탄탄대로

Korean

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (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

Noun

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

   명문대에 입학한 이후 인생길이 탄탄대로일 줄 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.