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깊다

gip-da

Why water, sleep and the night all get 'deep'

The picture From the opening down to the floor is a long way, and only then does anything touch. 깊다 is a bottom you reach only after a long way down; 얕다 is a bottom you hit as soon as you reach in.

Describing words

Where the picture shows up in 깊다

  1. the bottom of water is far

    이쪽 물은 깊으니까 들어가지 마세요.

    i-jjok mu-reun gi-peu-ni-kka deu-reo-ga-ji ma-se-yo

    The water here is deep, so don't go in.

    You lower a foot and find no floor, so your toes paddle in empty space

  2. a cut that runs into the flesh

    상처가 깊어서 꿰매야 해요.

    sang-cheo-ga gi-peo-seo kkwe-mae-ya hae-yo

    The cut is deep, so it needs stitches.

    The slice does not stop at the skin but opens into the flesh until you can see inside

  3. sleep sinking into the body

    아이가 깊이 잠들었어요.

    a-i-ga gi-pi jam-deu-reo-sseo-yo

    The child is sound asleep.

    The child has sunk to the very floor inside their own body and does not come back up to the surface when called

  4. a bond running past the surface

    두 사람은 사이가 깊어요.

    du sa-ra-meun sa-i-ga gi-peo-yo

    Those two are very close.

    The rope between the two people is not just looped over the surface but runs down inside and is tied fast

  5. the night sinking toward the bottom

    밤이 깊었으니 이제 들어가세요.

    ba-mi gi-peo-sseu-ni i-je deu-reo-ga-se-yo

    It's late now, so go on inside.

    The sounds outside the window go out one by one as the night settles all the way to its lowest point

    Here time itself is drawn as going downward.

All of it in one picture

깊다 is one picture: the bottom is far from the opening. Put a foot in and find no floor, and the water is 깊다; let a cut run past the skin into the flesh and the wound is 깊다. Sleep that sinks to the inner floor of the body is hard to wake from, and a bond that runs past the surface into the inside is a 깊은 friendship. And a night that has sunk toward the bottom is 깊은 밤.

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