아침에 택시를 타고 보니 차 번호가 4444인 거예요. 왠지 꺼림칙했어요.
I took a taxi in the morning and found the car number was 4444. I felt uncomfortable for some reason.
아, 한국인들은 숫자 4를 싫어한다면서요? 이유가 뭐예요?
Oh, I heard that Koreans don’t like the number four. Why is that?
죽는다는 뜻의 한자 ‘사’하고 발음이 같아서 그래요. 그래서 4층이 없는 건물도 있어요.
It’s because it has the same pronunciation as ‘sa’ in Chinese characters which means death. So there are some buildings with no fourth floor.
그렇군요. 그럼 한국인들이 좋아하는 숫자는 뭐예요?
I see. Then which number do Koreans like?
한국인들은 보통 3을 선호해요. 양과 음이 합해진 완전한 숫자라고 여기거든요.
Usually Koreans like the number three. They believe it’s a complete number of yang(positive) and yin(negative) combined.
아, 그래서 한국인들이 항상 ‘삼세번’이라고 하는군요. 가위바위보도 꼭 세 번씩 하고요.
Oh, that’s why Koreans always say ‘Samsaebeon(three times)’. Also, rock, paper, and scissors must be played three times every time.
V+ 고 보니
It is attached to the stem of an action verb when you did realize the following contents only after you did a behavior.
놓칠 뻔한 지하철을 간신히 탔는데 타고 보니 반대 방향으로 가는 지하철이었다.
I barely got on the subway that I almost missed, but it turned out to be ongoing in the opposite direction.
어릴 때는 늘 어른이 되고 싶었는데 막상 어른이 되고 보니 다시 학생 시절로 돌아가고 싶은 마음이 간절하다.
I always wanted to become an adult when I was young, but now that I’ve grown up, I’m eager to go back to my school days.
내가 뭘 잘못했는지 몰랐는데 나중에 친구의 말을 듣고 보니 내가 실수했다는 것을 알게 됐다.
I didn’t know what I had done wrong, but after I heard the words my friends said, I found out that I had made a mistake.
Related words
꺼림칙하다 to feel uncomfortable
양 yang(positive)
음 yin(negative)
더하다 to add
여기다 to regard
삼세번 three times
가위바위보 rock paper scissors
Source: Yonsei University. Korean Language Institute