Korean grammar · Upper intermediate (B2)
Idioms, proverbs and spoken Korean
Common Korean idioms such as 발이 넓다 and 미역국을 먹다, well-known proverbs, fillers, spoken contractions and slang everyone understands.
Body-part idioms (관용어)
Many everyday Korean idioms describe people through parts of the body. They behave like normal descriptive verbs, so they change for tense, speech level and honorifics: (je chinguneun bari jeongmal neolbeoyo), my friend knows a lot of people; (uri eomeonineun soni keuseyo), my mother always makes far too much food.
| Idiom | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (bari neolda) | feet are wide | to know a lot of people |
| (nuni nopda) | eyes are high | to have high standards (in partners, shopping) |
| (soni keuda) | hands are big | to be generous, make or buy too much |
| (gwiga yalda) | ears are thin | to be easily persuaded |
| (ibi mugeopda) | mouth is heavy | to keep secrets well |
| (ibi gabyeopda) | mouth is light | can't keep a secret |
| (eolguri dukkeopda) | face is thick | to be shameless, have a nerve |
| (nunko tteul sae eopda) | no time to open eyes and nose | to be incredibly busy |
| (soneul tteda) | to take your hands off | to stop being involved |
- 지훈 씨는 입이 무거우니까 걱정하지 마세요.Jihun ssineun ibi mugeounikka geokjeonghaji maseyo.Don't worry, Jihun can keep a secret.
- 요즘 회사 일 때문에 눈코 뜰 새가 없어요.Yojeum hoesa il ttaemune nunko tteul saega eopseoyo.I'm run off my feet with work these days.
Food idioms
(miyeokgugeul meokda), to eat seaweed soup, means to fail an exam (the soup is slippery). Be careful: seaweed soup is also the traditional birthday dish, so (saengire miyeokguk meogeosseo?) is a literal question. (guksureul meokda), to eat noodles, means to get married, from the noodles served at weddings: (eonje guksu meogyeo jul geoya?), when are you getting married?
(sigeun juk meokgi), eating cold rice porridge, is “a piece of cake”, and (geurimui tteok), a rice cake in a painting, is something you can see but never have.
- 이번 시험에서 또 미역국을 먹었어요.Ibeon siheomeseo tto miyeokgugeul meogeosseoyo.I failed the exam again.
- 이런 비싼 차는 저한테 그림의 떡이에요.Ireon bissan chaneun jeohante geurimui tteogieyo.An expensive car like this is just a dream for me.
Proverbs (속담)
Koreans use proverbs in everyday conversation, often just the first half, or with -더니 (as they say) or -다고 (they say that): (horangido je mal hamyeon ondadeoni), speak of the devil …
| Proverb | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (nuwoseo tteok meokgi) | eating rice cake lying down | very easy |
| (tikkeul moa taesan) | gather dust and you get a great mountain | small savings add up |
| (horangido je mal hamyeon onda) | talk of the tiger and it comes | speak of the devil |
| (wonsungido namueseo tteoreojinda) | even monkeys fall from trees | everyone makes mistakes |
| (nanmareun saega deutgo bammareun jwiga deunneunda) | birds hear words by day, mice by night | walls have ears |
| (ganeun mari gowaya oneun mari gopda) | kind words out, kind words back | treat others as you want to be treated |
| (se sal beoreut yeodeunkkaji ganda) | a habit at three lasts until eighty | old habits die hard |
| (so ilko oeyanggan gochinda) | fixing the barn after losing the cow | acting too late |
Fillers
Fillers keep a conversation flowing and make you sound natural: (geureonikka), I mean, so; (mwo), well; (jom), a bit, softening almost anything; (mak), like, really (a lot, wildly); (geunyang), just; (amuteun), anyway; (jeogi), um, excuse me; (itjana), you know what, hey. With people you don't know well, use (itjanayo) and go easy on .
- 있잖아, 어제 막 웃긴 일이 있었어.Itjana, eoje mak utgin iri isseosseo.You know what, something really funny happened yesterday.
- 아무튼 저는 그냥 좀 쉬고 싶어요.Amuteun jeoneun geunyang jom swigo sipeoyo.Anyway, I just want to rest a bit.
Spoken contractions
In speech, particles and merge with the word before them. These forms are normal in the polite style as well as in casual speech, and they also appear in informal writing such as messages.
| Full form | Spoken form |
|---|---|
| (jeoneun), (naneun) | (jeon), (nan) |
| (jeoreul), (nareul) | (jeol), (nal) |
| (igeoseun), (igeoneun) | (igeon) |
| (geosi) | (ge) |
| (geoseul) | (geol) |
| (mueoseul) | (mwol) |
| (geureonde) | (geunde) |
| (geureomyeon) | (geureom) |
| (mworago hae?) | (mworae?) |
Slang everyone understands
A few slang words are used so widely that you'll hear them on TV and from people of all ages: (daebak), amazing, a huge hit; (heol), what?!, no way; (jjang), the best; (kkuljaem), super fun, and (nojaem), boring; (inssa), a popular, sociable person, and (assa), a loner; (chimaek), fried chicken and beer; (ikssip), reading a message and not replying.
In text messages, consonants alone stand for words: ㅋㅋ or ㅎㅎ (laughter), ㅇㅇ (yes, OK), ㄱㅅ (thanks). Use slang only with friends of your age or younger, never with older people or at work.
- 헐, 대박! 진짜 합격했어?Heol, daebak! Jinjja hapgyeokhaesseo?No way, that's amazing! Did you really pass?
- 그 영화 완전 노잼이었어.Geu yeonghwa wanjeon nojaemieosseo.That film was totally boring.