Category Vocabulary

나란히 앉다 (na-ran-i an-da) – to sit side by side This phrase can be used to describe how people sit beside each other in business meetings or social gatherings. I believe we can use this phrase to describe how inanimate…

팔짱을 끼다 (pal-jjang-eul ggi-da) – link arms with (somebody)/fold or cross one’s arms If you realise, there are two (quite) different meanings to this phrase. This phrase is a little tricky because it depends very much who your subject(s) is(are).…

얼굴이 빨개지다 (eol-goo-ri bbal-ggae-ji-da) – (face) to blush/flush This phrase can be used to describe embarrassment and anger, which are the two most common emotions and expressions. For embarrassment, the context would most probably be more than enough. But if…

목이 마르다 (mo-gi ma-reu-da) – my throat is dry/I’m thirsty When you have a sore throat, you would say 목이 아프다/목이 아파. When you’re thirsty, or when you’re having some sort of discomfort because your throat is dry, you will…

간지럽다 (gan-ji-reob-da) – itchy Example: 코에 호추 때문에 좀 간지러워서 너무 짜증이 나. My nose is a little itchy because of pepper so I’m really irritated. In some way, you can also use 간지럽다 to describe how you are getting…

욕을 먹다 (yo-geul meok-da) – get criticised/blamed/sweared at/scolded with vulgarities You get the idea, this is expressing how the subject of the sentence is receiving hate from someone. 욕 – swear word/criticism/etc… 먹다 – to eat If you translate the…

손이 많이 가다 (so-ni ma-ni ga-da) – require a lot of effort/care/work 손이 많이 가다 is another one of those expressions that might not make much sense if you translate it literally to English. 손 = hand 많이 = a…

끼어들다 (ggi-eo-deul-da) – cut in/butt in/interrupt If you want to express how you or another third party enters a conversation either unwantedly or unexpectedly, you can use 끼어들다. Another way of using this is to express how you or someone jumps…

선뜻 (seon-ddeut) – gladly, willingly and without hesitation You would typically use this vocabulary to describe a donation or support of kindness. Basically this vocabulary would be used mostly in conjunction with a positive act. You wouldn’t use this to…

싱글벙글 (sing-geul-beong-geul) – all smiles You would typically use 싱글벙글 with 웃다 so that it places emphasis that the person (subject) is extremely happy. Examples: 아저시는 복권 당첨되서 돈을 벌고 은행으로 싱글벙글 웃었어. The uncle struck lottery and went to the bank…