Korean edit

Etymology edit

Sino-Korean word from 탄탄(坦坦) (tantan, wide and flat) + 대로(大路) (daero, avenue, great road).

Pronunciation edit

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈtʰa̠(ː)ntʰa̠ndɛɾo̞] ~ [ˈtʰa̠(ː)ntʰa̠nde̞ɾo̞]
  • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)/(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?tantandaero
Revised Romanization (translit.)?tantandaelo
McCune–Reischauer?t'ant'andaero
Yale Romanization?thānthantaylo

Noun edit

탄탄대로 (tantandaero) (hanja 坦坦大路) (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese)

  1. (literally) wide, easy road for travel
  2. (figurative, more common) bright, guaranteed future
    명문대 입학한 이후 인생길 탄탄대로 알았지만 단단히 착각이었다.
    Myeongmundae-e iphakhan ihu insaengkkir-i tantandaero-il jul aratjiman dandanhi chakgag-ieotda.
    After I got into a top university, I thought my life would be guaranteed for success, but I was totally mistaken.