임마
[im-ma]
you little so-and-so; you little bastard
The Flashcard
The original illustrated card, front and back.
Meaning & context
이 약한 욕은 영어표현 “야 너 (죄그만 녀석)”와 닮아있다. 이 표현에는 듣는 사람을 얕보 고 있음이 드러난다. 원래 ‘인마’에서 유래되었으며 흔히 친한 친구 사이에서 “너, 뭐냐?” 의 의미를 포함하며, 혹은 낯선 사람과 다툴 때 그들을 낮춰 부르는 말로도 쓰인다.
This soft swear is similar to the English “you little. . . ” (with an ending like “shit” or “so-and-so”) and implies that the person being referred to is small and insignificant compared to the speaker. Originally inma (인마), it is commonly used by an elder (a parent, uncle or grandparent), between friends in jest, to express “what the fuck,” or it can be used to talk down to a stranger to start a fight.
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 182–183. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
후유증
English
The Aftermath
오, 너무 어지러워. 나 죽을것 같아.
Ohhhh, I’m so dizzy. I’m gonna die.
임마, 내가 위스키하고 와인 섞어먹지 말랬잖아.
Imma, I told you never to mix whisky and wine.
엄마, 나 차라리 죽고싶어.
Mama, I wanna die.
엄마는 도와주지 않을거야, 임마... 내 차에 토하면 내 손으로 죽여버리겠어.
Mama isn’t going to help you, Imma. . . You puke in my car and I’ll kill you myself.
From the book: notes & culture
Jammin’ to a Jiut Jingle
To jaw the j right,
just tip your tongue up and mingle it
with a jab forward in the jazzy night.
Don’t jabber on, just aspirate it.
J ’s judgeless, so don’t equate it
with any other letter and yet
it’s as close to a Z as Korean can get.
What’s that? gg 지지 you say?
Fear not. The good game can continue
as the jingle returns to J.
Editorial note: speaker labels
Speaker label corrected to 원동 to match the Korean scene. The published English line reads: “동원 Mama, I wanna die.”
Speaker label corrected to 태용 to match the Korean scene. The published English line reads: “원동 Mama isn’t going to help you, Imma. . . You puke in my car and I’ll kill you myself.”
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