I ran across this four-character idiom somewhere - exactly where, I don't recall but it's in my notes.
事事件件
사사건건
sa.sa.geon.geon
work-work-thing-thing
This means "each and every," but with negative valences.
Usage:
사사건건 트집 = finding fault, blemish, crack
사사건건 간섭하다 = meddling, interference
[daily log: walking, 6.5km]
사건
incident, affair, event; case
Doubling each implies "every" (as in 매일매일, e.g.) but it is unusual that each letter is doubled individually rather than the full word being doubled (i.e., "사건사건").
Posted by: Peter | 2016.06.13 at 15:58
Hi Peter,
My best guess is that this doesn't follow the regular pattern because it came "pre-reduplicated" from the Chinese, whereas most Korean reduplications are "native" meaning after borrowing. The Chinese reduplicative pattern is more likely to be syllable-by-syllable.
Thanks for the comment and good luck with your studies.
Posted by: Jared | 2016.06.13 at 18:29