Today's Korean: 미신 (misin) — the word you don't throw around in front of someone who believes
미신
미신 (misin) means a belief regarded as unscientific and irrational — things like fortune-telling or a shamanic ritual — or the act of holding such a belief. If you’ve ever seen a Korean drama where the lead has just signed the lease on a new place and starts flipping through a calendar looking for a 손 없는 날 (son eomneun nal), or where a mother hands her kid sticky rice cake instead of seaweed soup the night before an exam, all of those scenes are orbiting this one word.
Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries on earth, and at the same time it’s a country that deletes the number 4 from elevator buttons and puts the letter F there instead. 미신 (misin) is the word that comes out of the place where those two faces collide. Which is why memorizing the dictionary definition only gets you halfway. The other half depends on “who is saying it, in front of whom, and pointing at what.”
The first thing to remember is that 미신 (misin) is not a neutral word. The verdict “that isn’t true” is already baked into it. So people who genuinely believe something don’t call their own belief 미신 (misin). In practice, the word shows up in roughly three places. First, when you’re appraising someone else’s belief from a step back. Second, when you’re sheepishly downplaying your own behavior — 나도 미신인 거 아는데, 그냥 마음이 편해서 (nado misinin geo aneunde, geunyang maeumi pyeonhaeseo, “I know it’s superstition, it just makes me feel better”). Third, when a news article or an explanatory text refers to a social phenomenon. That these three places each run at a different temperature is the heart of today’s post.
Checking the National Institute of Korean Language dictionary
미신 「명사」 (noun) 점이나 굿과 같이 비과학적이고 비합리적인 것으로 여겨지는 믿음. 또는 그런 믿음을 가지는 것. [en] superstition — Belief that is considered unscientific and irrational, such as a divination and gut, shamanistic ritual; the state of having such belief. [ja] めいしん【迷信】 — 占いや「クッ（巫女による祈りの儀式）」など、非科学的で非合理的なことと思われる信仰。また、その信仰をもつこと。 [es] superstición — Creencia considerada poco científica e irracional, como la adivinanza o el exorcismo. O el desarrollo de tales creencias. [zh] 迷信 — 如占卜或巫术等被认为不科学或不合理的信仰；或指具有那种信仰。 — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
The dictionary carries no Portuguese gloss, so the sentence below is our own rendering (not a dictionary quotation): superstição — Crença considerada pouco científica e irracional, como a adivinhação ou o ritual xamânico “gut”; ou o fato de se ter tal crença.
The word to watch in the definition is 여겨지는 (yeogyeojineun), “regarded as.” The dictionary doesn’t flatly declare 미신 (misin) to be “an unscientific belief”; it writes “a belief regarded as unscientific and irrational.” In other words, 미신 (misin) isn’t a property of the thing itself — it’s a label attached by the judgment of the people looking at it. That one small difference is the basis for the “this sounds off” section coming up.
Let’s also look at the real usage examples the dictionary lists.
너도 참. 이 개명한 시대에 아직도 그런 미신을 믿는단 말야? — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
(“Oh, come on. In this enlightened day and age you still believe that superstition?”) This is a casual-speech ribbing between close friends. The exclamation 너도 참 (neodo cham) at the front makes it closer to an exasperated laugh than an accusation. Still, the sentence flatly denies the other person’s belief, so transplanting it onto someone older than you or someone you’ve just met would be very rude.
그런 건 과학성이 입증되지 않은 미신인데 그걸 믿니? — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
(“That’s a superstition with no scientific proof behind it — you believe that?”) A more argumentative tone than the previous example. With the modifier 과학성이 입증되지 않은 (gwahakseongi ipjeungdoeji aneun, “scientifically unproven”) attached, the verdict-passing function of 미신 (misin) gets even sharper. Picture a parent talking to a child, or a science-major friend losing patience, and you’ve got it exactly right.
엄마가 미신을 광신하셔서 걱정이야. 점쟁이 말이라면 무조건 믿으셔. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
(“I’m worried because my mom is fanatical about superstition. If a fortune-teller says it, she believes it, no questions asked.”) Here someone is confiding about family to a friend. In this sentence 미신 (misin) isn’t a weapon aimed at someone — it’s the name of a worry. This is also the spot where the word turns up most often in real conversation: about a parent’s or grandparent’s belief, spoken where that person isn’t present.
미신은 과학이 발달하지 않았던 옛날 사람들의 무지에서 비롯된 것으로 여기는 사람이 많다. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
(“Many people regard superstition as something that arose from the ignorance of people in the old days, before science had developed.”) This is expository style, a completely different texture from the three sentences above. It’s the kind of sentence you’d find in a newspaper editorial or a textbook, and with ~로 여기는 사람이 많다 (~ro yeogineun sarami manta, “many people regard it as…”) it hands the judgment off to somebody else. A useful frame when you want to use the word 미신 (misin) with no emotion attached.
