This article explores the different meanings of the number ‘three’ in proverbs. According to the analysis of this article, the number ‘three’ in proverbs, while carrying the basic meaning of quantity, has more expanded meanings in Korean, Chinese and Japanese proverbs, where it may mean ‘many’, ‘all (whole)’, ‘part’, ‘small’, and even more abstracted concepts. In contrast, the number ‘three’ in the English proverbs is largely biased towards negative meanings. At the end of this study, the analysis of the number ‘three’ in proverbs through machine translation shows that machine translation has many limitations on the translation of the many meanings of the number ‘three’.

Idamsokchan (耳談續纂, Additions to an Earful of Conversation) is an early collection of Korean proverbs capturing 418 proverbs from China and Korea with Chinese translation, most of which are social proverbs. Through a contrastive analysis of the formation mechanism of social proverbs in Idamsokchan, this study explores the influence of Chinese and Korean mindsets on language. Specifically, the study analyzes the structure, semantics, and topic of social proverbs from both Chinese and Korean sources in Idamsokchan. The results indicate that the influence of concrete-versus-abstract and practical-versus-theoretical thinking on proverbs varies. Generally, Korean proverbs exhibit a tendency towards abstract thinking, whereas Chinese proverbs are characterized by an emphasis on concrete thinking. The structural characteristics of Korean and Chinese proverbs are distinct. Korean proverbs are typically formed as a single sentence, whereas Chinese proverbs often employ fixed sentence patterns and connectives. In addition, the syntax of Chinese translations of Korean proverbs in Idamsokchan tends to be morphological. Regarding semantics, a greater proportion of Korean proverbs are of a philosophical nature when compared to Chinese proverbs. While Korean proverbs employ a simplex network and extend metaphors through contrast, Chinese proverbs are adept at using the creative double-scope network. In terms of topic selection, both Korean and Chinese proverbs, cover eight types of topics, using interrogative pronouns as subjects. Nonetheless, the contrastive-topic structure is more commonly observed in Chinese proverbs. Moreover, while the first-person singular pronoun is commonly utilized as a topic in Korean proverbs, the equivalent in Chinese proverbs is the third-person pronoun 其 (qi).

This paper attempts to stress the importance of teaching Chinese proverbs by comparing proverbs of Korea and China. The study divides the proverbs into two broad categories: equivalent switch and non-equivalent switch. The equivalent switch refers to the proverbs with various forms but the same meaning. Accordingly, they are divided into four types: 1) the same form and the same meaning, 2) similar form and the same meaning, 3) different form but the same meaning, and 4) those with local names but the same meaning. Likewise, non-equivalent switch, the proverbs with different meanings, are divided into three types: 5) the same form but different meaning, 6) those with strong influence of local names, and finally 7) those with strong influence of food cultures. The paper suggests that Korean leaners should improve their understandings about Chinese proverbs and their abilities to use those proverbs appropriately in real situations of communication.

基本掌握汉语口语后，可以学习中文。学习中文，掌握足量的书面语汇是关键，包括字、词、语、句、篇，可按五步进行。字是常用字。词是常用词。语包括成语、谚语等。句指格言、名句、佳言。篇是浅易文言文。皆应是精粹。学习时，还要自读大量的白话文。2013 年本人从大量资料中选出常用成语一千条，常用谚语七百条，并据此协助山东济南育贤小学编辑中文教材《诵读识字》，共两册。第一册识字600，第二册800。因是低年级教材，纳入的成语、谚语还很有限，但已试着付诸实践，取得一些经验。本文着重就成语、谚语的选择、编辑和教学提出了研究报告。

This study was performed to approach Korean food proverbs from the stance of food ethics. Both modern principles and traditional principles of food ethics were applied to select proverbs. The modern principles include a respect for life, justice, environmental preservation, and the priority of safety. The traditional principles were longevity and good health, poverty (escaping) and wealth (pursuing), eating luck and fortune, priority of food, virtue, and taste and quality (economics). All the principles except environmental preservation and the priority of safety have adequate food proverbs, since environmental disruption and food safety were not serious issues in the past.