Tag: idiomatic expressions

마음 idioms

-기로 마음을 먹다 = to make up one’s mind

이번에는 정말로 운동을 매일 하기로 마음 먹었어요.= I have made up my mind to really exercise every day this time.

마음대로 하다 = to do as one wants (편하신대로 하세요 (do what is comfortable) is more polite)

저는 그 책 필요 없으니까 마음대로 하세요.= I don’t need that book so do whatever you want with it.

마음에 들다 = to like, to find something likeable (lit. to enter one’s heart, usually used when you first see and begin to like something) 

마음에 드는 가방 있어요? = Is there a bag that you like?

마음에 걸리다 = to weigh upon one’s mind, to trouble one’s mind (걸리다 = to be stuck, to be hung)

어제 있었던 일이 마음에 걸려요.= I keep thinking about what happened yesterday because I feel bad about it 

 마음에 두다 = to have something/someone on one’s mind (두다 = to put something somewhere)

효진 씨가 한 말은 너무 마음에 두지 마세요.= Pay no attention to what Hyojin said.

마음에(도) 없는 말을 하다 = to say something without meaning it

마음에도 없는 말 하지 마세요.= Don’t say what you don’t even mean.

마음은 굴뚝 같다 = to wish one could something right now, to want to do something right but can not (lit. one’s heart is like a chimney, means you’re thinking about the result (smoke coming out of a chimney) but you can’t actually do the things)

도와주고 싶은 마음은 굴뚝 같지만, 오늘은 너무 바빠요.= I’d love to help you, but I am too busy today.

마음이 놓이다 = to feel relieved (놓이다 = to be let go)

그 말을 들으니까 마음이 놓이네요.= I feel relieved to hear that.

마음이 통하다 = to understand each other well (통하다 = to go through, to flow through, to circulate)

마음이 통하는 친구들이랑 여행하면 너무 재미있어요.= Traveling with friends that you connect well with is a lot of fun.

마음이 무겁다 = to have a heavy heart, to feel bad (무겁다 = to be heavy)

저 때문에 경기에서 진 것 같아서 마음이 무겁습니다.= I feel bad because it looks like we lost the game because of me

발이 넓다 = to be well connected (넓다 = to be wide)

그 사람은 발이 진짜 넓은 것 같아요. 모르는 사람이 없어요 = I think he’s really well-connected. There is no one that he doesn’t know.

발 벗고 나서다 = to throw oneself into a matter with enthusiasm (벗다 = to take off; 나서다 = to go, to leave)

많은 사람들이 우리를 돕기 위해서 발 벗고 나서 줬어요 = A lot of people went out of their way to help us.

발을 담그다 = to be involved in something (담그다 = to dip, to soak)

드라마 보는 것에 한 번 발을 담그면 빠져나올 수 없어요 = Once you start watching TV dramas, you can’t quit [watching them] easily.

발 디딜 틈이 없다 = to be really packed, there is no space to step (디디다 = to step on something, to tread; 틈 = gap)

요즘 홍대는 밤에 가면 사람이 너무 많아서 발 디딜 틈이 없어요 = These days, if you go to Hongdae at night, there are so many people [that I can barely find a place to step]

한 발 늦다 = to be one step behind, to be late by just one step (늦다 = to be late)

지하철 문이 닫히기 전에 타려고 뛰었는데 한 발 늦었어요 = I ran to get on the train before the door closed, but I fell a step behind.

발 빠르게 움직이다 = to move fast, to act quickly

경화 씨가 발 빠르게 움직인 덕분에 문제가 더 커지지 않았어요 = Thanks to Kyung-hwa who moved fast, the problem didn’t escalate.

발이 묶이다 = to be detained, to be confined, to be shackled (묶이다 = to be tied up)

이 곳에 눈이 너무 많이 와서 발이 묶였어요 = It snowed too much here, I’m snowbound.

발로 뛰다 = to get practical/real experience (뛰다 = to run)

컴퓨터 앞에만 앉아 있는 것보다 나가서 직접 발로 뛰면 더 좋은 정보를 얻을 수 있을 거예요 = Rather than sitting in front of a computer, if you go out and work in the field yourself, you will get better information.

새 발의 피 = a drop in the bucket, to be nothing/insignificant (lit. the blood from a bird’s foot) 

이번 일에 비하면 지난 번 일은 정말 새 발의 피예요 = This is nothing compared to what happened last time.

