thekimchibear:

We all know that a huge part of Korean culture is.. eating! However the word 먹다 (to eat) has several different uses in Korean, and if you don’t know these terms.. you may be a bit confused like when you hear “친구 먹었어".. please don’t eat my friend?

Let’s take a look!  

까먹다 – to forget
“너 수학 숙제 했어? 오늘까지인거 알지?” – “You did your homework right? You know it’s due today.”
“아.. 까먹었어..” – “Ah.. I forgot..”

더위 먹다 – to be overwhelmed by heat
“더위 먹어서 정신이 없나봐요. 아이스 커피 4잔 산다는게 3잔 샀어요.. 죄송합니다” – “I was so overheated that I couldn’t think straight..  I bought 3 iced coffees instead of 4… I’m so sorry”

나이 먹다 – to get older
“아이고.. 나이 먹나봐. 허리 아파..” – “Ohh god.. I’m getting so old.. My back hurts..”
“너 19살인데..” – “You’re only 19..”

욕 먹다 – to be sworn at or get a bad reputation.
“요즘 그 아이돌 거짓말한거 걸려서 욕 많이 먹더라.“ – “Everyone found out that the idol lied so his reputation is getting ruined.”

좀먹다 – to undermine, eat away
“그런 사람들이 사회를 좀먹는거 같아요.“ “Because of people like that, society is being eaten away.”

친구 먹다 – to become friends
“우리 3살차이 나는데 그냥 친구 먹기로 했어.” – “We’re only 3 years apart but we decided to be friends” (BTW: generally only people the same age are considered to be “친구/friends”. If there’s an age difference, then one person will be considered the “친한 동생/younger sibling” in the relationship)

써먹다 – to use, utilize
“그 농담 재밌다. 나도 나중에 써먹어야지.” – “That’s a funny joke. I’ll have to use it later.”

I hope these terms were tasty enough for you to eat right up. More coming soon!