Category: Learn Korean Idioms

I have always thought that the story titled, “The King’s Ear, The Donkey’s Ear” was a traditional Korean folk tale, but it turns out that it originates from Greek mythology.

Anyway, the story that I grew up hearing goes like…

There was once a king whose ears were awkwardly large. He was embarrassed of his large ears, so he tried to hide them in his hat. The king was able to keep his ears a secret from everyone but his barber.

The barber was sworn to secrecy, but despite his best efforts, all he wanted to do was gossip. One day, he went to an empty bamboo forest and shouted, “the king has donkey ears!” Broadcasting the king’s secret into an empty bamboo forest made the barber feel more at ease.

However, as the wind blew, the exclamation traveled into the nearby town. Soon everyone knew that the king had donkey ears.

The story ends with the king unable to keep his secret from the public anymore. After he revealed his large ears to his people, a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He came to realize that his large ears could be used to help him hear the voices of his people better.

So, when we Koreans have something to gossip about, we sometimes start the conversation by saying, “나 임금님 귀 당나귀 귀 하나 해도 돼?” This means, “hey, can I tell you a king’s ear, the donkey’s ear?”, also meaning, “can I tell you a piece of gossip?”

This is the new idiom for today, but let’s not overuse it…

Different cultures around the world use idioms to refer to parts of the body. This makes it easier to get ideas across during conversation. However, these phrases do not always have to do with the body. We Koreans use idioms a lot, so let’s learn some of them.

1. 입이 무겁다

‘입이 무겁다’ is directly translated to, “Someone’s mouth is heavy” or “Someone has a heavy mouth.”

You can describe a person using this idiom if they keep a secret you trusted them with.

But, if someone can’t keep a secret, we say “입이 가볍다.” This phrase is literally translated to: “The mouth is light.”

2. 입이 거칠다

‘입이 거칠다’ means, “Someone’s mouth is rough” or “Someone has a rough mouth.”

This idiom is used to describe someone who swears and curses often.

3. 손이 크다

‘손이 크다’ is literally translated to, “Someone’s hand is big” or “Someone has a big hand.”

This idiom is often used to describe a woman who has prepared a big portion of food. For example, a great occasion to use 손이 크다 would be if a mother of four cooked enough food to feed ten children.

4. 귀가 얇다

This directly translates to, “Someone’s ear is thin” or “Someone has a thin ear.”

If someone is very indecisive or easily influenced by other’s opinions, this idiom can be used to describe them.

5. 통이 크다

It translates to, “Someone’s torso is big” or “Someone has a big torso.”

When we say someone has a big torso, it is usually considered a compliment. This idiom can be used to describe a person who is willing to spend a lot of money on themselves or others.

For example, if a group of people went out to dinner, the person who volunteers to pay the bill would have a “big torso.”

6. 발이 넓다

It literally translates to, “Someone’s feet are large” or “Someone has large feet.”

We will sometimes even say “마당발이다,” which means “to have front-yard feet”.

Any of these idioms can be used to describe someone who has made many connections through networking.

7. 콧대가 높다

‘콧대가 높다’ means, “someone’s nose is held high” or “someone has their nose held high.”

Actually, if Koreans say, “you have a big nose,” it could be meant as a compliment. A small face with a large nose and eyes is considered beautiful in Korea. Even though it might come across as rude to comment on other’s appearances, many people still do it.

But “콧대가 높다” has more than one meaning. If someone is arrogant or “stuck up” you could use this idiom to describe them.

Summer is now in full swing. Major heat waves around the world are making headlines. Like the rest of the world, Korea has been undergoing extreme weather patterns.

Today let me introduce you to some common Korean idioms about heat waves.

1. 찜통 더위

As you can see, the photo below 찜통 shows a steamer. I thought this expression was very similar to the English one, which is “it is as hot as an oven outside.”

We say “찜통 더위다”. This expression can also be used for a weather forecast on news, like 찜통 더위가 계속 될 전망입니다, meaning “the steaming hot weather is expected to continue over the next few days.”

2. 더위를 타다

It can be directly translated to “to ride heat”.

If you are sensitive to hot weather, or if you normally find that you are the hottest in the room while everyone else is at a comfortable temperature, you can say “제가 더위를 잘 타요”.

3. 냉방병

This word can be directly translated to “air conditioning sickness” or “cold sickness.”

Let’s suppose someone spent too long under the AC and feels tired, dizzy and has a stomachache. Then we can say “it may be caused by 냉방병”.

4. 열대야

열대야 means Tropical Night.

If the temperature stays above 25 degrees Celsius at night, it is difficult to sleep comfortably. In this circumstance, we can say, “열대야 때문에 어제 잠을 잘 못 잤어”, meaning “I couldn’t sleep well last night because of a tropical night.”

Note: If you can’t stand the hot weather but if you don’t have an AC, the ‘무더위 쉼터’ or “Heat Shelter” is always open to the public. More than 800 heat shelters are made available by the city government. They are located at the주민센터 (district office) and the 경로당 (Senior Center).

• 아아 [Ah-ah]

Next time when you order your Iced Americano, say “아아 주세요 [Ah-Ah Juseyo]” (meaning “Ah- ah please”), instead of saying “아이스 아메리카노 주세요” [Ice-Americano Juseyo].

Koreans like to use abbreviations in many situations.

Ice-Americano 아이스아메리카노 is shortened to ‘아아’.

• 따아 [dda-ah]

As you probably guessed, 따아 is 따뜻한 아메리카노 (Hot Americano).

But I don’t recommend you try this if you want to order a ‘Hot Americano’.

It’s usually written this way, but not spoken.

• 얼죽아 [eol-ju-ga]

If you want to order an Iced Americano, you can say ‘Ah-Ah’.

They will understand.

But if you say “따아 please”, there’s a small chance that the server will ask “what?”

That’s probably because Iced-Americano is the most popular daily drink in Korea and the term “ah-ah’ is a lot more commonly used.

We also have a term “얼죽아” meaning “얼어 죽어도 아메리카노”, roughly translated as “I will drink my Iced-Americano even if I am frozen to death”.

People also like to post their Iced Americano with hashtags like “아아” and “얼죽아”.

So, what kind of coffee drinker are you?