작다
jak-da
Tight shirt, tiny print, thin voice: all one Korean word
The picture An outline pulls inward and no longer fills the space it was meant to, leaving a margin. jakda is an outline shrinking inward; keuda is one spreading outward.
Where the picture shows up in 작다
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The clothes are narrower than the body
이 옷은 저한테 좀 작아요.
i o-seun jeo-han-te jom ja-ga-yo
This top is a bit tight on me.
A hand tries to button up and the cloth pulls taut, a gap opening between the edges
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The print does not reach the eye
글씨가 너무 작아서 안 보여요.
geul-ssi-ga neo-mu ja-ga-seo an bo-yeo-yo
The print is too fine for me to read.
The paper is pulled right up to the face and the letters still clump into dots
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The voice does not reach the ear
목소리가 작아서 잘 안 들려요.
mok-so-ri-ga ja-ga-seo jal an deul-lyeo-yo
Your voice is low, I can't hear you well.
The phone is pressed harder to the ear and the words still leak in from far away
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The amount fits in one palm
금액이 작으니까 현금으로 낼게요.
geu-mae-gi ja-geu-ni-kka hyeon-geu-meu-ro nael-ge-yo
It's only a little, so I'll pay cash.
An open palm with just a few coins sitting loose on it
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The matter is the size of dust
작은 일로 싸우지 마세요.
ja-geun il-lo ssa-u-ji ma-se-yo
Don't fight over something so trivial.
Two people face off over a single speck of dust lying between them, voices rising
All of it in one picture
jakda is one outline pulled inward. Cloth too short to go around the body and the shirt is too small; letters too small to reach the eye and you cannot read them; a voice too small to reach the ear and you cannot hear it. An amount that fits in one palm is small money, and a problem the size of a speck of dust is a small matter.