English to Korean with no weird google translate faux pas

January 15, 2016 12:33 PM

Can someone who speaks Korean help me translate a short statement to English pronunciation, hopefully resulting in smiles and good feelings for all?

Hello Mefites,

I am hoping to get a translation from English to Korean to make a gesture to my boyfriend's parents. We've been dating for 2 years, and I am excited to finally meet his parents! Their English is very good, but his dad is more comfortable speaking Korean. As a gesture, I'd like to tell my boyfriend's parents, "I really care about your son. Thank you for raising such a good man," in Korean.

I checked with my boyfriend and asked him if I said a few things in Korean if his parents would think it is weird or patronizing, and he said they would love it. I've learned a few common Korean phrases and customs, but I would love to tell them the above statement as well. I don't want to solely trust google translate for something like this--"raising" might translate to growing vegetables, for all I know.

Korean speakers, can you help me translate this to English pronunciation? Google translates it to the following, if it could be a starting place for Korean speakers to critique: nan jeongmal dangsin-ui adeul eul geogjeong . geuleon joh-eun salam eul nop-ineun jusyeoseo gamsahabnida.

Thank you/gomabseubnida

posted by shortyJBot to Writing & Language (5 answers total)

You're right not to trust google translate for this kind of thing - for someone older than you, you should always use proper honorifics but google translate doesn't seem to do honorifics. So with the sentence from google translate, you would end up sounding really rude.

I would say, "juhn-(insert boyfriend's name)-jin-sim-eu-ro-jo-ah-hae-yo. jo-eun-sa-ram-eu-ro-jal-ki-wuh-joo-shuh-suh-gam-sa-ham-ni-da."

Good luck!
posted by Sparkling Natural Mineral Water at 2:07 PM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

The first sentence is incomplete since there's no verb or verb-ending. The literal translation of the first sentence would be "I really your son concern."

Also, Korean speakers would never use dangsin as "you" in formal situations. I would only say dangsin if I were talking to my husband/wife (and depending on the context, close friends) or if I were in an argument with strangers and didn't mind offending them. So be careful if google gives you Korean translations with dangsin in it!
posted by Sparkling Natural Mineral Water at 3:46 PM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

I laughed at that Google translation.

Seconding going with Sparkling's rendering, and the use of honorifics is suitable for your age, if the age in your profile is correct.

MeMail me if you need further help!
posted by research monkey at 3:47 PM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

"Dangshin" would be more formal, when talking to your spouse. "Yeobo" is what you'd yell out across the living room, "dangshin" is what you use face to face. "Dangshin" is also a formal way to say "you" in written Korean, but yeah, it's something else when you say it to a stranger. Korean can be fun in that you can be insulting just by using honorifics out of context.
posted by research monkey at 4:07 PM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you so much, Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, qcubed, and research monkey!

I think it's a little forward to tell his parents "I love your son" the first time I meet them (although I do very much!), but I want something stronger than "I like your son." My boyfriend says his parents are pretty conservative with sharing emotion, so I'd err on the side of caution and use "Jo-ah-hae-yo" versus "sa-rang-hae-yo." Is there a word that translates more to "care for" that would be appropriate? Or maybe I can see how our meeting goes and decide whether "like" or "love" feels best.

Many thanks again!
posted by shortyJBot at 4:20 AM on January 16, 2016