흔들흔들
heun-deul-heun-deul
A loose tooth and a wobbly chair get the same word
The picture One end held in place while the rest swings side to side, never settling. 흔들흔들 swings side to side while still attached; 덜덜 trembles small and fast.
Where the picture shows up in 흔들흔들
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a tooth about to come out
이가 흔들흔들해요.
i-ga heun-deul-heun-deu-rae-yo
My tooth is loose.
Push with the tongue and one tooth rocks back and forth in the gum
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a chair that tips
의자가 흔들흔들해요.
ui-ja-ga heun-deul-heun-deu-rae-yo
The chair wobbles.
Each time you sit, one leg lifts off the floor and touches down again
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a body pulled sideways
버스에서 몸이 흔들흔들해요.
beo-seu-e-seo mo-mi heun-deul-heun-deu-rae-yo
My body sways on the bus.
At every turn the body on the strap is dragged left, then right
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laundry dragged by wind
빨래가 바람에 흔들흔들해요.
ppal-lae-ga ba-ra-me heun-deul-heun-deu-rae-yo
The laundry is swaying in the wind.
The hem of a pegged shirt travelling left and right with the wind
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footing that won't hold still
다리가 흔들흔들해서 무서웠어요.
da-ri-ga heun-deul-heun-deu-rae-seo mu-seo-wo-sseo-yo
The bridge swayed and it scared me.
With every step, the bridge under the feet tilts one way then the other
All of it in one picture
흔들흔들 is one picture: held at one end, swinging at the other. On a tooth it is the wiggle of something about to come out; on a chair it is one leg that doesn't quite reach; on a bus it is a body pulled sideways with nothing to hold. On a washing line it is cloth dragged by wind, and on a bridge it is the fear of footing that won't hold still.