발을 끊다 = to stop visiting (끊다 = to cut off)

살이 많이 쪄서 살을 빼려고 자주 가던 치킨 집에 발을 끊었어요 = I’ve gained a lot of weight, so in order to lose it, I quit going to a chicken restaurant that I used to go often.

손에 익다 = get accustomed to something (익다 = to be ripe, to be experienced,

익숙하다 = to be used/accustomed to)

아직 일이 손에 익지 않아서, 시간이 오래 걸려요 = I haven’t become accustomed to the work yet, so it takes me a long time.

손이 크다 = to be very generous (usually when someone cooks a lot of food to share, lit. one’s hand is big)

저희 어머니는 손이 커서 항상 음식을 너무 많이 하세요 = My mother has an open hand, so she always cooks too much food.

손에 땀을 쥐다 = to be thrilled, to have sweaty hands (lit. to grab sweat in one’s hand) 

축구 경기가 너무 재미있어서 정말 손에 땀을 쥐고 봤어요 = The soccer match was a lot of fun, so I was thrilled while watching it.

손에 안 잡히다 = can’t concentrate on something, to be grabbed by one’s hand (잡히다 = to be grabbed, to be caught)

걱정돼서 일이 손에 안 잡혀요 = I can’t concentrate on work because I am worried.

손이 닳도록 빌다 = to beg until one’s hands are worn down

손이 닳도록 빌었는데도, 안 된다고 했어요 = I begged and begged, but he still said no.

손을 씻다 = to be through with something, to quit doing something bad (lit. to wash one’s hands)

저는 그 일에서 손 씻은 지 오래 됐어요 = It’s been a long time since I quit doing that.

손을 놓다 = to stop working on something, to take one’s hands off something (놓다 = to let go)

요즘 비디오 만드는 것에 손을 놓고 있었어요 = Recently, I haven’t been making any videos.

손을 떼다 = to pull out of something (떼다 = to detach)

저는 이 일에서 손 뗄게요 = I will pull out of the project.

손을 씻다 to stop doing something that is bad or illegal, 손을 놓다 to be too distracted or tired to continue working on something,and 손을 떼다 to decide to stop being involved in something from a certain moment.

몸이 약하다/허약하다 = to be weak/feeble

저는 어렸을 때 몸이 약했어요 = When I was young, my body was weak.

몸이 튼튼하다 = to be strong, sturdy, healthy

저는 몸이 튼튼해서 감기에 잘 안 걸려요 = I am healthy/strong so I don’t catch a cold easily.

몸이 근질거리다 = to be itching/anxious to do something (근질거리다 = to be itchy)

요즘에 운동을 안 했더니 몸이 근질거려요 = I haven’t done any exercise recently, so I’m dying to start working out again.

몸이 좋다/안 좋다 = to be in good shape/not good shape, to feel unwell

몸이 안 좋을 때에는 충분히 자는 게 좋아요.= When you are not feeling well, you need to get enough sleep.

몸을 만들다 = to build up one’s body, to work out to get fit

요즘 몸 만들려고 운동을 열심히 하고 있어요 = These days I am working out hard in order to get fit/build muscles.

몸을 사리다 = to be cautious, to not take risks

저 운동선수는 몸을 안 사리고 위험한 기술을 많이 시도해서, 많이 다쳤어요 = That athlete has tried many dangerous techniques without worrying about his safety, so he has gotten hurt many times.

몸에 배다 = to become a habit (배다 = to be stained, saturated) 

처음에는 어색했는데 벌써 몸에 뱄어요 = It was awkward at first, but I’ve grown used to it.

몸을 혹사시키다 = to overexert oneself, to overwork (혹사시키다 = to overexert, to exploit)

왜 그렇게 자기 몸을 혹사시켜요? 쉬면서 하세요 = Why do you overwork yourself? Get some rest from time to time.

몸을 망치다 = to ruin one’s health

아무리 젊어도, 잠을 안 자고 공부하면 몸을 망쳐요 = No matter how young you are, if you only study without sleeping, you will ruin your health 

머리가 좋다/나쁘다/안 좋다

= to be smart/stupid

그 사람은 머리는 좋은데 노력을 안 해요 = He is smart, but he doesn’t make any effort.

머리를 쓰다 = to use one’s head (to think) 

힘으로만 하지 말고 머리를 좀 써 보세요 = Don’t try to do it just by strength, but use your head.

머리를 굴리다 = to put one’s brain to work, to use one’s head to (굴리다 = to roll something,

casual expression so not always polite)

아무리 머리를 굴려 봐도 답이 안 나와요 = No matter how hard I try, I can’t find an answer/solution.

