4급 관용구TOPIK 4 Korean Idioms and Proverbs — Page 6

literallymass media

A means of delivering information and ideas to many people, such as a newspaper, magazine, movie, television, etc.

literallyloan interest

A certain percentage of money paid in return for money borrowed from institutions such as banks.

literallycollege entrance exam

A test taken to enter university.

literallyeat the heat

To get sick due to heat.

literallybe sensitive to heat; be susceptible to heat; be vulnerable to heat

To be much more susceptible to heat than others.

literallysee a favor

To gain benefit or help.

literallyNot even a dog will bark if it is meant to be stolen

Everything will go wrong if one is unfavored.

literallybe placed on the cutting board

For an object or problem to become the subject of criticism.

literallyplace something on the cutting board

To take something as a subject of discussion or conversation.

literallymeat on the cutting board

To be put under a dangerous situation where one can not budge at all.

A willingness to face difficult things rather than avoid them.

literallya rat in a dok, a jar

A situation where one is quagmired in a tough and difficult state.

literallyindependent country

A country with independent sovereignty.

literallypeel and eat money

To recklessly squander one's hard-earned money.

literallyas far as one can; as fast as one can; as much as one can

As much as possible.

literallystretch[straighten out] one's two legs

To be relieved as one no longer has to care about something that has bothered somebody for a long time.

literallyput each of one's two legs on different places; try to have it both ways; play a double game

To have a relationship with two parties to benefit from both of them.

literallydust off one's two hands and leave

To lose everything one has and step back.

literallynitpicking if something is said twice; sure as shooting

An expression meaning something said earlier is so certain that there is no need to say it again.

literallyBeing considered the second is sad

To deserve to become the best.

literallybuild[tie up] a nest

To provide one's own home.

literallyOne's back is revealed

For something hidden to be revealed and known.

literallygather one's back

To correct something that happened.

literallyhave a certain state of mind when going into the dwigan/dwitgan, an outhouse, but have a different state of mind when coming out of it

For one to beg someone desperately for help when his/her help is urgently needed, but to ignore him/her after things have finished and their troubles have ended.

literallyscratch one's hind leg

To behave stupidly by bringing up again what has already been decided or concluded.

literallycome and go through the back door

To secretly come in and out without getting spotted by others.

literallyregistered mail

A mailing system in which a sender receives a confirmation slip and a receiver is asked to confirm the receipt of the mail, or the mail itself.

literallyswimming while touching the ground

An expression that refers to a very easy task.

literallyDid it rise from the ground, or fall from the sky?

An expression to describe a situation where something that was not expected appears.

literallyIt is not the mother-in-law who beats you, but the sister-in-law who tries to stop her that is more hateful

Those who pretend to care, but in fact do harm and speak ill of you are more hateful.

literallyperform an ancestral rite as tteok, rice cake, is in sight

To have a good chance by accident to do something that one has planned to do.

literallysteps that are hard to take

Steps of a person who does not want to leave or go.

literallya high government post that is set aside

An expression used to describe a situation where one is so sure that something will definitely go as planned.

literallyA dog with dung rebukes a dog with husks of grain

For one with greater faults or defects to speak ill of someone with smaller faults.

literallystep on dung

To have bad luck.

literallyto defecate

(slang) To do something very hard or struggle to do it.

literallybecome feces

To lose one's face and fall into a miserable and hopeless situation.

literallyDung is shunned not because it is scary, but because it is dirty

An expression meaning one avoids someone not because one is fearful of him/her, but because one sees him/her as being beneath one's notice.

literallyRattletraps are backed-up

(slang) For one to find it difficult to get married ahead of one's older brother or sister who has yet to be married.

literallytake off the lid

To reveal the content or result of something.

literallyThe lid is taken off

For the content or result of something to be revealed.

literallylet something settle in its own steam

To pause for a while when working or talking to make others anxious or curious.

literallyrhythmic gymnastics

Female gymnastics in which an athlete moves to music with a ribbon, ball, hoola hoop, club, rope, ring, etc.

literallyswallow dry saliva

To be very nervous or anxious.

literallyempty one's mind

To get rid of the greed in one's mind.

literallyOne's mind turns away

To come to no longer like something.

literallylike covering the eyes of a crab in the south wind

Very fast in eating food.

literallyparting upon meeting

An expression used to describe a situation where two part as soon as they meet each other.

literallyEven a ghost does not know if one does not say it

It is advised to stop keeping a problem to oneself and speak frankly.

literallyEven a word can pay off one thousand nyang, a unit of old Korean coinage, worth of debt

Being a good speaker is important as it can even solve a difficult problem.