Korean Job Discussion Forums

[newteacher]

Anyone else noticed Koreans fascination with the word 'delicious'. I have a few students who love to say it in just about any context. If someone in class makes a funny comment, there's always one student who says, "That was delicious." When I go to certain restaurants as I'm paying my bills the cashier will always say with a smile "Delicious", as though it's the only English word he knows. And I was out with a friend of mine this weekend and for her nothing is ever good, or very good, it's either delicious, or not delicious. There are no other qualifications for food. And if I tried to say that something was good, but not delicious, I got yelled at and told that it had to be delicious.

[mole]

It's your duty as a language instructor in their country to make them understand how badly they bastardize English.
If you can be condescending, all the better.
They still won't get it.

[Stormy]

During class the other day I absentmindedly said "good stuff" when a student gave me the correct answer. I heard the co-teacher muttering "good stuff" to himself over & over & now it has become the favourite phrase at my school. Lunch is good stuff, the weather is good stuff.
But yes, they do also favour "delicious".

[JustJohn]

Pretty sure this is the reason:

A long time ago someone translated 맛있다 as "delicious," so whenever a Korean wants to say something tastes good they say "delicious." They have no idea what degree of tastiness they are implying, they just think it means "tastes good."

[idonojacs]

From what I can figure out, apparently they are using "delicious" as a direct translation for a Korean word that would be more accurately translated as "tasty."

Most often they will say "very delicious."

I don't think any native speakers say very delicious, just delicious.

But we do say "very tasty."

At least the textbooks here get it right, saying simply "delicious."

Do you think the heavy use of "delicious" could in some way be related to the use of English textbooks to propagandize the superlative qualities of Korean food?

That was OK when Koreans were teaching Englishy, but I must say it is slightly annoying as an American to be used to perpetrate the myth of Korean superiority.

But whatever.

Did you know "pizza" in Korean is "pizza?"

It won't last forever.

[Chris_Dixon]

[newteacher]

[crusher_of_heads]

It's mildly annoying due to repetition, but it's hardly worth complaining about-try describing or defining an alternate word.


When I had steak dinner with my coteacher in December, I suggested a dry red wine. If anybody can give an accurate and definiton of "dry" as it pertains to red wine, I'd like to hear it.

[nobbyken]

When I first arrived for a 4-week vacation, friends of my (now) wife would ask me how I liked Korea.
I would say, "It's good" or "I like it."

They would be a bit bemused that I never said brilliant or awesome or a similar superlative.

If the streets never smelt strange, and I wasn't constantly uncomfortable with the heat and hot pepper food, then I probably would have said something else.

'It's good' or 'I like it' are pretty suitable answers I thought.

[curlygirl]

[Privateer]

Koreans cannot get through the day without using the words '맛있다' and '재미있다'. Hence the massive overuse of 'delicious', and also 'interesting', 'fun', and 'funny'. They're only trying to say the same things they say in Korean.

[crusher_of_heads]

I use interesting as a euphemism all the time.

My coteacher is great, although unfortunately married-last December she brought in some fish [obvioulsy didn't get the name] with a pungent odor. They made the mistake of asking me what I thought about it at 915am.

"Interesting"-they all laughed at it.

[darkcity]

[Young FRANKenstein]

[ardis]

I don't know...in Spanish, everyone always used the word "sabrosa" to describe how good food was, so...yeah. We weren't taught the equivalents of "scrumptious", "delectable" and the like, so we just always used "la comida esta muy sabrosa."

But yeah, I've tried to teach my kids different words for "delicious."