Korean

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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  • (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

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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.