[English with Yoo] Water down

Hello everyone, this is Jennifer Yoo with ENGLISH WITH YOO! 안녕하세요 English with Yoo!의 Jennifer Yoo입니다.

오늘의 표현은 water down 입니다.

What does it mean to water down something? Well, let’s find out but first we will listen to today’s conversation. Listen carefully. 그럼 오늘의 대화를 들어보면서 ‘water down’이 무슨 뜻인지 알아보겠습니다. 잘 들어보세요.

Water down

Jason: I thought Lisa’s speech was going to be aggressive but it was watered down!

Jen: It was watered down? How so?

Jason: Well, she addressed her audience so that it was less offensive.

Jen: Oh I see.

본문에서 Jason이 “I thought Lisa’s speech was going to be aggressive but it was watered down! 난 Lisa의 연설이 공격적일 것으로 생각했는데, 수위를 낮췄어"라고 하자 제가 “It was watered down? How so? 수위를 낮췄다고, 어떻게?”라고 물었 습니다. Jason도 “Well, she addressed her audience so that is less offensive. 글쎄, 청중들이 덜 불쾌하도록 연설했어.”라고 대답했습니다.

Now keep today’s expression ‘water down’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Water down

Jason: I thought Lisa’s speech was going to be aggressive but it was watered down!

Jen: It was watered down? How so?

Jason: Well, she addressed her audience so that it was less offensive.

Jen: Oh I see.

Today’s expression is water down. Water down literally means to dilute something. But in today’s case, ‘water down’ means to make something weaker and lessen in impact. For example, if I have changed something such as a speech to make it less strong or less offensive, I have watered down my speech. Water down을 직역하면 ‘무엇에 물을 타서 희석시키다’ 라는 뜻이 되죠. 즉 연설이나 글이 좀 부드러워지도록 하는 것을 말합니다.

In today’s example, Jason tells me that Lisa’s speech was watered down. 본문에서Jason은 자신이 생각했던 것 보다 Lisa의 연설이 덜 공격적이었다고 했습니다. 영어로 “I thought Lisa’s speech was going to be aggressive but it was watered down!”라고요. 이렇게 연설이나 글들을 부드럽게 조절할 때 쓸 수 있는 표현이 바로 ‘water down’입니다.

Now let me give you some example sentences using today’s expression. “Jimmy, don’t try to water down the truth.”는 “Jimmy, 진실을 희석시키려고 하지마.”로 해석할 수 있습니다. Here is another example sentence. “I think I should water down my message because it is a little too harsh.”라는 문장을 해석하면 “내 메시지를 좀 부드럽게 해야 할 것 같아. 좀 가혹하거든.” 라는 뜻입니다. ‘Water down’, 이 표현 잘 익혀두시고요. 오늘의 대화를 마지막으로 들어보겠습니다. Now that you know what today’s expression means, let’s listen to the conversation for the last time.

Water down

Jason: I thought Lisa’s speech was going to be aggressive but it was watered down!

Jen: It was watered down? How so?

Jason: Well, she addressed her audience so that it was less offensive.

Jen: Oh I see.

Let’s review what we have learned today. ‘Water down’ means to make something weaker and lessen in impact. ‘WATER DOWN’라는 표현을 한번 사용해보도록 해보세요. Now try using this expression on your own. 지금까지 ENGLISH WITH YOO에 Jennifer Yoo입니다. Until next time, bye bye!