말이 아니다

Korean

Alternative forms

• 말도 아니야 (maldo aniya)

Etymology

말 (mal, “speech; language”) +‎ 이 (-i, nominative case marker) +‎ 아니다 (anida, “to not be”). Literally "to not be [in any] language".

Idiom

말이 아니다 • (mari anida)

1. (of a statement) to be unreasonable; to be ridiculous

   왜 말이 아닌 질문을 하니?

   Wae mari anin jilmun-eul hani?

   Why are you asking this unreasonable question?

   (literally, “Why are you asking this question which is not [in any] language?”)

2. (by extension, of a situation or appearance) to be very difficult, to be atrocious