Korean Teochew Language Discovery

Pyo or votes

2014-10-21T20:44:00.001-07:00

Pyo or votes in English. Since the action of voting perhaps holds the idea of a little piece of paper. Well just imagine.

In Korean: 표, or 투표

It also means ticket or little stub.

I had meant to include these in the blogs many many times. So apologies for it to be late. I have to admit sometimes I am motivated. Other times, I wonder who out there could be reading and after checking the stats, not many. While still hope to reach out to Korean or Teochew people, or even those interested in both languages. Perhaps better motivation can be mustered.

See photo grab from Hello Counselor variety show.

It does say show us the result(result of the votes). The previous sentences were like put in your votes (your pyo).

Salt - yeam - 염

2014-10-18T03:54:00.001-07:00

Recently I have been following KBS World Variety shows such as Human Condition and Hello Counselor.

There are many news words being discovered. I should make notes while watching instead of thinking about it later. So now here is one while watching Human Condition Chuseok Special. They needed an ingredient for their cooking project. It is the basic salt.

Salt is 염 (yeam). It is same in Teochew language. Yeam.

In korean language, yeam I guess is more informal. Since in writings or packaging, it will be: 소금 (so geum).

Koppi Juseyo - simple daily life in Korea

2013-10-08T23:03:00.001-07:00

Hello yeorobun, nii naang hor bor?

First: jwesong hamnida (죄송합니다)
For not able to update this blog constantly.

Next: Good news is I am now in Seoul and will be writing my simple daily life in Korea more frequently, plus adding in teochew word discovery as I explore the annals of the language.

The blog is: http://koppijuseyo.blogspot.kr/2013/10/sunshin-iu-wanted-to-give-her-teacher.html

Koppi juseyo front page banner
And today 9th October is Hangeul Day.

Pair or in teochew suang and korean ssang 쌍

2013-04-19T09:31:00.002-07:00

Oh well, I came across another word. And I jot that down and ready to present here. Many times I am unable to update either due to lack of motivation, word was found then forgotten before I can open up the blog page. I will try my best again. Hwaiting.

In teochew, we say "chik suang ooi" meaning one pair of shoes. "chik" is one, or single. Cos if you are a fervent learner, you'd know number one is "ik". But "chik" is used when quantifying.

The main word is "suang" and in Korean is "ssang" or 쌍.

Here is a photo of "half a pair" :) But look carefully, it's supposed to be ice cream cone.

Cornetto shoe

Bang khaeng in teochew means room and in Korean bang 방 is room

2013-04-19T09:22:00.001-07:00

Bang khaeng in teochew means room and in Korean bang 방 is room.
Well as noted before, all Romanisation is purely informal. So unless you know teochew, you might be reading/transliteration wrongly. So ask your friendly teochew friend. And vice versa, ask your Hanguk saram friend for pronouncing "bang". It is certainly NOT bang as in "big bang theory"!

Top viewers are from Germany then Singapore

2013-04-08T06:09:00.001-07:00

This blog isn't super popular, but since Blogger has some stats function, I just quickly viewed the monthly viewers number. And the most viewers came from Germany, then next in Singapore. And third is USA (which sometimes isn't true cos the search engines, web spiders, are all classified as from USA).

Hyusig or rest and Han Seung-yeon

2013-03-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hyusig or rest. In Korean "휴식" (hyu sik)

Well in teochew it is "hyu haeg". "Haeg" means tired. "Ching haeg". Very tired. And no surprise, "jin ja" 진정, means "really" or "very" in Korean.

I found this poster outside Central World TOPS Supermarket. It's KARA. It's one of KARA. Seung-yeon. (my favourite KARA!)

Well, she is never tired. But the photo is appealing, and nagging for a word discovery. What word is it? Crunchy? Tasty? Juicy? Nope!

It's "sagua" or "apple" in Korean. 사과. Well hanyu-pinyin time. Sagua means "silly" in Mandarin!

Chair and magazine - mandarin

2012-10-19T02:58:00.001-07:00

Well today I just listened to an online video and apparently chair and magazine sounds the same to Mandarin (or Chinese putonghua, ie. common language). Putong means "common" or "ordinary". Hua means language. Well you have to pronounce it correctly, so the tones are "pu2 tong1 hua4". I like to think that any foreigner (non-Asian) who wants to learn or even explain some stuff in Asian languages MUST pronounce it correctly. Why? Because Beijing has been Beijing for ages, until the British came (with negative intention) and seemingly unable to pronounce the city and thus romanised it into Peking.

So Chair is ui ja. 의자 or in chinese 椅子 (yi3 zi)
And Magazine is 잡지 (jab ji) or in chinese 杂志 (za2 zhi4)

In teochew, chair is "kau ii" and magazine is (I don't know, anyone can help?).
Here's an additional story about "kau ii".

