what 개나 주는 거 means i don't know the meaning of 개나 주는 거, especially the role of&nbsp;나 in the sentence. Please explain it for me. Thank you so much.

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what 개나 주는 거 means

i don't know the meaning of 개나 주는 거, especially the role of 나 in the sentence. Please explain it for me. Thank you so much.

14. Feb. 2016 16:28

Literally, '개나 주는 것' ="개에게나 주는 것" = "개 한테나 주는 것" = "something only to be given to a dog" as Tony said.

But this expression is... somewhat cynical or contemptuous. You had better not use this expression.

"그가 나에게 열심히 일했다고 준게 겨우 이 볼펜이야. 개나 주는 것"

- "He gave me this ball point pen in return for my working hard. It's only to be given to a dog"

It's only to be given to a dog - It's worse than giving nothing. - I felt despised.

15. Februar 2016

"개나 주는 거" = 개(에게)나 주는 것 => something you only give to the dogs.

"나" is a particle(조사) which has the meaning of "only". It takes the form "이나" after consonants (받침).

It subtly changes the connotation of what it attaches to, which can be a noun or another particle as here.

You can think of 개나 as 개 + 에게(to) + 나(only), where 에게 is omitted.

If you say 개에게 주는 것, it would mean something you give to the dogs, a plain fact with no special nuance.

By adding 나, you emphasize it like "something you wouldn't give anyone (because of poor quality) except the dogs."

Here's some other examples:

- 악인이나 그런 짓을 한다: Only evil men would do such a thing. (나 attaches to a subject particle 이)

( 악인이나 might be thought of as 악인 + 이(subject marker) + 나 or 악인 + 이나. Either way it means the same thing. )

- 할 일도 없는데 티비나 봐야겠다: Got nothing to do, might as well watch TV. (나 implies "TV, since there's nothing better")

- 이것이나 저것이나 마찬가지예요: This or that, they are all the same. (나 imparts a strong sense of "no matter" here)

15. Februar 2016

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