Crying in H Mart

Question 1

Cryptic

Answer 1

Samar

having a meaning that is mysterious or obscure

While she never actually taught me how to cook (Korean people tend to disavow measurements and supply only cryptic instructions along the lines of “add sesame oil until it tastes like Mom’s”), she did raise me with a distinctly Korean appetite.

Question 2

Disavow

Answer 2

Mengingkari

deny any responsibility or support for

While she never actually taught me how to cook (Korean people tend to disavow measurements and supply only cryptic instructions along the lines of “add sesame oil until it tastes like Mom’s”), she did raise me with a distinctly Korean appetite.

Question 3

Predisposition

Answer 3

Kecenderungan

a liability or tendency to suffer from a particular condition, hold a particular attitude, or act in a particular way

This meant a reverence for good food and a predisposition to emotional eating.

Question 4

Reverence

Answer 4

Penghormatan

deep respect for someone or something

This meant a reverence for good food and a predisposition to emotional eating.

Question 5

Ludicrous

Answer 5

so foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing; ridiculous

The concept of prepping meals for the week was a ludicrous affront to our lifestyle.

Question 6

Affront

Answer 6

Penghinaan

an action or remark that causes outrage or offense

The concept of prepping meals for the week was a ludicrous affront to our lifestyle.

Question 7

Postpartum

Answer 7

Pascapersalinan

following childbirth or the birth of young

On my birthday, we ate miyeokguk—a hearty seaweed soup full of nutrients that women are encouraged to eat postpartum and that Koreans traditionally eat on their birthdays to celebrate their mothers.

Question 8

Arbitrary

Answer 8

Secara acak

based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system

My grief comes in waves and is usually triggered by something arbitrary.

Question 9

Discard

Answer 9

Membuang

get rid of (someone or something) as no longer useful or desirable

I’ll cry when I see a Korean grandmother eating seafood noodles in the food court, discarding shrimp heads and mussel shells onto the lid of her daughter’s tin rice bowl.

Question 10

Immutable

Answer 10

Kekal, abadi

unchanging over time or unable to be changed

There’s no escape, just a hard surface that I keep ramming into over and over, a reminder of the immutable reality that I will never see her again.

Question 11

Outskirts

Answer 11

Pinggiran kota

the outer parts of a town or city

H Marts are usually situated on the outskirts of the city and serve as a secondary center for strip malls of Asian storefronts and restaurants that are always better than the ones found closer to town.

Question 12

Odorous

Answer 12

Berbau

whatever has a strong distinctive smell whether pleasant or unpleasant

H Mart is where your people gather under one odorous roof, full of faith that they’ll find something they can’t find anywhere else.

Question 13

Pivotal

Answer 13

Sangat penting

central and important

The year they got married, the year she left her home country, her mother, and two sisters and embarked on a pivotal chapter of her adult life.

Question 14

Obscure

Answer 14

Samar

not clearly seen or easily distinguished

Every fall I have to scroll through the photos I’ve taken of her gravestone to reconfirm the date engraved, half obscured by the multicolored bouquets I’ve left these past five years.

Question 15

Impending

Answer 15

Mendatang

(of an event regarded as threatening or significant) about to happen; forthcoming

Some sort of internal clock whirs without fail around every impending birthday, death day, anniversary, and holiday.

Question 16

Inundate

Answer 16

Membanjiri

overwhelm (someone) with things or people to be dealt with

His psyche intuitively darkens the week before and soon enough he’ll inundate me with Facebook messages about how unfair it all is and how I’ll never know what it’s like to lose your best friend.

Question 17

Transpose

Answer 17

Mengubah (urutan)

cause (two or more things) to change places with each other

Jjamppong, spicy seafood noodle soup with extra vegetables from Cafe Seoul, which she always called Seoul Cafe, transposing the syntax of her native tongue.

Question 18

Uproot

Answer 18

Pindahan

move (someone) from their home or a familiar location

The position afforded stability and an end to my family’s biannual intercontinental uprooting, and so we immigrated when I was just a year old.

Question 19

Biannual

Answer 19

Dua kali setahun

occurring twice a year

The position afforded stability and an end to my family’s biannual intercontinental uprooting, and so we immigrated when I was just a year old.

Question 20

Lush

Answer 20

Subur

(of vegetation) growing luxuriantly

The seasons are mild, drizzly, and gray for most of the year but give way to a lush, unspoiled summer.

Question 21

Unspoiled

Answer 21

Murni

not spoiled, in particular (of a place) not marred by development

The seasons are mild, drizzly, and gray for most of the year but give way to a lush, unspoiled summer.

Question 22

Incessantly

Answer 22

Terus menerus

without interruption; constantly

It rains incessantly and yet I never knew an Oregonian to carry an umbrella.

Question 23

Bounty

Answer 23

Karunia

something given or occurring in generous amounts

Eugenians are proud of the regional bounty and were passionate about incorporating local, seasonal, and organic ingredients well before it was back in vogue.

