April Idiomatic Expression with “Talk To Me In Korean”

Let’s Learn Korean idiomatic expressions with Talk To Me In Korean!

There are a lot of interesting idiomatic expressions that stem from cultural backgrounds and are difficult to translate literally. Every month through this segment, you can read about some fun and useful Korean expressions, brought to you by TalkToMeInKorean.com.

귀가 얇다
[gwi-ga yalp-da]
Literal translation: to have a thin ear
Actual usage: to be easily influenced by other people’s opinions, to easily believe what others say

귀 [gwi] means “ear” and 얇다 [yalp-da] means “to be thin,” therefore 귀가 얇다 is literally translated as “to have thin ears.” But since people normally do not talk about how thin one’s ears are, when you hear this expression used in a conversation, you can almost always assume that this has a different, idiomatic meaning. When a word, an idea or an opinion is heard and passes through your ears, figuratively, if your ears are “thin,” it means that you accept what you hear very easily. So when you say that someone has “thin ears” in Korean, it means that the person is very gullible, or easily influenced by what others say.

Variations and examples
저는 귀가 얇아서 문제예요.
[jeo-neun gwi-ga yal-ba-seo mun-je-ye-yo.]
= I’m easily influenced by other people’s opinions, and that’s a problem.

그 사람은 귀가 얇아서, 다른 사람들이 하는 말을 너무 쉽게 믿어요.
[geu sa-ra-meun gwi-ga yal-ba-seo, da-reun sa-ram-deu-ri ha-neun ma-reul neo-mu swip-ge mi-deo-yo.]
= He has “thin ears,” so he believes what other people say too easily.

벼락 치기
[byeo-rak chi-gi]
Literal translation: Lightening Strike
Actual usage: cramming for an exam

벼락 [bye-rak] means “lightning” and 치기 [chi-gi] is a noun form of the word 치다 [chi-da], which means “to hit.” So when lightning strikes, that is 벼락 치다. But even when you are not talking about certain weather conditions, you can still use the expression 벼락 치기 when you want to describe how someone crams for an exam, without studying in advance.

Variations and examples
벼락 치기 하지 마세요.
[bye-rak-chi-gi ha-ji ma-se-yo.]
= Don’t cram for your test.

벼락 치기로 공부하면 나중에 다 잊어 버려요.
[bye-rak-chi-gi-ro gong-bu-ha-myeon na-jung-e da i-jeo beo-ryeo-yo.]
= If you study by cramming for the test, you forget everything later.