koreangrumblings:

koreangrumblings:

티가 나다 / 티를 내다 are expressions I had never heard before I started studying with Talk to Me in Korean’s Iyagi story.  After that, it seems to pop up everywhere from conversations with co-workers to certain reality rap competition shows.

티 has many definitions according to Naver Dictionary, but for the purposes of this expression, we’ll define 티 as an “air” or a “look”.  As in, a woman dressed up in a ball gown has an “air of elegance” about her, or if you’re shopping and come across a very thin shirt, you might think that it has a “cheap look” to it (”It looks cheap!”).  To express this in Korean, you would use either 티가 나다 or 티를 내다.

티를 내다 can be translated into English as “to show” or “to give off a sense of”.

불안한 티를 진짜 안 내려고 했는데… I was really trying not to show how uneasy I felt…

나는 짜증이 났지만 티를 낼 수 없었다.  I was annoyed, but I couldn’t show it.

그는 나를 좋아하는 티를 낸다.  It’s obvious that he likes me.  (He’s showing signs that he likes me.)

If a friend is bad at keeping secrets, you can warn them with: 티를 내지마! Don’t be obvious about it! (Don’t show any signs that you know!)

티가 나다 is more passive than 티를 내다.  While 티를 내다 refers to behaving in a way that gives off a certain impression, 티가 나다 is more about receiving that impression from your observations.  If your friend’s eyes are red and a little swollen, you might say to them, “I can tell you’ve been crying” or “It seems like you’ve been crying.”  티가 나다 would be used here.

언니가 옆에서 너무 불안한 티가 났다.  Standing next to her, I could tell she was really uneasy.

그 남자는 나이보다 더 늙은 티가 난다.  He seems older than his age.

내가 화장을 안 한 티가 나요?  Can you tell I’m not wearing make up? (Is it obvious that I’m not wearing make up?)

If you suspect that two of your friends are secretly dating and someone asks you how you know, you can simply respond: 티가 나잖아! I can just tell! (It’s so obvious!)

REBLOGGING FOR ADDED INFORMATION:

We recently covered this expression in my Korean class, and so I thought I would just tag some extra bits my teacher had explained to me.  Certain words and prefixes (for lack of a better term) can be attached to 티, in which case the meaning of 티 changes from being a general vibe to being a vibe connected to the attached noun.  Some examples are:

노티: signs of old age

부티: signs of wealth

촌티: signs of tackiness

아줌마 티:  middle aged woman vibes

선생님 티: teacher vibes

막내 티: youngest child vibes

귀티:  preciously raised vibes (in the sense that their parents consider them to be precious for reasons such as they are the only child or the only son or daughter)

Some scenarios in which these can be used:

If someone is well dressed in designer clothes: 와~ 부티 나네!

If people keep guessing that my age is older than it actually is, I might wonder to myself: 난 너무 노티 나나?

If a friend turns a discussion into a lecture on their latest published article: 넌 선생님 티 나니 그만해.

Please note that, according to my teacher, when it comes to nouns, this expression shouldn’t be used if the noun doesn’t match the person to whom you’re referring.  For example, 선생님 티 can only be used when speaking about someone who is actually a teacher.  If that person is not a teacher, 선생님처럼 (like a teacher) should be used:  넌 선생님처럼 얘기하는 거니 그만해.