A Korean Proverb About Kind Words: 가는 말이 고와야 오는 말이 곱다

안녕하세요 DK 가족 여러분~ 반가워요!! 잘 지냈어요? 😊 Today’s Korean proverb is 가는 말이 고와야 오는 말이 곱다. A natural English meaning is, “If you speak kindly to someone, they’ll speak kindly back.” 가는 말 comes from 가다, “to go,” + 말, “words,” so it means the words you say to someone. 오는 말 comes from 오다, “to come,” + 말, so it means the words someone says back to you. 곱다 usually means “beautiful” or “lovely,” but here it means kind, polite, or pleasant. The grammar -아/어야 in 고와야 has the meaning of “only if” or “in order for.” So the proverb reminds us that kindness often comes back to us when we speak kindly to others. 💚 How about we share some kind words and compliments with each other today? 😊