Daily life
Korean expressions and words about Daily life, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Daily life
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밀키트 (milkiteu) — A Whole Dinner Packed Into One Box
**밀키트 (milkiteu)** — from the English "meal kit" — means a ready-to-cook meal set in which pre-prepped ingredients and pre-measured seasonings all come in a sin
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남친/여친 (namchin/yeochin) — The Two-Syllable Word Koreans Use for the Person They're Dating
**남친/여친 (namchin/yeochin)** are two-syllable contractions of **남자친구 (namja chingu)** "boyfriend" and **여자친구 (yeoja chingu)** "girlfriend," and they refer to the
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삽질하다 (sapjilhada) — When You've Used Up All Your Energy and Have Nothing Left in Your Hands
**삽질하다 (sapjilhada)** literally refers to digging in the ground with a shovel, but in everyday conversation it means **to do something futile and pointless**. W
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알바 (alba) — The Two Syllables You See Taped to Every Convenience Store Door
**알바 (alba)** means work you take on temporarily, outside your main job, to earn money. It's a two-syllable clipping of **아르바이트 (areubaiteu)**. Walk through a u
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아무튼 (amuteun) — The One Word That Lands You on the Point When the Story Runs Long
My first day in the new apartment, the washing machine wouldn't run, so I called a repair technician, but his route was jammed with traffic, so I stopped by the
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불금 (bulgeum) — The Two Syllables That Only Light Up on Friday Night
Once it's past five o'clock on a Friday afternoon, the air in a Korean office changes. Nobody starts anything new, and "저녁에 뭐 해? (jeonyeoge mwo hae?)" — "what a
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창피하다 (changpihada) — The Word Koreans Blurt Out When Their Face Burns and Their Pride Takes a Hit
**창피하다 (changpihada)** means to feel deeply embarrassed because of something that costs you face. The moment you doze off on the subway and realize you've been
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어쩐지 (eojjeonji) — Between "I have no idea why" and "Ah, so that's why"
**어쩐지 (eojjeonji)** means "I don't know what the reason is, but…" When you can't point to a cause, yet your heart or your senses have already reacted, this is t
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어색하다 (eosaekhada) — The Word for the Five Minutes When Words Won't Come
**어색하다 (eosaekhada)** means to feel uncomfortable and unnatural when you're face to face with someone you don't know well, or didn't especially want to run into
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계산해 주세요 (gyesanhae juseyo) — The Phrase You'll Use at Least Once a Day in a Korean Restaurant
**계산해 주세요 (gyesanhae juseyo)** is what you say to a server or shop clerk to ask, "I'm ready to pay now, so please add up what I owe." If you've ever eaten out i
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훈훈하다 (hunhunhada) — Why Korean Calls the Warmth of a Room and the Warmth of a Heart by the Same Name
On a winter evening, there's that moment when you step through someone else's front door and your glasses instantly fog up white. **훈훈하다 (hunhunhada)** means wa
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황당하다 (hwangdanghada) — The Moment Words Fail You, Right Before the Anger Arrives
**황당하다 (hwangdanghada)** means that someone's words or actions are insincere and downright absurd. You use it when something happens that makes no sense front t
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저기요 (jeogiyo) — The Three Syllables for Calling Someone Whose Name You Don't Know
**저기요 (jeogiyo)** is what you say when you want to politely get the attention of someone whose name or title you don't know — it's the closest Korean equivalent
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정색하다 (jeongsaekhada) — The Moment a Smiling Face Freezes in One Second
**정색하다 (jeongsaekhada)** means to freeze a smiling or relaxed face in an instant and put on a sharp, stern expression. The spot where this word shows up in Kore
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집콕 (jipkok) — What Koreans Say on a Day They Don't Want to Leave the House
**집콕 (jipkok)** means burrowing into your home and staying put instead of going out. There are Friday evenings when you're not really sick and the weather isn't
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민망하다 (minmanghada) — When You've Done Nothing Wrong but Your Face Still Burns
민망하다 (minmanghada) means feeling too embarrassed to face someone or to look at something. You haven't done anything genuinely wrong, but your face goes hot and
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오바하다 (obahada) — "야, 그건 좀 오바 아니야?" The Word Koreans Use at Least Once a Day
**오바하다 (obahada)** means to act or react excessively — to go past the point the situation actually calls for. The friend who packs three umbrellas because rain
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오지랖 (ojirap) — How Did the Front of a Jacket Ever Come to Mean Meddling?