잔머리(를) 굴리다 = to think of petty tricks/shortcuts/lazy ways to get out of a situation 

잔머리 굴리지 말고 열심히 일해! = Stop trying to find ways to work less. Just work hard.

머리가 깨질 것 같다 = to have splitting headache (깨지다 = to break)

머리가 깨질 것처럼 아파요 = My head hurts as if it’s going to break.
어제 술을 너무 많이 마셔서 오늘 머리가 깨질 것처럼 아파요 = I drank too much yesterday, so I have a splitting headache today.

머리가 (잘) 안 돌아가다 = can’t think well, can’t think straight (돌아가다 = to spin (head spins when you’re thinking))

피곤해서 머리가 안 돌아가요. 바람 좀 쐬고 올게요 = I’m tired so I can’t think straight. I’ll go get some fresh air.

머리가 복잡하다 = can’t think straight, to have a lot of concerns in one’s head (복잡하다 = to be complicated, to be complex)

요즘에 걱정되는 일이 많아서 머리가 복잡해요 = I am worried about a lot of things these days, so my head is full of concerns.

머리를 스치다 = an idea/thought that flashes through one’s mind (스치다 = to graze, to brush past)

재미있는 생각이 머리를 스쳤어요 = I just thought of an interesting idea.

머리가 멍하다 = one’s mind is blank

여기 너무 시끄러워서 머리가 멍해요 = It’s so noisy here that I can’t think.

머리가 띵하다 = to feel dizzy, one’s brain feels numb (dull headache)

갑자기 일어섰더니 머리가 띵 해요 = I stood up suddenly and I feel dizzy.

머리가 크다 = to start thinking like an adult

이제 애들이 머리가 커서 말을 안 들어요 = The children have grown, so now they don’t listen to what I say.

가슴이 아프다 = My heart aches

저는 이런 기사를 읽으면 너무 가슴이 아파요 = I’m so sad when I read articles like this.

가슴이 답답하다 = My heart feels heavy, there’s a weight on my chest (답답하다 = to be stuffy, to be stifling)

요즘에 걱정이 많아서 가슴이 답답해요= I have a lot of things to worry about these days, so I feel a pressure on my chest.

가슴이 내려앉다 = My heart sinks (내려앉다 = to sink, to collapse)

그 소식 듣고 정말 가슴이 내려앉았어요= My heart sank when I heard that news.

부푼 가슴을 안고 = With a pounding heart (부풀다 = to inflate, 부푼 가슴 = heart full of hope and excitement, 안다 = to hug/hold, usually used in written language) 

부푼 가슴을 안고 10년 전에 서울로 이사왔어요 = I moved to Seoul 10 years ago, full of excitement.

가슴에 와 닿다 = To touch my heart (오다 = to come, 닿다 = to reach, to touch)

왜인지 모르겠지만 이 이야기는 가슴에 와 닿지 않아요 = I don’t know why, but this story doesn’t touch my heart.

가슴에 맺힌 한을 풀다= To resolve a deep sorrow (맺히다 = to form, 한 = resentment, 풀다 = to resolve)

저희 어머니는 드디어 가슴에 맺힌 한을 풀었어요 = Our mother finally got what she had been hoping for/resolved her sorrow.

가슴 벅차다 = My heart is full of joy

제 친구가 올림픽에서 금메달을 따서 정말 가슴이 벅차요 = My heart is overflowing with joy because my friend won a gold medal in the Olympics.

(가슴) 깊이 후회하다 = to deeply regret (or 뉘우치다 for stronger feeling of being sorry for, repenting regret)

그때 제가 했던 말을 가슴 깊이 후회하고 있어요 = I am deeply regretting what I said back then.
가슴 깊이 뉘우치고 있어요. 용서해 주세요 = I am deeply sorry for what I did. Please forgive me.

가슴이 뛰다 = My heart is beating/racing (뛰다 = to jump, to run)

지금 가슴이 너무 뛰어서 말이 안 나와요= Right now I’m so excited that I can’t speak.

Can be used with onomatopoeia such as 두근두근 (pit-a-pat-a, palpitating, beating) 콩닥콩닥 (pounding, fluttering (lightly/cutely)) 쿵쾅쿵쾅 (thumping, racing (heavily)). Or use these words with 거리다 as

두근거리다, 

콩닥거리다,

쿵쾅

거리다. 

가슴이 콩닥콩닥 뛰었다 = My heart was pounding.
가슴이 두근거리다 = My chest is pounding.

어젯밤에 가슴이 두근거려서 잠을 많이 못 잤어요= I couldn’t sleep a lot last night because I was so excited.

