밝다
bak-da
Why knowing the neighbourhood is talked about as light
The picture Light floods in until even the inner corners are exposed with nothing hidden. 밝다 is light coming in until the inside shows; 어둡다 is light draining out until the inside is covered.
Where the picture shows up in 밝다
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light fills a room
이 방은 낮에 아주 밝아요.
i bang-eun na-je a-ju bal-ga-yo
This room is very bright during the day.
Light from the window spreads through the room until even the corner behind the wardrobe has no shadow left
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light packed into a colour
밝은 색 옷이 잘 어울려요.
bal-geun saek o-si jal eo-ul-lyeo-yo
Light-coloured clothes suit you well.
So much white is mixed into the fabric that it is the first thing your eye lands on from across the street
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light rising in a face
그 아이는 성격이 밝아요.
geu a-i-neun seong-gyeo-gi bal-ga-yo
That child has a sunny personality.
The child walks in and a smile spreads until the faces of everyone in the room have brightened too
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light spreading over the sky
날이 밝으면 바로 출발해요.
na-ri bal-geu-myeon ba-ro chul-bal-hae-yo
We leave as soon as it gets light.
The black outside the window slowly whitens and the things in the yard come out one by one into their own shapes
Here 밝다 works as a movement: day breaking.
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a lit-up map inside the head
그분은 이 동네 사정에 밝아요.
geu-bu-neun i dong-ne sa-jeong-e bal-ga-yo
He knows everything about this neighbourhood.
The neighbourhood lies lit up inside his head, so whichever alley you ask about he points it out at once
'~에 밝다' pictures a field lying brightly visible in someone's head.
All of it in one picture
밝다 is one picture: light fills the space and everything shows. Let light into a room and the corners appear; pack light into cloth and you get a bright colour. Let light rise in a face and you get a cheerful person; let it spread across the sky and the day breaks. And when a neighbourhood lies lit up inside someone's head, they are the person who knows the place.