Daily life
Korean expressions and words about Daily life, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Daily life
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아무래도 (amuraedo) — The Word for When You've Already Decided but Won't Say So Outright
**아무래도 (amuraedo)** is an adverb meaning "no matter how much I think it over" or "no matter how I try to work it out." It's the word you place in front of a con
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벅차다 (beokchada) — When Your Breath Fills Up and When Your Heart Fills Up, Koreans Reach for the Same Word
**벅차다 (beokchada)** is an adjective that holds three meanings at once: ① something is too hard to accomplish or endure, ② your heart is swelling with joy or hop
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벼락치기 (byeorakchigi) — The Korean Word You'll Hear Most the Night Before an Exam
**벼락치기 (byeorakchigi)** is the word for not preparing in advance and then, once the thing is right in front of your nose, rushing to get it all done at once. Th
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대세 (daese) — How '요즘 대세야' Differs from a Passing Trend
**대세 (daese)** means the decisive current along which things are moving. Flipping through a magazine at the hair salon, in variety-show subtitles, in the hallwa
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감이 오다 (gami oda) — How to Say "I Think I'm Finally Getting It" in Korean
**감이 오다 (gami oda)** means that the knack or the flow of something starts to register faintly, until you reach the state of thinking, "Ah, so *that's* what this
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감쪽같다 (gamjjokgatda) — The One Word Koreans Blurt Out When You Can't See the Repair at All
**감쪽같다 (gamjjokgatda)** means there is no trace of something having been touched up or repaired — nothing anyone else could ever notice. When you pick up a torn
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근황 (geunhwang) — How to Ask "What Have You Been Up To?" in One Word
**근황 (geunhwang)** is a noun meaning someone's recent situation — how they've been doing lately. When you learn Korean, you usually memorize the long sentence 「
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그럼요 (geureomyo) — The One Word That Clears Away the Other Person's Hesitation
**그럼요 (geureomyo)** is the word you use to tell someone who has just asked you something that the answer "goes without saying" — in short, it means "of course."
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기가 막히다 (giga makhida) — One Phrase for When You're Appalled and When You're Amazed
**기가 막히다 (giga makhida)** means that something is so absurd — or, flipped around, so magnificent — that the breath catches in your throat and no words come out.
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혼놀 (honnol) — Not Being Left Alone, But Being Good at Enjoying Your Own Company
**혼놀 (honnol)** is a clipped form of **혼자 놀기 (honja nolgi)**, "playing by yourself." It means spending time alone — without making plans with anyone — and genui
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이불 밖은 위험해 (ibul bakkeun wiheomhae) — What Koreans Say as They Pull the Blanket Up on a Day They Don't Want to Go Out
**이불 밖은 위험해 (ibul bakkeun wiheomhae)** means “the world outside the blanket is dangerous, so I'm not going out today.” Of course, it isn't a real safety warning
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마음에 들어요 (maeume deureoyo) — The Phrase Koreans Reach For *After* They've Chosen
**마음에 들어요 (maeume deureoyo)** means "this fits my taste and my standards, so it feels good to me." Trying on three shirts and picking one. Facing your freshly c
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무지출챌린지 (mujichulchaellinji) — Zero Won for a Whole Day: Not Poverty, but a Game You Set for Yourself
**무지출챌린지 (mujichulchaellinji)** means a short challenge you set for yourself: going a whole day without spending a single won, ending the day at zero. You head
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물멍 (mulmeong): Time Spent Staring Blankly at Water — Korea's Quietest Way to Rest
Have you ever asked a Korean friend **뭐 해? (mwo hae?, "What are you up to?")** on a weekend afternoon and gotten back **그냥 물멍 중 (geunyang mulmeong jung, "Just d
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눈이 높다 (nun-i nopda) — The Phrase for Someone Whose Bar Sits Higher Than Everyone Else's
**눈이 높다 (nun-i nopda)** means that someone's standards are so demanding when picking people or things that ordinary options simply won't do. The friend whose bl
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새치기 (saechigi) — The One Small Step That Slips Into the Front of the Line
Subway platforms, convenience store checkouts, concert box offices, holiday train ticket windows — Korea has a lot of lines. And wherever there is a line, there
