어디 이뿐이간

[Avant Gardener]

Hello all,

I am reading a novel heavy in dialogue, and have had an issue understanding the following sentence:

"니가 나한티 처음 해보게 한 것이 어디 이뿐이간?"

From context I think I understand the general meaning - the speaker is emphasizing that, because of her son, she has been able to experience many new things in life. But I am really stumped by "어디 이뿐이간" - I suspect that in standard Korean this is "어디 이뿐인가," but while I understand all of these words in isolation I am unsure what this means as a phrase. Any help would be appreciated - thank you so much!

 

[bluecraft]

"니가 나한티 처음 해보게 한 것이 어디 이뿐이간?"

is a dialect form of "네가 나한테 처음 해보게 한 것이 어디 이것뿐인가"

Meaning of the phrase is "Not only this is the new experience you gave me"(sentence implies she has experienced a number of new things as she gave a birth to her first child)

 

[Avant Gardener]

Thank you! I think what is still confusing to me is the usage of "어디" here. Is it just meant to be a rhetorical exclamation like 도대체, or is "어디 이뿐인가" a set phrase of some kind (I noticed online they appear frequently together)? Looking at the sentence it appears quite simple, but I'm having trouble figuring out how the different words fit together.

 

[pcy0308]

Hello Avant Gardener,
Yes, you are spot on. "어디" here is used as a rhetorical expression that highlights the following clause: "...isn't necessary the only time you've put me through things (that I've never gone through before)". It emphasizes the fact that "this is not the only stuff you've made me do/experience/go through". It is tricky to find the exact English equivalent for it since it is rhetorical and the sentence would convey the exact same thing without it. Rather than trying to understand its literal, dictionary meaning, it'd be more useful to understand how "어디" can be used in different contexts.

For example:
지금 힘든 사람이 어디 우리뿐이겠어? We are not the only one struggling these days.
세상에 맛있는 식당이 어디 여기뿐이겠어? This is not the only good restaurant (there are plenty of other good places).

According to a dictionary, "어디" is used commonly in ironic/sarcastic interrogative statements to emphasize something/some fact's quantity, extent, range, or its magnitude. Here, the speaker simply seems to be suggesting that this is not the only thing her son has made her go through (and that there are a whole bunch of other stuff the speaker has been able to experience for the first time, thanks to her son). Hope this helps.

 

[Avant Gardener]

pcy0308, this is so helpful. Your explanation is vivid and clear and I feel like now I have a sense of this pattern and can recognize / use it in the future. Thank you so much!!

 

[pcy0308]

Anytime. you can try coming up with your own sentences using "어디". The forum will be able to guide you on how to properly use it in actual conversations.