안습
[an-seup]
I saw what I shouldn’t see; it’s so bad, I’m gonna cry
Meaning & context
문자그대로 ‘안구에 습기차다’의 줄임말이다. 이것은 안구의 안과 습기차다의 습의 두 글 자를 합친말로서, 나쁜 냄새 때문에 눈물이 나오는 것처럼 안 좋은 상황을 보았을 때 사용 되는 비속어이다.
Literally “to tear up” or “have moist eyeballs.” Here it means something so sad and pathetic that you’d rather not see or hear about. Anseup is an acronym stemming from the an (안) of angu (안구), meaning eyeball and the seup (습) of seup-ki-cha-da (습기차다), meaning to become moist. As in something so blindingly bad that makes your eyes water, like a bad smell or staring at the sun.
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 166–166. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
폴리에스테르 해스더
English
Polyester Hester
무슨 일 있어? 울고 있는 거야?
What’s the matter? Are you crying?
어, 고등학교 천문학 시간이 떠올라서...
Uhh, I just had a flashback from High School Astronomy . . .
오 안돼! 너 그 선생 말하는거야? 우우. 뷁! (매스꺼움의 표현)
Oh no! You mean the teacher? Oooo. Blech! [expression of disgust]
그래, 바로 그 폴리에스테르 헤스터.
Yeah, none other than Polyester Hester.
울게 생겼구만. 나도 그 큰 여자가 꽉 조이는 폴리에스테르 바지 입고있던 것 떠오를 때마다 안습.
No wonder you’re crying. I get anseup every time I think of that massive woman in those over-tight polyester pants.
From the book: notes & culture
The Straight Scoop
뷁[buelk] gagging sound, like heol indicates disinterest or disgust: meh, blech, eww.
Editorial note: speaker labels
Speaker label corrected to 소윤 to match the Korean scene. The published English line reads: “지윤 Uhh, I just had a flashback from High School Astronomy . . .”
Speaker label corrected to 소윤 to match the Korean scene. The published English line reads: “지윤 Yeah, none other than Polyester Hester.”
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