지수는 거울을 깨뜨리면 불행해진다는 미신을 믿는다. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
(“Ji-su believes the superstition that breaking a mirror brings bad luck.”) This example shows the structure ~다는 미신 (~daneun misin), “the superstition that ~.” Attaching the whole content of the belief in front of 미신 (misin) is actually the most common form you’ll use. You can apply it freely: 빨간 펜으로 이름을 쓰면 안 된다는 미신 (“the superstition that you shouldn’t write a name in red pen”), 밤에 손톱을 깎으면 안 된다는 미신 (“the superstition that you shouldn’t cut your nails at night”).
Seeing it in a real conversation
Scene: Jun-kyung’s studio apartment. The two of them have a calendar app open, heads together, trying to settle on a moving date for next month.
준경: 야, 그 주말은 안 돼. 손 없는 날로 잡아야지. Hey, not that weekend. We’ve got to pick a “son eomneun nal” — a lucky moving day.
에밀리: 손 없는 날? 너 아직도 그런 거 따져? 완전 미신이잖아. A lucky moving day? You still care about that? That’s pure superstition.
준경: 미신인 거 나도 알아. 근데 엄마가 물어볼 거란 말이야. I know it’s superstition. But my mom’s definitely going to ask.
에밀리: 아, 그거구나. 엄마용이네. Ah, I get it. It’s for your mom.
준경: 응. 근데 그날 이삿짐센터 값이 십오만 원 더 비싸. Yeah. Problem is, movers charge 150,000 won more that day.
에밀리: 야, 그 십오만 원이면 나 삼겹살 세 번 사 주겠다. 그게 더 확실한 복이야. Dude, that’s three pork-belly dinners for me. Now that’s guaranteed good luck.
This sounds off
✗ (to your grandmother) 할머니, 그런 거 다 미신이에요. 그만하세요. (“Grandma, all that stuff is superstition. Please stop.”) ✓ (to your grandmother) 할머니가 마음 편하시면 저는 괜찮아요. (“If it puts your mind at ease, Grandma, I’m fine with it.”) → The verdict “irrational” is already inside 미신 (misin). Calling someone’s belief 미신 (misin) to their face doesn’t just say they’re wrong — it puts them on the side of the ignorant. In Korea this is especially avoided with anyone older than you.
✗ (watching a religious ceremony from another country) 세상에, 이런 미신도 다 있네요. (“Wow, so superstitions like this exist too.”) ✓ (watching a religious ceremony from another country) 이런 풍습도 있군요. 처음 봐요. (“So there’s a custom like this. I’ve never seen it before.”) → Calling someone else’s religion or tradition 미신 (misin) reads instantly as contempt. When you don’t want to load your sentence with a judgment, the neutral words are 풍습 (pungseup), 전통 (jeontong), and 속설 (sokseol).
Example sentences by situation
① To a colleague who always wears the same tie on big presentation days
- You: 저 넥타이 또 매셨네요. (“You’ve got that tie on again.”)
- Their reply: 미신인 건 아는데, 이거 맬 때마다 발표가 잘 되더라고요. (misin-in geon aneunde, igeo mael ttaemada balpyoga jal doedeoragoyo.)
- Meaning: “I know it’s superstition, but every time I wear this, the presentation goes well.”
This move — conceding up front that your own behavior is 미신 (misin) — is extremely common in Korean workplaces. By getting there first with “I know, I know,” you leave the other person no room to point it out, and everyone can just laugh it off.
② At a housewarming, when someone asks why you picked that particular moving date
- 엄마가 손 없는 날로 하라고 하셔서요. 미신이라고 하기엔 좀 무섭잖아요. (eommaga son eomneun nallo harago hasyeoseoyo. misiniragohagien jom museopjanayo.)
- Meaning: “My mom told me to pick a 손 없는 날, and, well, it’s a little scary to write it off as superstition, isn’t it?”
미신이라고 하기엔 (misiniragohagien, “to call it superstition would be…”) captures precisely that in-between state of neither believing nor disbelieving. The actual attitude most Koreans hold toward these customs sits right about here.
③ In written style, like a news article or a formal report
- 숫자 4를 피하는 것은 동아시아에 널리 퍼진 미신이다. (sutja sareul pihaneun geoseun dongasia-e neolli peojin misinida.)
- Meaning: “Avoiding the number 4 is a superstition widespread across East Asia.”
Unlike the two examples above, there’s no emotion here at all. It’s the register that pairs with the ~로 여기는 사람이 많다 (~ro yeogineun sarami manta) construction we saw in the dictionary examples.
