그림의 떡

Korean

Etymology

Literally, “rice cake (tteok) in a picture”. Native calque of 화중지병(畵中之餠) (hwajungjibyeong, “cake in a picture”). Compare 화병충기(畵餠充饑) (hwabyeongchunggi), Chinese 畫餅充飢 / 画饼充饥 (huàbǐngchōngjī).

Pronunciation

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈkɯ(ː)ɾimɰi t͈ʌ̹k̚] ~ [ˈkɯ(ː)ɾime̞ t͈ʌ̹k̚]
  • Phonetic hangul: [그(ː)리믜 떡/그(ː)리메 떡]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?geurimui tteok
Revised Romanization (translit.)?geulim'ui tteog
McCune–Reischauer?kŭrimŭi ttŏk
Yale Romanization?kūlim.uy ttek

Noun

그림의 떡 • (geurim-ui tteok)

  1. (idiomatic, figurative) prize beyond one's reach; pie in the sky
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