Question 24

Estuary

Answer 24

Muara

he tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream

Anglers are kept busy in fresh waters, fishing for wild chinook salmon in the spring and steelhead in the summer, and sweet Dungeness crab is abundant in the estuaries year-round.

Question 25

Abundant

Answer 25

Melimpah

existing or available in large quantities; plentiful

Anglers are kept busy in fresh waters, fishing for wild chinook salmon in the spring and steelhead in the summer, and sweet Dungeness crab is abundant in the estuaries year-round.

Question 26

Forage

Answer 26

obtain food or provisions from (a place)

Local farmers gather every Saturday downtown to sell homegrown organic produce and honey, foraged mushrooms, and wild berries.

Question 27

Ignite

Answer 27

Membakar, menyalakan (api)

to catch fire or set fire to; burn or cause to burn

Once a month he’d ignite the burn piles he’d gathered, letting me squeeze the lighter fluid onto their bases, and we’d admire his handiwork as the six-foot bonfires went up in flames.

Question 28

Smother

Answer 28

Menutupi

suppress (a feeling or an action)

Left with her in the woods, I was overwhelmed by her time and attention, a devotion that I learned could both be an auspicious privilege and have smothering consequences.

Question 29

Auspicious

Answer 29

conducive to success; favorable

Left with her in the woods, I was overwhelmed by her time and attention, a devotion that I learned could both be an auspicious privilege and have smothering consequences.

Question 30

Vigilant

Answer 30

Waspada

conducive to success; favorable

Making a home had been her livelihood since I was born, and while she was vigilant and protective, she wasn’t what you would call coddling.

Question 31

Ailment

Answer 31

Penyakit (ringan)

an illness, typically a minor one

A Mommy-Mom is someone who takes an interest in everything her child has to say even when there is no actual way she gives a shit, who whisks you away to the doctor when you complain of the slightest ailment.

Question 32

Livid

Answer 32

Murka

furiously angry

But when I got hurt, my mom was livid, as if I had maliciously damaged her property.

Question 33

Sinewy

Answer 33

A sinewy love that never gave way to an inch of weakness.

Question 34

Retrospect

Answer 34

Mengingat kembali

a survey or review of a past course of events or period of time

I realize this now, only in retrospect.

Question 35

Zeal

Answer 35

Semangat

great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective

She believed in QVC products with the zeal of a conspiracy theorist.

Question 36

Contention

Answer 36

heated disagreement

I was too impatient to keep up with any kind of regimen my mother tried to impose, a source of contention that would escalate throughout my adolescence.

Question 37

Reprimanded

Answer 37

Ditegur

rebuke (someone), especially officially

Never a speck of lint on a coat, a pill on a sweater, or a single scuff on a patent-leather shoe, whereas I was reprimanded constantly for destroying or abruptly losing even those belongings I most dearly cherished.

Question 38

Oafishness

Answer 38

Kecorobohan

the quality of being stupid, rude, or awkward

Mary Engelbreit miniature painted teapots lining the bookshelves in the hallway; porcelain ballerinas on the entryway credenza, the one in third position missing two fingers, a daily reminder of the consequences of my oafishness.

Question 39

Coalesce

Answer 39

Menyatu

come together to form one mass or whole

I loved walking through the park across from my grandmother’s apartment building, the sound of thousands of maemi flying overhead, their chattering cicada wings coalescing with the traffic noise at night.

Question 40

Envision

Answer 40

Membayangkan

imagine as a future possibility; visualize

I loved fondling ingredients and envisioning their endless possibilities and combinations.

Question 41

Effeminate

Answer 41

Feminim (cowo)

(with reference to a man) having characteristics and ways of behaving traditionally associated with women and regarded as inappropriate for a man

He was seven years older than me, tall and sturdily built, but moved about with a dejected posture, shy and effeminate in spite of his size.

Question 42

Conscription

Answer 42

Wajib militer

compulsory enlistment for state service, typically into the armed forces

As a teenager he was extremely self-conscious, consumed by the pressures of school and his impending conscription, the two years of military service every Korean man is required to complete.

Question 43

Strenuously

Answer 43

(dgn) sekuat tenaga

in a way that requires great physical exertion

He suffered from bad acne and would strenuously attempt to manage it with a variety of topical cleansers and creams, going so far as to wash his face exclusively with bottled water.

Question 44

Vanity

Answer 44

Lemari

a piece of bedroom furniture like a table with a mirror and drawers

She had a large, jade-colored vanity, its surface strewn with a hundred different kinds of nail polish.

Question 45

Quiver

Answer 45

Gemetar

tremble or shake with a slight rapid motion.

Quiver words of caution from a useless sidekick and resolve with a dashing prince’s gallant coo.

Question 46

Rind

Answer 46

Kulit buah

the tough outer skin of certain fruit, especially citrus fruit

It tasted like fruit rinds soaked in murky lake water and was the most bitter thing I’d ever consumed.

Question 47

Jovial

Answer 47

Periang

cheerful and friendly

She was a big, jovial woman and she’d often make a joke out of craning her neck so the depth of field would make her face appear smaller.