아주
a-ju
아주 pushes the dial to the end of its track
The picture A hand sliding a dial to the very end of its track, leaving nowhere further to go. 아주 runs the dial to the end; 조금 nudges it up by a single notch.
Where the picture shows up in 아주
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flavor pushed to the end
이거 아주 맛있어요.
i-geo a-ju ma-si-sseo-yo
This is really delicious.
One spoonful goes in and the eyes widen as the head starts nodding.
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all the way to the small end
소금은 아주 조금만 넣으세요.
so-geu-meun a-ju jo-geum-man neo-eu-se-yo
Add just a tiny bit of salt.
Fingertips pinch barely enough salt to show, sliding the dial down to its lowest notch.
Proof that 아주 does not only push toward 'more'.
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praise pushed to the end
아주 잘하셨어요.
a-ju jal-ha-syeo-sseo-yo
You did really well.
Someone who had only been nodding raises both hands and actually applauds.
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distance pushed to nothing
역에서 아주 가까워요.
yeo-ge-seo a-ju ga-kka-wo-yo
It's very close to the station.
On the map, the line between two points shrinks until they nearly touch.
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speed pushed to the bottom
아주 천천히 말씀해 주세요.
a-ju cheon-cheon-hi mal-sseum-hae ju-se-yo
Please speak very slowly.
A hand drags the speed lever all the way down to its slowest notch.
An essential request while your Korean is still new.
All of it in one picture
아주 is the hand that runs a dial to the end of its track. Push it toward flavor and the food is 아주 delicious; drag it down to the small end and you get 아주 a little. Push praise to the end and the work was 아주 well done, shrink the distance to nothing and the place is 아주 close, drop the speed to the bottom and the speech is 아주 slow. So 아주 is not 'much' — it says there is nowhere further to push, in whichever direction.