Tag Archives: proverb

누워서 침뱉기 – Spitting On Yourself While Laying Down

Age: 20

Text: 누워서 침뱉기

Translation: Spitting On Yourself While Laying Down

Context: I’ve heard this used as a scolding for when I’ve been viewed as sabotaging something good for myself. It’s pretty self-explanatory as my mom says. Why would you want to mess up what good you have (your face in this proverb).

Analysis: It is a Korean proverb which is used to warn that the result of one’s bad behavior comes back to oneself in a bad way. It could be seen as the English proverb, “What comes up must come down”. It is a well-known warning used to warn people of all ages that if we try to harm others, we’ll only be going out of our own way to hurt ourselves.

보기 좋은 떡이 먹기도 좋다 – Yummy looking rice cake are yummy too.

Age: 20

Text:  보기 좋은 떡이 먹기도 좋다

Translation: yummy looking rice cake are yummy too

Context: It’s just a silly little saying my mom used to say to me but as I grew up I figured out the deeper meaning behind it. My mom used to say it as a bit of a cheering method to encourage me to study harder as she believed that if you put hard work into making something “look” good, your results would look pretty too.

Analysis: This is a very subtle or a bit more nuanced proverb. Looking from it at face value, you would think it’s maybe something just young children say. But this Korean proverb is heartwarming as it is used often for encouragement to high school students that studying hard now, will result in good fortune in the future.

하나를 알면 열을 안다 – You see one thing, and you know 10 things about them.

Age: 30

Text: 하나를 알면 열을 안다

Translation:  You see one thing, and you know 10 things about them automatically.

Context: “My dad used this against me a lot growing up. I didn’t like it because I thought it really judged people too harshly too fast. I got it used for situations where my room was messy, and I was always told, “People are going to know right away you are lazy”. Growing up now, I think I can see it work sometimes but I still think it’s one of the harsher proverbs.”

Analysis: The Korean proverb, “You see one thing, you know ten things” is one that is used as advice to people, especially younger people. It’s like a parallel to the English proverb, “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover”. Except this time, it’s telling you to judge immediately. It’s a harsher piece of advice for younger adults to be strict on how they look and that first impressions do matter immensely.

“Níl a fhios agam””

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Residence: New York, NY

Text: “Níl a fhios agam” (literal translation: its knowledge is not at me) – Irish Phrase

Context: While studying abroad in Dublin, my sister heard multiple non-Irish speakers say this. The phrase in Irish means “I don’t know”, however when my sister heard it said in Irish it was generally referring to a more abstract unknown, such as questions about the distant future. My sister also found the phrase interesting due to the lack of verbs, which is a feature of the Irish language.

Analysis: The use of the Native Irish language was used to emphasize the point. Saying “I don’t know” in English is not very impactful, and often shuts down a conversation. When the Irish language is used, it does not shut down a conversation; it more often was used to begin exploring what could happen. This is also a way that the Irish language remains alive outside of the classroom, even as English becomes the dominant language in Ireland. Using Irish phrases to have slightly different meanings to their English counterparts keeps the language and culture of Ireland alive.

“Water doesn’t boil when you watch it”

Age: 19

Date of Performance: 2/24/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States

  1. Text

The informant is a sophomore student at USC, who is studying Public Relations & Advertising. He quoted a proverb that says, “Water doesn’t boil when you watch it.”

2. Context

“I heard this, I think, from my friend’s mom. It’s just like a saying.”

“It’s about how obsessing over something just makes it more difficult to do it because when you watch water boil, it takes forever. But when you step away and do something else, time flies and it feels almost immediate.”

“When I was really young, I think I was 8 or 9, is when my neighbor’s mom told me this. Or maybe it was my own mom?”

3. Analysis

The informant’s uncertainty about who taught him this proverb represents how the family influence wasn’t necessarily the important factor in this phrase. It is again, another metaphor involving water and tied to human behavior. It is a teaching of patience, and letting things happen without obsessing over them. It teaches a larger lesson through a metaphor about a rather mundane action.