BROADCASTS.com

Welcome to the first lesson in the Advanced Idiomatic Expression series! By studying with this series, you will learn many idiomatic expressions that are based upon a certain Korean word and used in everyday Korean conversation. In order to fully understand and use the expressions introduced in this series, it is essential that you understand the grammatical structure of the sentence. When you come across a grammar point that you are unfamiliar with, please go back and review the related lessons.

Keyword:
\ub208 = eye

1. \ub208\uc774 \ub192\ub2e4 = to be picky
(\ub192\ub2e4 = to be high)

\u2192 \ub208\uc774 \ub192\ub2e4 literally means that your \u201ceyes are high\u201d, but in Korean, if you say that your eyes are \ub192\ub2e4, it simply means that you have high standards for things or people. When someone is very picky about the type of person they want to date or the kind of things they want to buy, you can say \u201c\ub208\uc774 \ub192\ub2e4\u201d. \xa0

Ex) \uc800 \ub208 \uc548 \ub192\uc544\uc694. \uc800\ub294 \uadf8\ub0e5 \uc131\uaca9 \uc88b\uc740 \uc0ac\ub78c\uc774\uba74 \ub2e4 \uc88b\uc544\uc694.
(= I\u2019m not picky. Anyone who has a good personality is fine for me.)

2. \ub208 \ubc16\uc5d0 \ub098\ub2e4 = to get on one\u2019s bad side
(\ubc16\uc5d0 = outside of something / \ub098\ub2e4 = to get out, to be out)

\u2192 When you have done something to make a person upset with you and that person doesn\u2019t like you very much any longer, you might have some disadvantages compared to other people. In that case, you can say that you are \u201coutside\u201d someone\u2019s eyes, meaning that the person will not be happy to help you or give you any benefit.

Ex) \uc800\ub294 \uc9c0\uac01\uc744 \ub9ce\uc774 \ud574\uc11c, \uc120\uc0dd\ub2d8 \ub208 \ubc16\uc5d0 \ub0ac\uc5b4\uc694.
(= I am frequently late, so my teacher doesn\u2019t like me.)

3. \ub208\uc744 \ubd99\uc774\ub2e4 = to get some sleep; to take a nap
(\ubd99\uc774\ub2e4 = to paste; to glue things together)

\u2192 When you take a nap, you can use the expression \u201c\ub208\uc744 \ubd99\uc774\ub2e4\u201d. The literal translation is \u201cto glue one\u2019s eyes together\u201d, but it is actually closer in meaning to \u201cgluing one\u2019s eyelids shut\u201d, meaning that one sleeps. This is not very commonly used to refer to sleeping at night.

Ex) \ud53c\uace4\ud558\uba74 \ub208 \uc880 \ubd99\uc5ec\uc694. \ub098\uc911\uc5d0 \uae68\uc6cc \uc904\uac8c\uc694.
(= If you are tired, get some sleep. I\u2019ll wake you up later.)

4. \ub208\ube5b\ub9cc \ubd10\ub3c4 \uc54c \uc218 \uc788\ub2e4 = can know with just one glance
(\ube5b = light, \ubcf4\ub2e4 = to see, \uc54c\ub2e4 = to know)

\u2192 When you automatically know what a person wants or wants to tell you just by looking at his/her eyes, you can say \ub208\ube5b\ub9cc \ubd10\ub3c4 \uc54c \uc218 \uc788\ub2e4. The word \ub208\ube5b doesn\u2019t literally refer to light that comes out of one\u2019s eyes, but rather the way someone looks at something, or the emotion that you can feel from the eyes.

Ex) \ub9d0 \uc548 \ud574\ub3c4, \ub208\ube5b\ub9cc \ubd10\ub3c4 \uc54c \uc218 \uc788\uc5b4\uc694.
(= Even if you don\u2019t say it, I can know just by looking at your eyes.)

5. \ub208 \uc55e\uc774 \uce84\uce84\ud558\ub2e4 = to not know where to start; to have no hope
(\uc55e = front, \uce84\uce84\ud558\ub2e4 = to be dark; to be pitch black)

\u2192 When it\u2019s dark in front of your eyes, it means that you can\u2019t see; when you can\u2019t see, you will panic. When you are confronted with a situation where you don\u2019t know what to do or you can\u2019t think of a way to get out of it, you say \ub208 \uc55e\uc774 \uce84\uce84\ud558\ub2e4.

Ex) \ub208 \uc55e\uc774 \uce84\uce84\ud588\uc5c8\ub294\ub370, \uc11d\uc9c4 \uc528\uac00 \ub3c4\uc640\uc92c\uc5b4\uc694.
(= I was in panic because I didn\u2019t know how to solve the problem, but \uc11d\uc9c4 helped me.)

6. \ub208\uc370\ubbf8\uac00 \uc88b\ub2e4 = to learn things quickly; to pick up things fast
(\uc88b\ub2e4 = to be good)

\u2192 \ub208\uc370\ubbf8 refers to the ability to learn or understand how something is done just by looking at someone else doing it. For example, when someone can learn how to cook a Korean dish mainly by watching others, or when someone can pick up a dance move very quickly by imitating what they saw, you can say that the person has good \ub208\uc370\ubbf8.

Ex) \ud55c \ubc88\ub9cc \ubcf4\uace0 \uc5b4\ub5bb\uac8c \ub530\ub77c\ud574\uc694? \ub208\uc370\ubbf8\uac00 \uc88b\uc73c\uc2dc\ub124\uc694.
(= How do you follow the moves just by looking at them once? You pick up things very fast!)