**오지랖 (ojirap)** originally refers to the front panel of a jacket or upper garment, but in everyday conversation today it means the attitude of butting into oth
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뻘쭘하다 (ppeoljjumhada) — When You've Done Nothing Wrong, but Standing There Is Still Hard
**뻘쭘하다 (ppeoljjumhada)** means feeling so awkward and self-conscious that just standing where you are is uncomfortable. You greet someone cheerfully in the elev
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신나다 (sinnada) — The Word for When Joy Leaks Out of Your Body
Saturday morning: your eyes open without an alarm, and the sky outside the window is clear. It's the outing you've been looking forward to for ages. Under the b
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속상하다 (soksanghada) — Not Anger, but the Word for When Your Heart Stings
**속상하다 (soksanghada)** means that something hasn't gone the way you hoped, leaving you unsettled and aching inside. When the hair you spent two months growing o
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왠지 (waenji) — When You Can't Name the Reason, but Your Heart Leans First
**왠지 (waenji)** means "without knowing quite why." When you can't point to a reason, but your heart has already tilted one way, these two syllables go in front
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어이없다 (eoieopda) — The First Thing Koreans Say When Something's Absurd
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often come across a scene where a character opens their eyes wide, lets out a bewildered little laugh, and mutters, "어이없어…
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'헷갈리다 (hetgallida)' — The One Word for When Your Head Is a Jumbled Mess
Have you ever missed your stop on the subway? Or called a friend by the wrong name? When your head gets all jumbled up and you can't get your bearings, Korean p
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홀가분하다 (holgabunhada): The Word for When a Weight Slides Off Your Shoulders
Walking out of the exam hall right after finishing a big test, looking around your empty room after wrapping up a move that dragged on for two months, finally t
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Ta-da! The One Word Koreans Shout When Their Glasses Meet
Friday evening, at some bar in Korea. The glasses get filled, someone lifts theirs, and as if on cue everyone brings their glasses together toward the center. T
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가슴이 뭉클하다 (gaseumi mungkeulhada): The Heart-Swelling Moment Words Can't Capture
There are times when a certain scene suddenly leaves you speechless. It isn't sad enough to make you burst into tears, nor joyful enough to make you laugh out l
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아쉽다 (aswipda) — Saying "the feeling of just barely missing out" in one word: Today's Korean Expression
On a Saturday morning you finally carve out some time — and of course, it starts pouring rain. You lose the concert ticket you waited months for, just one minut
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굳이 (guji): The Quiet Feelings Koreans Tuck Into One Little Word
When you watch Korean dramas or variety shows, there's a word you hear remarkably often yet find surprisingly hard to pin down. Today's expression, **굳이 (guji)*
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Of All Days — Why Today?: Summing Up the Worst Timing in One Word
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often see a scene where the main character presses a hand to their forehead and sighs, "왜 하필 지금이야…" ("Why now, of all times
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혹시 (hoksi), That One Little Word — Korean's First Step Toward Bringing Something Up Gently
Spend even a single day in Korea and you'll hear this word dozens of times. "혹시 시간 괜찮으세요?" (Do you have a moment, by any chance?), "혹시 여기 자리 있나요?" (Is this seat
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When It's Neither This nor That — '애매하다,' an Expression Koreans Use Several Times a Day
Have you ever asked a Korean friend, "Should we meet this weekend?" only to hear, "Hmm… that's kind of 애매한데? (aemaehande?)"? They didn't exactly say "no," but t
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Today's Korean: 귀찮다 (gwichanta) — the Real Everyday Word for When You Can't Be Bothered
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often catch a scene where the lead is slumped on the couch, mumbling "아, 귀찮아… (a, gwichana…)." When you don't want to get o
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부럽다: Saying "I Wish That Were Me" in a Single Word
