Means “counting chicks before they are hatched”. Assuming someone will do something good for you whilst they have no idea about it.
Comes from the old saying “떡 줄 사람은 생각도 않는데 김칫국부터 마신다,” (meaning “They’re not even thinking of giving you rice cake, but you already drunk kimchi broth.” Because you need to drink something to wash down the rice cake.)
김칫국 좀 그만 마셔. 그 상이 진짜 너한테 주어질지 누가 알아? = Don’t drink kimchi broth. Who knows whether you will really get the prize? 그 아이는 내게 관심이 없었는데 나만 먼저 김칫국부터 마시고 있었나보다 = I guess I drank kimchi broth. She wasn’t interested in me.
“Did you put that there to eat tomorrow?”
“Are you saving that for tomorrow?”
전생에 나라를 구했다 = Saved the country in a previous life (so they now have good karma in this one)
Said when it looks like someone has good luck or good karma.
거기서 거기 = Pretty much the same, very similar
내가 아는 바로는
다 거기서 거기야 = To my knowledge, they are all pretty much the same. 80이나 90이나 거기서 거기지 뭐 = 80 and 90 are pretty much the same thing.
비슷해. 거기서 거기야. 내말이 맞지? = Just more of the same, am I right? 곰팡이가 다 거기서 거기라고 생각해 = I figured fungus is fungus. 하지만 광기는 거기서 거기다 = The madness is the same, though.
거리가 있다 (멀다), literally meaning “there is a distance” or “the distance is far”, is an expression that carries with it different connotations depending on the context in which it is used.
저는 유행과 거리가 먼 사람이에요. Here the expression is used to show that the speaker has a lack of interest in trends. I’m someone who’s not interested in the latest trends.
안정된 노후생활은 서민들과는 거리가 먼 이야기가 되어 버렸다. In this second example, 거리가 멀다 indicates that the idea of a stable retirement has become a distant hope for ordinary people. A stable retirement has grown out of the realm of possibility for everyday people.
그 둘 사이에는 거리가 좀 있어요. 지난 번에 승진하는 일로 싸웠거든요. In this final example, the expression is used to indicate that the relationship between two people has gone sour. From my own experience, this seems to be the most common usage. The two of them are a bit distant with each other. They fought over the last promotion.
Here are a few more examples from 건국대학교 한국어 4:
내 동생은 다정한 성격과는 거리가 있다. My younger sibling is not affectionate.
드라마에 나오는 이야기는 현실과는 거리가 좀 멀지요! Dramas are nothing like real life, are they!
제 음악은 대중들이 좋아하는 음악과는 거리가 있어서 사람들이 잘 이해하지 못하더라고요. My music is a far cry from the music that’s popular among the masses, so people didn’t get it.
불만사항
-은/는 데다가 -다니/라니.. (실망하다/화가 나다/ 이해할 수 없다) -(ㄴ/는)다는 게 말이 됩니까? -(ㄴ/는)다면 문제가 있는 게 아닌가요? -았/었으면 하다, -아/어 주셨으면 하다 -아/어야 하지 않을까요? -아/어/야 하는 것이 아닐까요?
하늘이 노랗다 = shocked, panicked (lit. the sky is yellow) (와/과) 붕어빵이다 = to look exactly alike, to resemble each other.
그게 다가 아니다 / 그게 다이다 = that’s not all / that’s it 왜 이랬다 저랬다 해? = why are you going back and forth (in what you’re saying)? 모르는 소리 좀 하지 마 = don’t talk about things you don’t know anything about (명사) 중에(서) 다섯 손가락에 들다 = it’s in my top five (lit. among (noun) this is in my five fingers) 배꼽이 빠지는 줄 알았다 = i couldn’t stop laughing (lit. i thought my belly button would fall off) 별 기대 없이 ____했는데 기대 이상이였다 = I did (sth) without expecting much but it exceeded my expectations.
얘기하자면 길다 = It’s a long story
시간 가는 줄 모르다 = unaware of the passing time, time flies (when doing something) 하나의 별 따기(이다) = it’s a very difficult task (lit. it’s picking one star out of the sky.)
Sutdy-Korean 