Korean Foot Idioms | Body Part Idioms in Korean
안녕하세요 여러분! Welcome or welcome back to Koreanstudyjunkie. I’m Junie 쌤.
In this lesson, I’ll introduce some useful Korean idioms that use “foot”.
Why Learn Idioms?
Idioms can really boost not only your comprehension in Korean, but make your Korean more colloquial and natural.
When you come across idioms like “눈이 낮다” for example, you would be likely to translate it literally: "low eyes"
You would be completely lost as to why someone randomly said that your eyes are low. But if you were studying these Idioms, you would understand that they were saying you have low expectations! You might have gotten insulted without even knowing.
Don't neglect idioms!
Learn About 눈 Idioms.
1). IDIOM: 발이 넓다
literal translation: foot is wide
meaning: have a wide network
EX).
① 민수 씨는 발이 넓어요.
→ Minsu knows many people.
Vocab:
민수 씨 = Mr. Minsu
발 = foot
넓다 = to be wide
② 저는 친구가 많아요. 발이 넓죠.
→ I have many friends. I’m well connected.
Vocab:
친구 = friend
많다 = to be many
넓죠 = is wide (confirmation tone)
③ 우리 사장님은 발이 넓아요.
→ Our boss has a wide network.
Vocab:
우리 = our
사장님 = boss
넓어요 = is wide
2). IDIOM: 발을 끊다
literal translation: cut off a foot
meaning: stop going somewhere / cut ties
EX).
① 저는 그 카페에 발을 끊었어요.
→ I stopped going to that café.
Vocab:
그 = that
카페 = café
끊었어요 = stopped
② 그는 술집에 발을 끊었어요.
→ He stopped going to bars.
Vocab:
그는 = he
술집 = bar
끊다 = to cut / stop
③ 친구랑 싸우고 발을 끊었어요.
→ I fought with my friend and cut ties.
Vocab:
친구 = friend
싸우다 = to fight
끊었어요 = stopped
3). IDIOM: 발을 붙이다
literal translation: stick the foot
meaning: settle down / establish oneself
EX).
① 저는 회사에 발을 붙였어요.
→ I settled down at the company.
Vocab:
회사 = company
붙이다 = to stick / attach
② 한국에서 이제 발을 붙였어요.
→ I’ve settled down in Korea now.
Vocab:
한국 = Korea
이제 = now
붙였어요 = stuck / settled
③ 언니는 병원에 발을 붙였어요.
→ My sister settled at the hospital (as a job).
Vocab:
언니 = older sister
병원 = hospital
붙이다 = to attach / settle
4). IDIOM: 발이 묶이다
literal translation: feet are tied
meaning: unable to leave circumstances
EX).
① 비가 와서 집에 발이 묶였어요.
→ It rained, so I was stuck at home.
Vocab:
비 = rain
와서 = because it came
묶이다 = to be tied
② 눈이 많이 와서 학교에 발이 묶였어요.
→ I was stuck at school because of heavy snow.
Vocab:
눈 = snow
많이 = a lot
학교 = school
③ 차가 고장 나서 발이 묶였어요.
→ My car broke down, so I couldn’t leave.
Vocab:
차 = car
고장 나다 = to break down
묶였어요 = was tied/stuck
5). IDIOM: 발 벗고 나서다
literal translation: step forward barefoot
meaning: actively jump in to help
EX).
① 친구가 힘들어서 발 벗고 나섰어요.
→ My friend was struggling, so I jumped in to help.
Vocab:
친구 = friend
힘들다 = to be hard
나서다 = to step up
② 모두가 발 벗고 나섰어요.
→ Everyone actively helped.
Vocab:
모두 = everyone
벗다 = to take off (shoes/clothes)
나서다 = to step forward
③ 엄마는 항상 발 벗고 나서요.
→ Mom always takes action to help.
Vocab:
엄마 = mom
항상 = always
나서요 = steps up
6). IDIOM: 발이 빠르다
literal translation: feet are quick
meaning: good at handling things quickly / reacting fast
EX).
① 그는 발이 빨라요.
→ He acts quickly.
Vocab:
그는 = he
빠르다 = to be fast
② 발이 빠른 사람은 일도 잘해요.
→ Fast people are good workers too.
Vocab:
사람 = person
일 = work
잘하다 = do well
③ 소문이 발이 빨라요.
→ News spreads fast.
Vocab:
소문 = rumor, news
빨라요 = is fast
7). IDIOM: 발을 뻗고 자다
literal translation: sleep with feet stretched out
meaning: sleep peacefully without worries
EX).
① 이제 발을 뻗고 잘 수 있어요.
→ Now I can sleep peacefully.
Vocab:
이제 = now
자다 = to sleep
② 숙제를 다 해서 발을 뻗고 잤어요.
→ I finished my homework and slept well.
Vocab:
숙제 = homework
다 = all
잤어요 = slept
③ 일이 끝나서 발을 뻗고 자요.
→ Work is over, so I sleep comfortably.
Vocab:
일 = work
끝나다 = to finish
자요 = sleep
8). IDIOM: 발걸음을 옮기다
literal translation: move the footsteps
meaning: relocate / move to another place
EX).
① 저는 집으로 발걸음을 옮겼어요.
→ I moved toward home.
Vocab:
집 = home
옮기다 = to move
② 사람들은 문 쪽으로 발걸음을 옮겼어요.
→ People moved toward the door.
Vocab:
사람들 = people
문 = door
쪽으로 = toward
③ 그는 다른 회사로 발걸음을 옮겼어요.
→ He moved to another company.
Vocab:
그는 = he
다른 = other
회사 = company
Thanks for checking out my post! I have more lessons linked at the bottom of this post that you might also like.
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