500 years or so ago, traders between regions took large boats and ships to trade their goods all over Asia. The central region between the West and Middle is the peninsula of Malaya and places such as Bangkok which is sheltered from the monsoon winds (see map of the Gulf of Thailand to see the shape) are top trading ports. Before I continue, in the olden times, "West" means region of "India or beyond the mountains (the Himalayas) and "Middle" is the vast land that people called as China but the original people here just say it as Middle Kingdom hence Zhong Guo. There is no such concept of Chinese. Because the chinese themselves are called "Tang ren" or "hua ren" (the people within the Tang dynasty people. And the "East" is the region of Japan/Korea.

So back to the story: the traders landed in Bangkok. And upon seeing them unload a unique wooden structure, the Bangkok traders asked "what are those?" - the traders from Middle Kingdom said "these are kai ii" in their own dialect which is Teochew. Hence from that day onwards the term kau ii is absorbed into the Thai language as meaning a chair!

Dark blue or nam saek or 푸른

2012-10-16T01:33:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I mentioned "saek" or colour, the general term for colour in both languages. Today I was taking a quick look at a Talk To Me In Korean video about the colours of the rainbow. So one of the colours itself is similar. Nam saek. Dark blue colour. 푸른.

Hilarious video rhyme rap for Teochew speakers

2012-10-14T10:03:00.001-07:00

This is the most hilarious rap/rhyme that I've ever heard. If you are a teochew speaker, there's very high chance you will be laughing until your belly and cheeks ache!

Chicha hor chior. (chinca is also Korean for "really" or "truly" - see my previous posts)

Meaning of flag or guggi or 국기

2012-10-12T09:11:00.002-07:00

Flag in korean script is 국기. Guggi.

In teochew, it is "kok gii". Sounding very similar. Many years ago, I watched a korean movie titled "Taegukgi". It is about the Korean War. I like it a lot because it talks about the enemy is not North or South, or West or East (maybe West!). But about the war itself, and the commanders or leaders. It is not just ideology, or alien. But the regular people are just farmers, and when the other group comes and take their food and vegetables, they are labelled as enemy, traitor, or "the others". It was a sad movie. I hope Koreans will watch it and feel the real meaning. Because I told the air stewardess that was on my plane (UA flight) that this is a movie about peace for Koreans.

Red colour in Teochew - here the word saek

2012-10-04T07:18:00.001-07:00

Colour or saek or 색

2012-10-04T06:08:00.003-07:00

Colour is saek in Teochew language.
The basic wording for colour is saek. 색.

But that's about it. The individual colours itself are not similar.
Example green colour is "chae saek" in Teochew but in Korean it is nuuk saek (녹색 ).

This time I am featuring a small photo of Korea along with the entry. This is the most common convenience store GS25. It has everything you need. And very inexpensive. You can have a proper meal for just 1500 Won (1.5 USD) to 3000 Won at the First World standard of living, this is a super bargain. Just imagine can you get a meal in Norway, Australia, or Japan for such a low price?

Sometimes it includes a free drink!

This pack cost 3000 Won. The top left corner of the box there is a sticker. It says "Take one" either an orange drink or peach. The RRP of the drink it 1000 Won.

Take either a peach or orange drink that retails for 1000 Won

Meal cost is 3000 Won - minus drink 1000 Won = 2000 Won for a full packed meal

Photos of Korea 2012

2012-10-04T05:49:00.001-07:00

Haven't been updating with new vocabulary. While a recent trip to Korea presents the opportunity for some photography. Enjoy them!

My Other Sites

2012-05-24T23:42:00.006-07:00

Here are some of my other sites/blogs. Some are nifty, some aren't!

http://www.artofyourmind.com

http://denzukefinance.blogspot.com

http://lowyatelectronics.blogspot.com

http://lifestylenote.com

http://www.becauseilikewatches.com

http://www.denzukedesign.com

http://www.couchsurfdate.net

Travel or yeohaeng or 여행

2012-03-07T04:53:00.003-08:00

Well this entry is slightly tough. First I cannot really recall if my word for "travel/holiday/vacation" in teochew is correct. (Any teochew readers, feel free to add/comment/correct).

Teochew word: you-haeng or lii-haeng. In chinese, "Lǚxíng " 旅行.
Korean word: Yeohaeng or 여행

Teochew people and language

2012-01-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

Came across this very well written article by Ernie Diaz. http://www.chinaexpat.com/ernie-diaz/

The article is from ChinaExpert.com website, due credits to this site. Link to original article - http://www.chinaexpat.com/2011/08/10/the-teochew-chinese-not-hokkienese.html

Here are some excerpts: They’re Han, Chaozhou people, but not if you ask them. Not Zhong guo ren, but Tang ren are the Teochew. Not people of the Middle Kingdom but of the coast, they’ll tell you, and their home is the mountain on the sea. The “People of the Tang Dynasty” appellation intrigues, for it was the much later 12th century Jin invasion of Northern China that pushed today’s Hokkien and Teochew south to Fujian and Guangdong. Tellingly, the Hokkien and Teochew dialects are quite similar, not only to each other but to Korean, itself a vassal state of the Tang Empire. Even more tellingly, a Teochew will forgive you for calling him Han, but will start wetting the kitchen cleaver if you call him Hokkien.