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Korean Word of the Day: 심심하다 (simsimhada) — When You've Got Time to Spare and Nothing to Fill It With
Sunday afternoon. Everything on your to-do list is done, and you have no plans. You lie on the couch turning your phone on, then off, then open the fridge and c
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시무룩하다 (simurukhada) — Not Angry, Not Crying: Displeasure That Speaks Only Through the Face
**시무룩하다 (simurukhada)** describes the state of being displeased about something, so your words dry up and an unhappy look settles over your face — in other word
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신입사원 (sinipsawon) — The People You Can Spot in a Single Glance on the March Subway
**신입사원 (sinipsawon)** is the word for an employee who has only recently joined a company. Ride the subway on a weekday morning during the first week of March an
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태풍 (taepung) — The Wind That Gets a Name, the Word That Shakes a Korean Summer
**태풍 (taepung)** means a wind accompanied by a fierce rainstorm, blowing in from the Pacific toward the eastern part of the Asian continent — Korea, Japan, and
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퇴사 (toesa) — Two Meanings in the Dictionary, One Meaning in the Office
**퇴사 (toesa)** means quitting the company you've been working at and walking away from it. You know that scene in Korean dramas where the main character drops a
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야근 (yageun) — When Quitting Time Has Passed and You're Still at Your Desk
**야근 (yageun)** means work you keep doing past quitting time, on into the night. You could have left on time, but you didn't — you stayed at your desk and kept
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열대야 (yeoldaeya) — The Korean Summer Nights That Never Cool Down
**열대야 (yeoldaeya)** means a very hot night — one where the outside temperature never drops below 25 degrees Celsius. From late July to mid-August in Korea, nigh
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여름휴가 (yeoreumhyuga) — The Few Days at the End of July and the Start of August When the Whole Country Steps Away at Once
**여름휴가 (yeoreumhyuga)** refers to people who attend school or work at a company taking time off during the summer — literally, "vacation taken in summer." Once
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유행 (yuhaeng) — Hairstyles and Colds Both “Go Around” with the Same Word
**유행 (yuhaeng)** is the word for something catching on with people and spreading across society as a whole — and, at the same time, for an infectious disease sp
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취준생 (chwijunsaeng): The Three Syllables Koreans Bring Up Most Carefully
**취준생 (chwijunsaeng)** is the shortened form of **취업 준비생 (chwieop junbisaeng)**, "a person preparing for employment" — in other words, someone who is still look
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닭살 돋다 (daksal dotda) — Saying "Cringe" With Your Skin, in Korean
**닭살 돋다 (daksal dotda)** describes that uncomfortable, prickly feeling — as if tiny bumps were rising all over your skin — that hits you when you run into words
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됐어 (dwaesseo) — The Two Syllables That Refuse and Finish at the Same Time
**됐어 (dwaesseo) is a casual expression that means "you can stop, I don't need any more" — a refusal — while at the same time meaning "it's all done, everything'
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그러니까 (geureonikka) — The Word That Gives a Reason and Also Says "Exactly"
**그러니까 (geureonikka)** means "for that reason" or "in other words." You use it when what you just said is the grounds for what comes next, or when you want to f
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자소서 (jaseoseo) — The Three Syllables That Guard Korea's First Job Interview
**자소서 (jaseoseo)** is the shortened form of **자기소개서 (jagisogaeseo)**, "self-introduction letter" — the document you write about yourself, in your own words, whe
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죽겠다 (jukgetda) — Why Koreans "Die" Several Times a Day
**죽겠다 (jukgetda)** means that some feeling or state is so intense you can hardly stand it. Translated literally, it's "I think I'm going to die" — but nobody wh
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카톡 (katok) — What Koreans Say Instead of 연락하다 (yeollakhada)
**카톡 (katok)** is both the clipped nickname for Korea's messenger app 카카오톡 (Kakao Talk) and the word for the messages you trade on it. Land in Korea and you wil
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동안 (dongan): How Are '2주 동안 (i-ju dongan)' and '2주 만에 (i-ju mane)' Different?
