탄탄대로

Korean

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

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈtʰa̠(ː)ntʰa̠ndɛɾo̞] ~ [ˈtʰa̠(ː)ntʰa̠nde̞ɾo̞]
Phonetic hangul: [탄(ː)탄대로/탄(ː)탄데로]
- 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

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

(literally) wide, easy road for travel
(figurative, more common) bright, guaranteed future
명문대 에 입학한 이후 인생길 이 탄탄대로일 줄 알았지만 단단히 착각 이었다.
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.