🇺🇸 Translation
Still a long way to go..;;
📙 Lesson point
How to say “Still a long way to go” in Korean
Hello, everyone! We’re going to learn three things today. First, we’ll learn about the Korean adverb ‘아직.’ We’ll take a look at the two meanings of this word. Next, we’ll learn about the Korean adjective ‘많다,’ and the adverb form of this word, ‘많이.’ Finally, we’ll learn about the verb ‘남다.’
After reading today’s post, not only will you be able to learn how to say “Still a long way to go” in Korean, but you’ll also understand how this Korean expression is grammatically formed. Moreover, we’ll look into the actual expression that Giselle of AESPA used for her Instagram post. Let’s begin!
Korean adverb ‘아직’
To begin with, let’s take a look at the Korean adverb ‘아직.’ It is mainly used in two meanings. First, it has the meaning that there should be more time until something happens. Let’s take a look at a few examples.
졸업은 아직 멀었어요
= Graduation is yet far away
적은 아직 죽지 않았어!
= The enemy hasn't died yet!
도착까지 아직 1시간 더 가야 해
= We still have an hour to go until our arrival (We still have an hour to go before we get there)
사실은 아직 이해가 안 돼
= To be honest, I still can't understand
The second meaning is that something or a condition is continuing without ending. Let’s take a look at some examples.
영화 안 끝났어. 아직 보는 중이야.
= The movie hasn't ended yet. I'm still watching it. (The movie is still ongoing)
저는 아직 학생이에요.
= I am still a student. (Me being a student is an ongoing state)
이 환자는 아직 살아있어요!
= This patient is still alive!
Korean adjective ‘많다’ and adverb ‘많이’
Now, let’s move on to the next word. Before learning about the adverb ‘많이’ which is used in this post, let’s take a look at the word ‘많다,’ which is the adjective form of ‘많이.’
‘많다’ means “to be a lot, to be many.” Therefore, the adverb form of this, ‘많이’ would mean “a lot, many.” So, the simple rule is this: Use the adjective ‘많다’ to say that the quantity of something is large, and use the adverb ‘많이’ if you want to say that a verb or adjective is happening strongly. Let’s take a look at some examples to see how these words are used.
책상에는 연필이 많다
= There are a lot of pencils on the desk
나는 옷이 정말 많아
= I have a lot of clothes
그 베이커리에는 맛있는 디저트가 많다
= There are a lot of delicious desserts at that bakery
나는 너를 많이 좋아해
= I love you a lot
에이미는 많이 피곤해 보였어
= Amy seemed to be very tired
아리는 옷을 많이 샀다
= Ari bought a lot of clothes
Korean verb ‘남다’
Lastly, let’s learn about the verb ‘남다,’ and the past tense form of this word which is ‘남았다.’
‘남다’ mainly has two meanings. First, it has the meaning of “to be left because one didn’t consume all of it.” The second meaning is “to remain still without leaving.”
‘남았다’ is the past tense of ‘남다.’ Let’s look at some example sentences that use this verb. The following two example sentences have the verb ‘남다’ with its first meaning.
지민이는 조금 먹어. 항상 음식이 많이 남아.
= Jimin eats a little. Food is always left a lot.
일주일 내내 먹었는데 아직도 남았어.
= I ate it all week, but there's still more left.
Now, let’s look at some examples using the second meaning.
줄 게 있으니까 수업 끝나고 교실에 남아.
= Remain at the classroom after class because I have something to give you.
빨간 물고기들이 모두 죽고 파란 물고기만 남았다.
= All the red fish died and only the blue fish was left.
Giselle says: “아직 마이 남았다..;;”
To conclude, let’s take a look at the post Giselle of AESPA posted on Instagram. Giselle said ‘아직 마이 남았다.’ The grammatically correct form would be ‘아직 많이 남았다,’ but she seems to have written ‘많이’ as ‘마이’ to write it in a more natural manner. The direct translation of this phrase would be “there is still a lot left,” but when we translate it liberally, it can be translated as “Plenty is left, still,” or “Still a long way to go.”