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사대. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
사대, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
사대 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Korean
Etymology
Sino-Korean word from 事大, from 事 (“serve”) + 大 (“great ”), often attributed to a saying in Mencius (translation by James Legge):
- 惟智者為能以小事大。／惟智者为能以小事大。
- And it requires a wise to be able with a small State to serve a great.
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): ~
- Phonetic hangul:
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
| Romanizations |
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| Revised Romanization? | sadae |
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| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | sadae |
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| McCune–Reischauer? | sadae |
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| Yale Romanization? | sātay |
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Noun
사대 • (sadae) (hanja 事大)
- (historical) traditional East Asian states' deferential diplomacy towards the Chinese empire
- in particular, Korea's traditional diplomacy towards China, in which the latter was considered the source of Korean political legitimacy
c. 1644, published in c. 1790, 朝鮮 孝宗 (Hyojong of Korea), 樂學拾零 (Akhak Seumnyeong) [Tidbits of the Musical Sciences]:大明 崇禎이 어듸러로 가시건고 / 三百年 事大 誠信을 못ᄂᆡ 슬허 ᄒᆞ노라- Daemyeong Sungjeong-i eoduireoro gasigeon'go / sambaengnyeon sadae seongsin-eul monnae seulheo hanora
- Where has Chongzhen of the Great Ming gone? / Again and again I grieve for three centuries of integrity in serving China.
- (modern, critical) a sycophantic or self-effacing diplomacy towards a stronger nation
- any situation in which a person or country acts deferentially towards a stronger power
Derived terms