So if you're a Teochew, a person of Teochew descent it is indeed and interesting discovery to know your roots and its various connections. Ya, even connection with Korean Hangul language!

And pretty true about some Hokkien and Teochew tension! No offence (again a Teochew trait of non-confrontational and endurance) but Hokkien is much a stiffer, rougher, louder language and seems to always lord over Teochew people (e.g. in Malaysia and Singapore). Teochew people often relent and will mingle and speak in Hokkien or Cantonese. In a starting conversation, it is often sort of "enforced" to speak other than Teochew. And the teochew just picks up the language.

But I never ever seen a Hokkien nor Cantonese being humble and want to learn or speak. Or listen! It is almost certain the protagonist will give a weird look if we do not speak their lingua franca.

Only yes alas, once when I was in Hong Kong the land of Cantonese. And I was at a department store shopping centre. There was a bunch of presumably wealthy teochew businessmen. They could be from Shantou or elsewhere or another country I don't know. But they went to this shop and started asking price and questions in teochew. The sales girl can't speak but obliging helped and listen. Never "enforcing" another language upon them.

That massive migrant Teochew population provides an air duct through which to sneak back to our theme of knowing less and less the farther you travel. For only by truly stepping into their alien identity, and paradoxically assimilating around the globe, did the Teochew transcend as a subgroup.

Wui hiam or danger or 위험

2012-01-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

Wui hiam or ngui hiam (or ui hiam). It simply means danger. Or dangerous. Korean script 위험.

Junbi or prepare or 준비

2011-08-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

When I was little, we used to take part in some korean martial arts called taekwondo.

And the first command or word by the instructor was junbi. 준비

In teochew, junbi means "to prepare". Or "get ready".

Korean Leng tang or cold tub cold bath

2011-07-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

Mogyeoktang (public bath) comprise of un-taang (hot tub) and leng-taang (cold tub).
And in Teochew, "leng" means cold as well!

PS: Any readers can help me write the hangul of "leng" and "un"?

Book or chaeg or 책

2011-07-29T10:02:00.001-07:00

책 is chaeg. Book. Sounds exactly the same in Teochew!

The Journey of Learning Korean

2011-07-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Besides being very impressed with Korea's development, the Korean language caught my attention, when many little phrases and words are similar to the teochew language. My learning Korean journey is only the beginning. And hopefully the momentum will keep on going.

The K-pop wave or hallyu swept across Asia and even to Europe for years, since the launch of paradigm-changing movies such as My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀 That Bizarre Girl), Winter Sonata (겨울연가 Gyeoul Yeonga) and Taegukgi Hwinallimyo (Hangul: 태극기 휘날리며) - hit a right chord in people's mind and hearts.

I have to admit I was not fully caught up with this trend. I did managed to watch several powerful Korean movies during my movie going years (2004-2006) averaging one cinema movie per week.
Old Boy (black dark tough)
Taegukgi (my favourite)
3 Iron (strange bizarre artistic)

Only last year I managed to get hold of My Sassy Girl.
Music wise, I had one customer who gave me a compilation CD of popular Korean Original Sound Tracks (OST). Most of the songs were slow. Such as "Perhaps Love", From The Start Till Now, I Believe (this is very popular).

Late last year, I was intrigue by a fast paced korean song playing in my gym. The title was "Go Away" by 2NE1. Took me a while sifting through YouTube to get this song. Firstly, I don't have a clue what the title was. A few lines in the song was in English, and I used that as a search clue. Then going through artiste, and songs - listening and soon found it.

Shigan or time or 시간

2011-07-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

시간 this means shigan or time. In teochew, it is si3 gang. The korean pronunciation is rather fast. Shigan. Do you have time? So it is one common word.

Haksheng or student

2011-07-28T03:32:00.000-07:00

학생 is haksheng. And this was one of the most similar sounding words to Teochew. Haksheng means student. In Korea, haksheng also is used as a common name-caller. E.g. if you saw a young teenager, you can just call "haksheng" instead of not knowing the teenager's name and unsure what to use.

Paek or hundred

2011-07-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

One hundred or hundred is 백 or paek.
In Teochew too, it is paek. Sar-paek means three hundred. For Korean language, it is Sam-paek.