Everyday Korean: Episode 57. 손이 큰 사람이구나 You are generous

Everyday Korean

Episode 57 손이 큰 사람이구나

You are generous!

By Harsh Kumar Mishra

The Conversation

정민: 멍지에, 내일 시내에서 불우 이웃 돕기 운동을 하는데 같이 갈래?

Jeongmin: Meongjie, do you want to come with me to a “help needy neighbors” campaign downtown tomorrow?

멍지에: 좋아요, 언니. 제가 어렸을 때 이런 활동에 자주 갔어요.

Meongjie: Sure, Eonni. I frequently went to such campaigns during my childhood.

정민: 아 그래?

Jeongmin: Is that so?

멍지에: 네. 용돈을 조금씩 모아서 성금도 냈어요.

Meongjie: Yeah. I even made a donation from my pocket money savings.

정민: 우와! 우리 멍지에가 참 착하고 손이 큰 사람이구나.

Jeongmin: Wow! You are really kind and generous.

멍지에: 아니에요. 저는 손이 크지 않아요. Meongjie: Not at all. I am not generous.

정민: 겸손할 줄도 아네. 나도 다른 사람을 도울 때 손이 컸으면 좋겠다.

Jeongmin: You even know how to be modest. I wish I could also become generous when helping others.

The Author

Harsh Kumar Mishra is a linguist and Korean language educator. He volunteers with TOPIKGUIDE.com and Learnkorean. in. He has also co-authored the book Korean Language for Indian Learners.

Grammar Points

V/Adj ~ 을/ㄹ 때

This connector is used with Verb and Adjective stems and expresses the moment that an action or state takes/took place (i.e., “When…”).

Examples

- 저는 공부할 때 과자를 많이 먹어요. I eat a lot of snacks when studying.

- 기분이 좋을 때 뭐하는 것을 좋아해요? What do you like to do when you’re happy?

손이 크다

This frequently used Korean idiom, whose literal meaning is “to have big hands,” simply means “generous.”

Examples

- 우리 엄마가 손이 커서 음식을 너무 많이 준비하세요.

My mom is very open handed, so she prepares too much food.

- 우리 대표님이 손이 크니까 이번에도 좋은 보너스 기대돼요.

Our CEO is generous, so I’m looking forward to a good bonus this time, too.

Vocabulary

시내: downtown 이웃: neighbor 돕다: to help 운동: activity; campaign 불우: underprivileged 용돈: pocket money 모으다: to save 조금씩: little by little 성금: donation 착하다: to be kind 겸손하다: to be modest 다른 사람: other people 한국어