🇰🇷Korean Source WordCode: KO

세상의 소금

Pronunciation / Transliteration: sesang-ui sogeum

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Salt of the earth/ˌsɔːlt əv ði ˈɜːθ/
noun phraseCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #4500 frequency
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🇰🇷 Example Sentence in Korean:

"그는 사회에서 진정한 세상의 소금 같은 역할을 하는 사람이다."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

1 sense
As noun phrase
  1. 1

    A very good, honest, and reliable person or group of people.

    "My grandfather has lived in the same rural town his whole life and is truly the salt of the earth, always helping neighbors without expecting anything in return."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

This phrase originates from the New Testament of the Bible, specifically from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew (5:13), where Jesus refers to his disciples as 'the salt of the earth'. Historically, salt was an essential commodity used for preserving food and enhancing flavor, imbuing the metaphor with notions of high value, integrity, and foundational importance. Over centuries, the religious nuance softened into a secular idiom describing an exceptionally honest, reliable, and kind person.

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