귀가 밝다 = to have good ears (lit. your ears are bright)

젊었을 때는 저도 귀가 밝았는데, 지금은 작은 소리는 잘 안 들려요 = I used to have good ears when I was young, too, but I can’t hear small sounds now.

귀를 기울이다 = to listen carefully, to pay attention (기울이다 = to tilt)

아이들이 선생님이 해 주는 이야기를 귀를 기울여서 듣고 있었어요 = The children were listening to the story their teacher was telling them with full attention.

귀에 대고 속삭이다 = to whisper into someone’s ears (대다 = to put close to, 속삭이다 = to whisper) 

귀에 대고 속삭이지 말고 크게 말해요 = Don’t whisper to each other secretly. Speak loudly (to everybody).)

귀(가) 먹다 = to be deaf, to be not able to hear

귀 먹었어? = are you deaf (why aren’t you listening to me)?
저 귀 안 먹었어요. 조용히 말해요 = I’m not deaf. Speak quietly

귀가 간지럽다 = to feel like someone is talking behind one’s back (간지럽다 = to feel itchy)

어쩐지 오늘 귀가 간지러웠어요 = No wonder my ears were itchy today (when you find out someone was talking about you)

귀가 얇다 = to be easily influenced by what others say (얇다 = to be thin)

그 사람은 귀가 얇아서 설득하기 쉬워요 = He is easily influenced by what people say so he’s easy to persuade.

귀에 못이 박히도록 (듣다) = to have heard something too much already (to hear something so often that a callus forms on your ear)

그 얘기는 귀에 못이 박히도록 들었어요 = I’ve heard that story so much. I don’t need to hear it again.

눈에 넣어도 아프지 않다= to be the apple of one’s eye (lit. even if you put it in your eye it doesn’t hurt)

아이들은 그 나이 때 정말 귀여워서 눈에 넣어도 아프지 않아요 = Kids at that age are so cute that they are the apple of your eye.)

눈에 띄다 = to be difficult to miss; to stand out; eye-catching (띄다 = to be spotted)

눈에 띄는 패션 = eye-catching fashion
한국어 어떻게 공부해요? 실력이 눈에 띄게 늘었어요 = How do you study Korean? Your Korean skills have improved so much! (It’s impressive) 

눈을 마주치다 = eyes meet (마주치다 = to run into; to bump into)

그 사람하고 눈이 마주쳤는데, 창피해서 고개를 돌렸어요 = My eyes met with his, and I felt embarrassed so I looked away.

눈이 멀다 = to be blinded by something

그 사람은 욕심에 눈이 멀었어요 = He is blinded by his greed.

눈이 부시다 = to be dazzling

눈이 부시게 아름다워요 = Your beauty is dazzling.

눈 하나 깜짝하지 않다 = to not bat an eye (하나 = one, 깜짝하다 = to blink) 

그 사람은 그런 말을 들어도 눈 하나 깜짝하지 않을 거예요 = Even if you tell him that, he wouldn’t bat an eye

눈 깜짝할 사이에 = in the blink of an eye

눈이 높다 = to be picky, have high standards (lit. your eyes are high)

저 눈 안 높아요. 저는 그냥 성격 좋은 사람이면 다 좋아요 = I’m not picky. Anyone who has a good personality is fine for me

눈 밖에 나다 = to get on someone’s bad side (lit. get outside of their eyes/sight)

저는 지각을 많이 해서, 선생님 눈 밖에 났어요 = I am frequently late, so my teacher doesn’t like me.

눈을 붙이다 = to get some sleep (lit. glue your eyelids shut)

피곤하면 눈 좀 붙여요. 나중에 깨워 줄게요 = If you are tired, get some sleep. I’ll wake you up later.

눈빛만 봐도 알 수 있다 = can know just from looking at your eyes 

말 안 해도, 눈빛만 봐도 알 수 있어요 = Even if you don’t say it, I can tell just by looking at your eyes.

눈 앞이 캄캄하다 = to not know where to start; to have no hope (lit. it’s dark in front of my eyes)

눈 앞이 캄캄했었는데, 석진 씨가 도와줬어요 = I was in panic because I didn’t know how to solve the problem, but 석진 helped me.

눈썰미가 좋다 = to learn things quickly (눈썰미 = the ability to learn or understand how something is done just by watching someone else) 

한 번만 보고 어떻게 따라해요? 눈썰미가 좋으시네요 = How do you follow the moves just by looking at them once? You pick up things very fast!