day 80four-character words

four-character words

Understand and use common four-character idioms (사자성어) and idioms (관용어), and talk about where words come from: Sino-Korean words, loanwords and old sayings.

today’s words

• 관용어 gwanyongeo · idiom
• 사자성어 sajaseongeo · four-character idiom
• 다다익선 dadaikseon · the more, the better
• 일거양득 ilgeoyangdeuk · two birds with one stone
• 이열치열 iyeolchiyeol · fighting heat with heat
• 작심삼일 jaksimsamil · a resolution that lasts three days
• 십중팔구 sipjungpalgu · nine times out of ten, almost certainly
• 천차만별 cheonchamanbyeol · vastly different, all kinds
• 심사숙고 simsasukgo · careful thought, deliberation
• 우유부단 uyubudan · indecisiveness
• 삼삼오오 samsamoo · in twos and threes, in small groups
• 상부상조 sangbusangjo · mutual help
• 남녀노소 namnyeonoso · people of all ages, young and old
• 근검절약 geungeomjeoryak · thrift and frugality
• 천생연분 cheonsaengnyeonbun · a match made in heaven, soulmates
• 자자손손 jajasonson · for generations, descendants
• 진수성찬 jinsuseongchan · a feast, a lavish meal
• 희로애락 huiroaerak · joys and sorrows, all human feelings
• 어원 eowon · origin of a word, etymology
• 외래어 oeraeeo · loanword
• 한자어 hanjaeo · Sino-Korean word
• 옛말 yenmal · old saying

sentences

• ‘발이 넓다’는 아는 사람이 많다는 뜻의 관용어다. · ‘To have wide feet’ is an idiom meaning you know a lot of people.
• 자전거로 출근하면 운동도 하고 돈도 아끼니 일거양득이다. · Cycling to work means exercise and savings: two birds with one stone.
• 하늘을 보니 십중팔구 비가 오겠다. · Looking at the sky, it’s almost certain to rain.
• 같은 물건이라도 가게마다 값이 천차만별이다. · Even for the same item, prices vary enormously from shop to shop.
• 재수를 할지 말지 같은 중요한 결정일수록 심사숙고해야 한다. · The more important the decision, such as whether to retake the entrance exam, the more carefully you should think it over.