High School - Grade 11
Lesson 2: Idiomatic Language
Body-Related Idioms (관용어)
What are Idioms (관용어)?
Idioms (or 'idiomatic expressions') are phrases where the meaning isn't obvious from the individual words. In English, we have phrases like "it's raining cats and dogs" or "break a leg."
Korean has thousands of these, and a huge number of them are related to body parts! Let's learn some of the most common ones.
"눈이 높다" (nuni nopda)
Literal Meaning: "Eyes are high."
Actual Meaning: To be picky; to have high standards (especially for a partner).
(My friend has high standards, so she doesn't have a boyfriend yet.)
"귀가 얇다" (gwiga yalbda)
Literal Meaning: "Ears are thin."
Actual Meaning: To be easily persuaded; gullible.
(I'm easily persuaded, so when I see an ad, I want to buy everything.)
"손이 크다" (soni keuda)
Literal Meaning: "Hands are big."
Actual Meaning: To be very generous; to make or buy too much food.
(My mother is very generous, so she always makes way too much food.)
"발이 넓다" (bari neolbda)
Literal Meaning: "Feet are wide."
Actual Meaning: To be well-connected; to know a lot of people; to have a wide social network.
(That person is so well-connected, there's no one they don't know.)
"입이 무겁다" (ibi mugeobda)
Literal Meaning: "Mouth is heavy."
Actual Meaning: To be good at keeping secrets; to be tight-lipped.
(Don't worry. I'm good at keeping secrets.)
Coming Up Next...
How many did you already know? These idioms are incredibly common.
Next, we'll learn about a special type of idiom that comes from Chinese characters: **사자성어 (Sajasunguh)**. These are 4-character "proverbs" that pack a deep meaning into just four syllables.