Politeness levels and related words
미신 (misin) is a noun, so it carries no politeness level on its own. The height comes from the predicate that follows it. The same content goes 그거 미신이야 (geugeo misiniya, casual) → 그거 미신이에요 (geugeo misinieyo, polite) → 그것은 미신입니다 (geugeoseun misinimnida, formal), and the declarative force gets stronger along the way. The interesting part is that the casual form lands hardest. The formal version sounds like an explanation, while the casual one sounds like a verdict thrown straight at the person in front of you.
Here’s how the word compares to its neighbors, which run at different temperatures.
| Expression | Temperature / strength | Where it’s used |
|---|---|---|
| 미신 (misin) | Carries a negative verdict. Strong | Putting down someone else’s belief, or sheepishly downplaying your own behavior |
| 속설 (sokseol) | Nearly neutral. Judgment withheld | ~라는 속설이 있다 (“there’s a saying that…”) — introducing something without ruling on whether it’s true |
| 징크스 (jingkeuseu) | Light and personal | Repeated personal experience around exams, games, presentations |
| 풍습 (pungseup) | Past neutral, leaning toward respect | Introducing the long-standing customs of a region or people |
When you’re unsure, the rule of thumb is simple. When a number of people believe it and you consider it false, it’s 미신 (misin). When it’s just a story floating around, believed or not, it’s 속설 (sokseol). When it’s a rule you alone keep, it’s 징크스 (jingkeuseu). In the dialogue above, Jun-kyung calling his own behavior 미신 (misin) was his signal that he too admits there’s no basis for it.
Cultural background — the elevator with no 4th floor
미신 (misin) is a Sino-Korean word: 迷信 — 미혹할 미 (迷, “to be deluded”) plus 믿을 신 (信, “to believe”). Literally, “bewitched belief”: a belief you came to hold because something had you under its spell. Whoever coined the word built the negative verdict right into the characters, so it’s arguably no surprise that it doesn’t sound neutral.
There are more living examples in Korea than you’d expect. Hospital and apartment elevators mark the 4th floor as F because 넉 사 (四, “four”) and 죽을 사 (死, “death”) sound identical. The custom of not writing a person’s name in red pen is still widespread. The night before an exam, people avoid slippery seaweed soup and eat sticky candy or rice cake instead — it’s close to a pun, riding on the verb 붙다 (butda), which means both “to stick” and “to pass an exam,” but during the college-entrance-exam season, convenience store shelves really are stocked according to this logic.
손 없는 날 (son eomneun nal), from the dialogue, is one of these too. The 손 (son) here isn’t the hand on your body; it’s an old word for a spirit that moves around from direction to direction depending on the date, getting in the way of human affairs. On lunar-calendar days ending in 9 or 0, this spirit is said to ascend to the heavens and leave its post, so people schedule moves and shop openings for those days. The fact that moving-company rates still visibly spike on exactly those days is the surest proof this custom is alive and well.
The frequent appearance of fortune-tellers and shamans in Korean dramas comes from the same place. Note, though, that those scenes usually aren’t there to paint someone as foolish — they’re a signal that a character has grown desperate enough to be out of options. The custom of having your 사주 (saju, birth-chart reading) or 궁합 (gunghap, compatibility reading) done before a wedding works the same way. Plenty of people say they treat it as entertainment, and then go get it done once anyway. So whether a given custom gets called 미신 (misin) varies person to person and generation to generation, even within Korea. For a learner, the safe stance is a single line: use it about your own behavior, and don’t throw it at anyone else’s.
Today’s quiz
Which of the following uses 미신 (misin) most naturally and least rudely?
- (to your grandmother) 할머니, 그런 건 다 미신이니까 이제 그만하세요. (“Grandma, all that is superstition, so please stop now.”)
- (to a colleague) 미신인 거 아는데, 시험 날엔 꼭 이 펜을 써요. (“I know it’s superstition, but I always use this pen on exam days.”)
- (to someone you’ve just met) 그 나라 명절 행사요? 그런 미신도 아직 있어요? (“That country’s holiday ceremony? Superstitions like that still exist?”)
Show the answer
Answer: 2
Number 2 attaches the verdict of 미신 (misin) to the speaker first. Because it opens by admitting there’s no basis for it, the listener has nothing left to point out — and it actually comes across as friendly.
Number 1 calls the belief 미신 (misin) right in front of the person who holds it, and an elder at that. The grammar is flawless; the manners are not. Number 3 defines another country’s tradition as superstition — here you should use 풍습 (pungseup) instead of 미신 (misin).
Definitions and example sentences are from the National Institute of Korean Language’s Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr); that portion of this post, including our translations, is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.