채우다
chae-u-da
You fill a bottle, a blank, and even three years
The picture An empty space is brought all the way to full, until nothing more will fit. 채우다 brings an empty space all the way to full; 비우다 takes a full one all the way back to empty.
Where the picture shows up in 채우다
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an empty bottle becomes full
물병에 물 좀 채워 주세요.
mul-byeong-e mul jom chae-wo ju-se-yo
Please fill the bottle with water.
Water rising inside the bottle until it reaches the line at the neck
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empty spaces fill with writing
빈칸을 다 채우고 내세요.
bin-ka-neul da chae-u-go nae-se-yo
Fill in all the blanks before you hand it in.
Blank boxes on a form filling with handwriting one by one until no white is left
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the missing years are made whole
삼 년을 채워야 퇴직금이 나와요.
sam nyeo-neul chae-wo-ya toe-jik-geu-mi na-wa-yo
You have to complete three full years to get severance.
A bar growing up to the three-year mark until the last segment is coloured in
Time is treated as a vessel: three years is a container your service must fill to the brim.
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an empty stomach fills
배를 좀 채우고 일합시다.
bae-reul jom chae-u-go i-rap-si-da
Let's fill our stomachs first and then work.
A hollow belly rounding out as the food goes in
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every empty hole is closed up
단추를 끝까지 채우세요.
dan-chu-reul kkeut-kka-ji chae-u-se-yo
Do the buttons up all the way.
Every open hole down the front of a shirt taking a button until no gap is left
Buttoning is filling empty holes, so Korean uses the same verb.
All of it in one picture
채우다 is the picture of an empty space brought all the way to full. Water rises to the neck and the bottle is full; the boxes take writing and the form is complete; the bar reaches the third year and you qualify; the belly rounds out and the hunger is gone; each hole takes a button and no gap is left. So wherever 채우다 goes, something that was empty has been made whole with nothing left over.