Jason: Thank you so much for the birthday present! How did you know I wanted a cell phone cover?
Jen: Well, a little bird told me.
Jason: A little bird told you? Who? Who told you? I want to know.
Jen: I don’t want to reveal it to you. Just enjoy the gift and I hope you have a great birthday.

본문에서 Jason이 “Thank you so much for the birthday present! 생일선물 잘 받았어. 정말 고마워. How did you know I wanted a cell phone cover? 그런데 내가 휴대 전화기 덮개 필요한 거 어떻게 알았어?” 라고 묻자 제가 “Well, a little bird told me. 누구한테 들었어.” 라고 했습니다.

궁금해진 Jason이 “A little bird told you? 누구한테 들었다고? Who? 누군데? Who told you? 누가 알려줬어? I want to know. 알고 싶단 말이야.”라고 하네요. 이어 제가 “I don’t want to reveal it to you. 말해 줄 수 없지. Just enjoy the gift and I hope you have a great birthday. 그냥 갖고 싶었던 선물 받았으니까 생일 즐겁게 보내면 되지.”라고 했습니다.

Now keep today’s expression ‘a little bird told me’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Jason: Thank you so much for the birthday present! How did you know I wanted a cell phone cover?
Jen: Well, a little bird told me.
Jason: A little bird told you? Who? Who told you? I want to know.
Jen: I don’t want to reveal it to you. Just enjoy the gift and I hope you have a great birthday.

Today’s expression is a little bird told me. When someone says, “a little bird told me”, it means they don’t want you to know who told them and that they are not going to reveal who gave them the information. Keep in mind that this expression is used playfully.

A little bird told me는 문자 그대로 하면 작은 새가 나한테 알려줬다는 말입니다. 어떤 사람에게서 들은 얘긴데 누가 말했는지는 알려줄 수 없다며 농담 하듯이 쓸 수 있는 표현입니다. 정보 제공자를 밝힐 수 없다는 의미죠. 물론 재미 삼아 쓰는 말이라는 거 잊지 마시기 바랍니다.

오늘 본문에서 Jason이 저한테 생일 선물 고맙다며 어떻게 휴대 전화기 덮개가 필요한지 알았느냐고 묻습니다. 그러자 제가 “Well, a little bird told me.” “누구한테 들었어.” 라고만 말했습니다. 이렇게 누군가에게 어떤 말 또는 정보를 들었지만, 그가 누구인지는 알려주고 싶지 않을 때 쓰는 표현이 바로 ‘a little bird told me’ 또는 ‘a little bird told me so’ 인 거죠.

그럼 예문을 통해 오늘 표현에 대해 더 자세히 알아보겠습니다. “A little bird told me that it’s your son’s first birthday.” 라고 하면 “누가 오늘이 네 아들 돌이라고 그러던데?”라는 뜻이 됩니다. Now you know what today’s expression means right? Then we will listen to the conversation for the last time.

Jason: Thank you so much for the birthday present! How did you know I wanted a cell phone cover?
Jen: Well, a little bird told me.
Jason: A little bird told you? Who? Who told you? I want to know.
Jen: I don’t want to reveal it to you. Just enjoy the gift and I hope you have a great birthday.

Let’s review. When someone says, “a little bird told me”, it means they don’t want you to know who told them. A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME. Now try using this expression on your own.