# 빛 바랬지만



## 조금만

After much lurking -- and learning -- here, I'd like to step forward with a question.

I've recently encountered what is plainly the same expression in several different forms

빛 바랬지만, 빛이 바랬지만 (i.e. with the subject marker), 빛을 바랬지만 (with the object marker) and as one word 빛바랬지만.

Google brings up 9,000 instances of the one-word form alone. 

But although I have peered at several hundred of these examples, I haven't been able to settle the meaning, even where I understood the rest of the context. None of the dictionaries I have access to is any help (aside obviously, from giving the literal meanings of 빛, which I knew already, and of 바래다, which I know also. But that still doesn't help me with the actual meaning of those words in a (part) sentence like 

빛 바랬지만 일에 대한 열정도 만땅인 우리의 그녀

which is where I've just hit it yet again.

So: can anyone shed any "light" before my courage "fades" (no puns seriously intended)


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## Youngil Hong

Please see if I’ve gotten your question properly.

I think you already know the literal meaning of “빛바래다”, 
But you are curious about its meaning in specific text such as 빛바랬지만
일에대한 열정도 만땅인 우리의 그녀. Right??

But, you know, for me to explain to you accurately, we need to know what is the subject of 빛바래다 in that sentence(Did you make the sentence? I think it’s not a good sentence), or the whole context from which the sentence come.

Please give me more information.


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## 조금만

Youngil Hong said:


> Did you make the sentence? I think it’s not a good sentence),



Thank you for helping, and sorry for the dubious example, though it is "authentic".  I wouldn't dare to make up such a sentence myself: I leave to native speakers the privilege of mistreating their own language in that fashion...

It just happened to be the latest place I encountered this expression, which was in the blurb for a forthcoming drama put out by KBS, and that particular passage is in the laid-back, allusive style (or anti-style) which such writing tends to adopt.

To start by translating as much as I can, it's outlining the character of a "Woman on the verge of turning 30, who's neither particularly good looking nor gifted. She's very plain-spoken and pure-hearted, so she sometimes comes across as foolish, 하지만, 사랑 앞에서 누구보다 순수하고, 빛바랬지만 일에 대한 열정도 만땅인 우리의 그녀.

So... to attempt to continue the translation where I just left off, "but in matters of love, she's exceptionally innocent, ????? in her work, the woman we're talking about  is ...???

I'm OK on 만땅 after I tracked down the Hanja behind 만, but with that  understanding-gap caused by the expression that is perplexing me, I can't really get the rest of the sentence into shape in my head.


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## Youngil Hong

Thank you for your detailed information.

Okay, I think you did good job before the part you left.

And in the context, you can see that “빛바래다” is modifying 
“일에대한열정”

So, in this sentence, 빛바래다 can be understood like this:
even if she did her best in doing her work with passion, she’s failed in getting good result, so she didn’t be rewarded for her enthusiasm about her work. 

So, the whole sentence can be transfered like this;
But when it comes to love, she is more pure than anyone else, and she didn't be rewarded for her enthusiasm for her work, but she’s still full of enthusiasm for her work. 

Hope you it was helpful to you.


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## Mack&Mack

조금만 said:


> Thank you for helping, and sorry for the dubious example, though it is "authentic". I wouldn't dare to make up such a sentence myself: I leave to native speakers the privilege of mistreating their own language in that fashion...
> 
> It just happened to be the latest place I encountered this expression, which was in the blurb for a forthcoming drama put out by KBS, and that particular passage is in the laid-back, allusive style (or anti-style) which such writing tends to adopt.
> 
> To start by translating as much as I can, it's outlining the character of a "Woman on the verge of turning 30, who's neither particularly good looking nor gifted. She's very plain-spoken and pure-hearted, so she sometimes comes across as foolish, 하지만, 사랑 앞에서 누구보다 순수하고, 빛바랬지만 일에 대한 열정도 만땅인 우리의 그녀.
> 
> So... to attempt to continue the translation where I just left off, "but in matters of love, she's exceptionally innocent, ????? in her work, the woman we're talking about is ...???
> 
> I'm OK on 만땅 after I tracked down the Hanja behind 만, but with that understanding-gap caused by the expression that is perplexing me, I can't really get the rest of the sentence into shape in my head.


 
Hi 조금만,

My English is okay sometimes, but some other times it really sucks. I hope I can get my point across this time.

An online dictionary says,

[형용사](주로 ‘빛바랜’ 꼴로 쓰여) 낡거나 오래되다.

http://kordic.nate.com/dicsearch/view.html?i=18741700

Likewise, I would interpret 빛바랜 그녀 to mean that she is not very young as opposed to (late) teenagers. In my humble opinion, this expression is likely to be seen in written Korean as I believe you have already noticed.

하지만, 사랑 앞에서 누구보다 순수하고, 빛바랬지만 일에 대한 열정도 만땅인 우리의 그녀.

So, I would translate the sentence into something like this.

but in matters of love, she's exceptionally innocent, full of passion in her work if not young, 

For an additional piece of information on the word 만땅, 만땅 is an informal way of saying _being full _for some reason.

*만땅* [ 滿←[일본어]tan ] [명사]‘가득’, ‘가득 채움’, ‘가득 참’으로 순화. 【tan＜tank】 http://alldic.nate.com/search/krdic.html?search_select2=on&category=&q=만땅

(At a petrol station) 만땅 채워주세요. or 가득 채워주세요. means _Could you fill her up_? 
In Korea, customers themselves don't fill up their cars, unlike some western countries. I don't know what it's like in Britain, though.

Please let me know if there is some part that doesn't make sense. I'll try to explain it again.

Hope this helps.


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## 조금만

Many thanks to both respondents for these helpful replies, which not only cleared up my original perplexity, but gve me valuable pointers to other things as well.

I would say more, but I am currently "on the road" at a coffee shop with an execrable WiFi connection and so I just wanted to say a word of thanks before I get cut off again...


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