Idioms
Fixed expressions with a figurative meaning
to count down the days eagerly
휴가만 손꼽아 기다리고 있어요.— I'm counting down the days to my vacation.
콘서트 날만 손꼽아 기다렸지.— I counted down the days to the concert.
to be worried sick; to be on edge waiting
연락이 없어서 애가 타 죽겠어요.— I'm worried sick because there's been no word.
엄마는 네 소식 몰라서 애가 탔어.— Mom was frantic not knowing how you were.
to have a hard time; to struggle with something
서류 준비하느라 애를 많이 먹었어요.— I had a really hard time getting the documents together.
길 찾느라 애먹었지?— You had trouble finding the place, didn't you?
to burn with worry inside
아무 말도 못 하고 속만 탔어요.— I couldn't say anything and just burned up inside.
속 타는 건 나도 마찬가지야.— I'm just as anxious as you are.
to feel a weight lifted; to feel refreshed and relieved
할 말을 다 하고 나니 속이 시원해요.— I feel so much better now that I've said everything.
시험 끝나니까 속이 다 시원하다.— What a relief now that exams are over.
to be narrow-minded; petty
제가 속이 좁아서 아직도 못 잊었어요.— I'm petty, so I still haven't let it go.
그런 걸로 삐치다니 속 좁다.— Sulking over that is so small-minded.
to cause someone heartache and worry
아들이 사춘기라 부모 속을 썩여요.— My son is a teenager and gives us a lot of grief.
내가 어릴 때 속 많이 썩였지.— I gave my parents a lot of grief when I was young.
to feel a guilty pang when something hits home
그 말을 듣고 가슴이 뜨끔했어요.— That remark gave me a guilty pang.
내 얘기 같아서 가슴이 뜨끔하더라.— It felt like they were talking about me, and it stung.
for one's heart to sink from shock
사고 소식에 가슴이 내려앉았어요.— My heart sank when I heard about the accident.
전화 오는 거 보고 가슴이 철렁 내려앉았어.— My heart dropped when I saw the call coming in.
to be daring; to have guts
혼자 그 말을 하다니 간이 크시네요.— You've got guts saying that on your own.
간 크다. 사장님한테 그런 농담을 해?— That's bold. You joked like that with the boss?
to be scared out of one's wits
갑자기 소리가 나서 간이 콩알만 해졌어요.— A sudden noise scared me half to death.
어두운 골목이라 간이 콩알만 해졌지.— It was a dark alley, so I was terrified.
to feel relieved; to be at ease
무사히 도착했다니 마음이 놓여요.— I'm relieved to hear you arrived safely.
네 목소리 들으니까 이제 마음이 놓인다.— Now that I've heard your voice, I feel at ease.
to weigh on one's mind; to nag at you
아까 한 말이 계속 마음에 걸려요.— What I said earlier keeps nagging at me.
혼자 두고 온 게 마음에 걸려.— It bothers me that I left them alone.
to make up one's mind; to resolve to do something
올해는 꼭 끊겠다고 마음을 먹었어요.— I made up my mind to quit for good this year.
마음만 먹으면 넌 할 수 있어.— If you set your mind to it, you can do it.
to feel heavy-hearted
거절하고 나니 마음이 무거워요.— I feel heavy-hearted after turning them down.
오늘은 왠지 마음이 무겁다.— For some reason my heart feels heavy today.
to grow attached to someone or somewhere
이 동네도 살다 보니 정이 들었어요.— I've grown attached to this neighborhood after living here.
같이 일하다 보면 정 들기 마련이야.— When you work together, you naturally grow close.
to be completely turned off; for affection to vanish
그 말 한마디에 정떨어졌어요.— That one remark killed all my affection.
그렇게까지 하니까 정 떨어지더라.— Seeing him go that far turned me off completely.
to grow up; to become sensible
아이가 이제 철이 좀 든 것 같아요.— I think the child has finally grown up a bit.
군대 갔다 오더니 철들었네.— He's matured since coming back from the army.
to be immature; childish for one's age
나이는 먹었는데 아직 철이 없어요.— He's grown up in age but still immature.
철없는 소리 그만하고 현실을 봐.— Stop being childish and face reality.
to be haughty; to be full of oneself
인기가 많아서 콧대가 높아졌어요.— He got popular and became haughty.
콧대 높은 척해도 속은 여려.— He acts arrogant, but he's soft inside.
to be taken down a peg; to be humbled
큰소리치더니 코가 납작해졌어요.— He talked big and then got taken down a peg.
한 번 지고 나니까 코가 납작해졌지.— One loss knocked the arrogance right out of him.
to feel weighed down by responsibility
큰일을 맡게 되어 어깨가 무겁습니다.— Taking on this big task, I feel the weight of it.
가장이 되고 나니 어깨가 무거워.— Becoming the breadwinner made my shoulders heavy.
to feel proud; to puff up with pride
칭찬을 들으니 어깨가 으쓱해요.— Getting praised makes me feel proud.
아들 자랑에 어깨가 으쓱했지.— I puffed up with pride bragging about my son.
to lose one's nerve; to be cowed
혼나고 나서 기가 죽었어요.— I lost my confidence after being scolded.
기죽지 말고 당당하게 말해.— Don't be intimidated — speak up confidently.
to try with all one's might
기를 쓰고 버텼는데 결국 놓쳤어요.— I held on with everything I had but still lost it.
기를 쓰고 따라갔지만 못 이겼어.— I chased with all my might but couldn't win.
to blow one's top; to lose it
그 소리 듣고 뚜껑이 열릴 뻔했어요.— I almost blew my top when I heard that.