When a friend pulls out a new phone, when a coworker comes first on an exam, when you see someone's travel photos on social media — there's that feeling that qu
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The Word Koreans Say Countless Times a Day: Mastering '그냥'
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll notice this scene all the time: someone asks the main character *why*, and they just shrug and answer **그냥 (geunyang)**. "왜
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Master '짜증나' in Korean — The Most Honest Way to Vent Your Stress
When the bus pulls away right in front of you, when the report you just finished vanishes because it didn't save, when your internet keeps cutting out — there's
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Everything About '역시' — From 'I Knew It' to 'That's So You' in a Single Word
When you watch K-dramas, you'll often catch a character nodding and muttering a short "역시…" A friend checking their exam results might exclaim "역시 넌 달라!" ("I kn
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설마 그럴 리가 — The One Word That Holds Both Surprise and Doubt: '설마'
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often run into a scene where the main character opens their eyes wide and trails off with "**설마…**" It's the one word that
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보고 싶어 / 보고 싶어요 — One Little Phrase Full of Longing and Anticipation
If you watch Korean dramas, there's a phrase that shows up without fail in scenes of parting and long-awaited reunions. It's **보고 싶어 (bogo sipeo)** and its poli
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어떡해 (eotteokhae) — The Words That Burst Out When Everything Goes Dark
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often see the main character cup their face in both hands and cry out, "어떡해!" Flunking an exam, tripping in front of their
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"그러게 (geureoge)" — The King of Agreement: One Word That Perfectly Says "I Feel You"
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often come across a scene where one person sighs and says, "Why have prices gone up so much lately?" and the other person r
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"있잖아 (itjana)" — The Korean Conversation Habit That Softens How You Start Talking
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often catch a scene where, right before a character says something important, they pause for a beat and open with **"있잖아 (i
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뿌듯하다 (ppudeutada): How to Say That Heart-Swelling Feeling in Korean
When you watch Korean dramas, there's often a scene where the main character finally achieves what they wanted after long, hard effort — placing a hand on their
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No Car, No Problem! The Real Meaning and Usage of '뚜벅이 (ttubeogi)'
When you're waiting for a friend at the bus stop, you might overhear something like this: "나는 완전 뚜벅이라서 어디 가든 지하철부터 찾아." ("I'm a total 뚜벅이, so wherever I go, the
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"무슨 뜻이에요?" — The First Thing to Say When You Hit a Word You Don't Know
Have you ever run into a word you'd never seen before while watching a Korean drama, singing along to K-pop lyrics, or texting back and forth with a Korean frie
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Feeling Stuffed Up Inside? Master '답답하다,' the Emotion Word Koreans Use Every Day
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often run into a scene where the main character pounds on their chest and cries out, "아, 진짜 답답해! (a, jinjja dapdaphae!)" —
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든든하다 — The Korean Word That Fills Both Your Stomach and Your Heart
The moment you finish your meal and set down your spoon, the Korean friend next to you gives their belly a pat and says, "Ah, 든든하다 (deundeunhada)." Then a few d
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삐지다 (ppijida): When Someone Won't Say They're Upset — But Their Whole Body Says It
If you watch enough Korean dramas, this scene is bound to show up. Someone who was laughing happily just a moment ago suddenly clamps their mouth shut over one
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서운하다 (seounhada) — The Subtle Korean Feeling of Quiet Disappointment
If you watch a lot of Korean dramas, you'll notice this kind of scene pretty often. When a friend you've known for years doesn't invite you to their wedding, yo
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"여기요!" — The First Phrase You Should Learn at a Korean Restaurant
Picture a restaurant scene from a Korean drama. The main character raises a hand slightly and calls out "**여기요! (yeogiyo!)**," and from across the room a server