번역되지 않는 말 · Hard to translate
아깝다 akkapda
literally “a waste, too good to lose”
the small pain of seeing something good go unused
아깝다 is the small pain of seeing value go unused: half a bowl of rice in the bin, a concert ticket left in a drawer, a gifted friend who quit. English splits it into "what a waste", "it's a shame" and "too good for", while Korean keeps one adjective for food, time, money and people. It even covers a near miss: 아깝게 졌어요, "we lost by a hair".
The closest English
“what a waste”
Says it was wasted. 아깝다 also says it mattered to you.
“it's a shame”
Too general. 아깝다 is about something of value being lost.
“too good to throw away”
Close, but it can't do the near miss: 아깝게 졌어요.
In a sentence
할머니, 이 배추 겉잎은 버리기 아까워요. 말려서 국을 끓이면 안 돼요?
Grandma, it's a shame to throw away these outer cabbage leaves. Can't we dry them and make soup?
Hoya says it
Hoya
호떡이 반 개 남았어요. 버리기 아까워요!
Half a hotteok left. It's too good to throw away!