Acquiring Korean

Turn of the phrase

Here I will list phrases I come across with friends or in my reading and drama watching that I like.  Peruse below and find fun Korean slang, expressions, and idioms!^^

• 한번 칼을 뽑았으면 끝을 봐야지! If you start a job, you must finish it!

• 물고기가 물을 만난 것 같아  It’s like a fish meeting water.

• 어장관리 When a girlfriend is trying to get several guys to lover at the same time she is guilty of 어장관리.

• 꽃밭에 논다 One guy hanging out with lots of girls. . . he’s playing among the flowers.

• 사람을 가지고 놀다 Toying with one’s emotions, playing with them.

• 밀땡 Passive-agressive, passive agressive. . . in relationships where someone is sometimes being warm, sometimes cold.

• 땅만큼 하늘만큼 우주만큼 좋아해  I like you as much as the sun,  moon, and the universe.

• 식곤증 The drowsiness that comes from after you have eaten.

• 꽃샘추위 In spring after it gets warm and some flowers come out it gets cold again. Thus cold (추위) is jealous (샘)  of the flowers (꽃)

• 너 삽질했구나 When your friend works hard but there are no good results you can say this to them. — You messed up.

• 듣던 중 반가운 소리네It’s music to my ears.

• 사래 걸렸어. What you say when something gets caught in your throat while you are eating. I’ve never been able to say this without being complimented on my Korean. . . people are rather impressed.

• 앙금 A percentage of Koreans don’t know this word but those who do think it’s really good word to know. It means the little bit of resentment you might still feel towards someone when you’ve fought and made up. It seems to be somewhat slightly opposite of 미련 which is often used for lingering fondness.

•  먹고 죽은 귀신이 때깔도 좋다 This is used when people want you to eat a lot (or when you want to eat a lot). A ghost who dies from overeating — his face is beautiful .

• 막 이래 “I talk like this for myself” — not very much meaning, used after sentences to weaken the impact . . . like ‘like’, ‘you know’ in English for more info look here.

• 작업놈 A guy who is good at picking up girls.

•무지게 반사 A kindergarten game — when someone says you’re stupid. . you say 반사 which means reflection. . . and then what the said about you is actually true about them. The problem with this is that both of you can keep on reflecting insults ad nasaum.

The way out of that is to say 미지게 반사 (rainbow reflection) which means that it reflects to the speaker and they can’t reflect it back.

•양 다리 When someone is dating two people at once.

• 방콕하다 When you stay at home and don’t go out at all.

• 콜 This is used either to signal agreement. It can be used as a question (Is that ok?) or as the answer (Yes it is.) when arranging appointments.

• 재택근무 Working at home.

• 후유증 The kind of sluggishness that comes after vacation when its hard to get into the the swing of work or study.

• 싫증 When you have been with your boyfriend too long and you start falling out of love with him, you’ve caught 싫증.

• 월요병 Monday blues.

•입이 심심해. . . When you are hungry you can say this.

•코맹이 A person who talks through their nose is a 코맹이

• 공부벌레 Study worm

• 잠꾸러기 Sleepyhead

•댕기다 crave (it seems similar to 갈구다)

• 부지럼쟁이 Diligent guy

• 게으럼쟁이 Lazy guy

•  열공-study hard (previously 열심이 공부 해)

• 쌩얼-face without any makeup

• 얼짱-REALLY pretty face

• 온실 속의 화초 A hothouse plant — someone who is innocent and naive and doesn’t have much experience

• 그나저나 By the way — good way to switch subjects in a conversation . . I’ve so far never heard it used in speaking though (just chatting). A varient of this is 그랬나 저랬나

• 지름신이 오다’ or ‘지름신이 강림하다’ This is said when suddenly someone feels like when you want to just buy loads of things all at once. So if the last few days you’ve been on a shopping spree you can say ‘지름신이 강림하다

• ‘귀차니즘’? That is ‘귀찮다+ism’

• 부러우면 지는거다 If you are jealous, you’ve lost. (A friend wrote this on her wedding invitation.)

• 멘붕 Mental breakdown, of the kind where you are completely frustrated from studying for a test

•품절녀 :결혼하고 임자 있는 여자 (a woman who is going to get married) 품절남:결혼하고 임자 있는 남자 (a guy who is going to get married)

•호랑이는 죽어서 가죽을 남기고 사람은 죽어서 이름을 남긴다 A tiger dies and leaves leather, person dies and leaves name.

• 우린 항상 엇갈린다 We keep missing each other. (In a phone-tag sort of situation).

또다른 재미있는 표현을 아세요? 알려주세요!^^