동안 (dongan) means "the length of time that runs from one moment to another." Think of English *during*, *while*, and *for* all packed into a single word. **동안 (
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부재중 전화 (bujaejung jeonhwa) — The Weight of Five Calls Stacked on Your Screen
**부재중 전화 (bujaejung jeonhwa)** means a call that came in but you couldn’t pick up, so the only thing left behind is a record on your screen — in other words, a
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몰아보기 (morabogi) — The Word for Burning a Whole Weekend at Once
Ask a Korean friend "주말에 뭐 했어? (jumare mwo haesseo?)" — "What did you do this weekend?" — and there's a pretty good chance of one particular answer coming back:
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뭐라고요? (mworagoyo?) — For When You Didn't Catch It, and When You Can't Believe It: The Question Koreans Ask Several Times a Day
**뭐라고요? (mworagoyo?)** is how you ask someone to repeat themselves — "Sorry, what did you just say?" — either because you didn't hear them or because you can't
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노안 (noan) — The Word Koreans Reach For When the Menu Suddenly Moves Farther Away
Someone picks up the menu at a restaurant and suddenly stretches an arm all the way out. They hold the menu far from their face and squint a little. Then the fr
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사수 (sasu) — "Defend It With Your Life": A Battlefield Word That Now Lives on a Picnic Mat
**사수 (sasu)** means "guarding something with your life on the line." In hanja it's 死守 — 죽을 사 (死), the character for "die," joined to 지킬 수 (守), the character for
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소개팅 (sogaeting) — Meeting Someone for the First Time on a Bridge Another Person Built
**소개팅 (sogaeting)** means a one-on-one meeting between a man and a woman arranged by someone in the middle who introduces them. It corresponds to the English *b
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여보세요 (yeoboseyo) — Same Word Through the Phone and Face to Face, but a World Apart in Tone
**여보세요 (yeoboseyo)** is an interjection used to call the person on the other end of a phone line, and also to get the attention of someone standing nearby. It's
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발이 넓다 (bari neolda) — Why Korean Says “Knows a Lot of People” with Feet
**발이 넓다 (bari neolda)** describes someone who knows so many people that their connections reach into all sorts of circles and all sorts of fields. When you’re s
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본가 (bonga) — The Home That Only Exists Once You've Left It
Ask a Korean friend what they're doing for the holidays and nine times out of ten you'll get the same answer: "나 **본가 (bonga)** 내려가." (na **bonga** naeryeoga —
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데이트코스 (deiteukoseu) — The Answer Isn't Complete Until You Say What Comes After Dinner
Once weekend plans are set, Korean conversations move straight to the next question: "그래서 어디 갈 건데? (geuraeseo eodi gal geonde?)" — "So where are you going?" But
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뒤끝 없다 (dwikkeut eopda) — Why Someone Who Had a Huge Fight With You Yesterday Asks "밥 먹었어? (bap meogeosseo?)" This Morning
**뒤끝 없다 (dwikkeut eopda)** means not keeping bad feelings in your heart after a fight or an unpleasant incident. Picture the scene: the person who was raising t
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뒷담화 (dwitdamhwa) — The Word for What Starts Three Seconds After Someone Walks Out
**뒷담화 (dwitdamhwa)** means running someone down behind their back when they aren't in the room — and it also means the talk itself. That conversation that kicks
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간이 크다 (gani keuda) — Why Does Korean Talk About Your Liver When It Means "Fearless"?
**간이 크다 (gani keuda)** means to be fearless and daring — to calmly go ahead and do the kind of thing an ordinary person would be too scared to attempt. A friend
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이불킥 (ibulkik) — The Memory That Makes You Kick Off Your Blanket at Night
Midnight. You turned off the light and lay down. And of course, that is exactly the moment it comes back to you — the joke you cracked all by yourself at a comp
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자취 (jachwi) — What's Left Behind After Something Disappears
자취 (jachwi) means a mark or trace that something has left behind. The little snack shop in the alley you walked past for ten years closes one day, and all that'
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재택근무 (jaetaekgeunmu) — How to Say "I Work from Home" in Korean
**재택근무 (jaetaekgeunmu)** means doing your company's work from home, using the internet and similar tools. If you've ever spotted an office worker in sweats pick
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죽이 잘 맞다 (jugi jal matda) — The Kind of Bond Where Hands Sync Before Words Do
**죽이 잘 맞다 (jugi jal matda)** describes two people who fall into perfect rhythm when they do something together — no planning, no agreeing on who does what. One