한 번만 더 그러면 뚜껑 열린다.— Do that one more time and I'll lose it.
to nurse a grudge; to be out for revenge
작년에 진 걸 두고 이를 갈고 있었어요.— I've been nursing a grudge over last year's loss.
이 갈면서 준비했으니 이번엔 이길 거야.— I trained with a vengeance, so I'll win this time.
to turn one's back on someone
믿었던 사람들이 다 등을 돌렸어요.— Everyone I trusted turned their backs on me.
한번 등 돌리면 다시 붙기 어려워.— Once someone turns their back, it's hard to fix.
to hold someone back; to be a drag on progress
과거 실수가 계속 발목을 잡네요.— Past mistakes keep holding me back.
돈 문제가 발목을 잡고 있어.— Money problems are holding me back.
to act as a go-between; to connect two parties
선배가 다리를 놔 줘서 만나게 됐어요.— A senior connected us, so we got to meet.
내가 다리 놔 줄 테니까 한번 만나 봐.— I'll introduce you two — go meet him.
to ask someone for money or help
부모님께 손 벌리기가 미안해요.— I feel bad asking my parents for money.
이제 남한테 손 벌리지 않고 살고 싶어.— I want to live without asking anyone for handouts.
to go straight; to quit a shady business for good
그쪽 일에서는 손 씻은 지 오래됐어요.— I got out of that line of work a long time ago.
도박은 완전히 손 씻었대.— They say he's completely quit gambling.
to be on the edge of one's seat
경기가 손에 땀을 쥐게 하더라고요.— The match had me on the edge of my seat.
마지막 십 분은 손에 땀을 쥐고 봤어.— I watched the last ten minutes with white knuckles.
to be unable to concentrate on anything
결과 기다리느라 일이 손에 안 잡혀요.— I can't focus on work while waiting for the result.
걱정돼서 공부가 손에 안 잡히더라.— I was so worried I couldn't study at all.
to be a picky eater; to eat very little
아이가 입이 짧아서 걱정이에요.— My child is a picky eater, and I worry about it.
입 짧은 애라 뭘 시켜야 할지 모르겠네.— He's picky, so I don't know what to order.
to praise someone endlessly
사장님이 입에 침이 마르도록 칭찬하셨어요.— The boss praised him to the skies.
엄마가 네 얘기를 침이 마르게 하더라.— My mom couldn't stop singing your praises.
to be stunned; jaw-dropping
가격을 보고 입이 딱 벌어졌어요.— My jaw dropped when I saw the price.
규모가 커서 입이 딱 벌어지더라.— The scale of it was jaw-dropping.
for everyone to say the same thing in unison
다들 입을 모아 칭찬하더라고요.— Everyone praised it unanimously.
사람들이 입을 모아 반대했어.— People spoke as one in opposing it.
to suit one's taste (of food)
음식이 입에 맞으실지 모르겠어요.— I'm not sure if the food will suit your taste.
여기 국물이 딱 내 입에 맞아.— The broth here is exactly to my taste.
to be astounded; to throw up one's hands at something extreme
일하는 속도에 다들 혀를 내둘렀어요.— Everyone was astounded at how fast he works.
고집이 세서 선생님도 혀를 내두르셨대.— He's so stubborn even the teacher gave up.
to be sick of hearing something
그 얘기는 귀가 따갑도록 들었어요.— I've heard that so many times my ears hurt.
잔소리를 하도 들어서 귀가 따가워.— I've been nagged so much my ears are sore.
to have heard something a thousand times
조심하라는 말을 귀에 못이 박히게 들었어요.— I've heard 'be careful' a thousand times.
그 얘긴 귀에 못이 박혔어. 그만해.— I've heard that one to death. Stop.
to listen attentively; to lend an ear
직원들의 의견에 귀를 기울여 주세요.— Please listen to what the staff have to say.
네 말에 귀 기울이는 사람이 분명 있어.— There's definitely someone who listens to you.
to be shy with strangers
아기가 낯을 많이 가려요.— The baby is very shy with strangers.
저 낯 가려서 처음엔 말을 잘 못 해요.— I'm shy at first, so I don't talk much.
to look familiar
어디서 뵌 것 같은데 낯이 익네요.— You look familiar — have we met somewhere?
저 사람 낯익지 않아?— Doesn't that person look familiar?
to be embarrassed enough to blush
칭찬이 과해서 낯이 뜨거웠어요.— The praise was so excessive it made me blush.
그 장면은 같이 보기 낯 뜨겁더라.— That scene was embarrassing to watch together.
a piece of cake; dead easy
그 정도는 식은 죽 먹기예요.— That much is a piece of cake.
너한테는 식은 죽 먹기잖아.— That's a piece of cake for you.
to see no way forward; to feel hopeless
당장 살 곳이 없어서 앞이 캄캄해요.— I have nowhere to live, so the future looks bleak.
시험 망치고 나니 앞이 캄캄하더라.— After bombing the exam, everything looked hopeless.
next to impossible to obtain
요즘 그 자리 구하기는 하늘의 별 따기예요.— Getting that position these days is next to impossible.
주말에 예약하는 건 하늘의 별 따기야.— Booking on a weekend is like winning the lottery.
pie in the sky; something out of reach
좋긴 한데 저한테는 그림의 떡이에요.— It's nice, but it's out of reach for me.
이 가격이면 그림의 떡이지.— At this price it's just something to look at.