 이미 말했을텐데. 배째라.
I’m not going to sell it to you and that’s final. Baejjaera.
언젠가 너와 똑같이 말했던 놈이 하나 있었지. 나에게 돈을 빌려가놓고는 배째라며, 돈 없다고 하더군.
I had a guy say the same thing to me the other day. He owed me some money, and when I asked, he said he didn’t have it. Baejjaera, he said.
그래서...
So . . .
그래서 쨌지.
So I did.
그럼 넌 더이상 돈을 받을 길이 없겠구나! 하 하! 멍청이!
And now you can never get the money! Ha ha! Idiot!
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