Korean Body Part Idioms: 30 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Body Part Idioms at a Glance

Korean body part idioms are fixed phrases that use a part of the body to say something about a person. 손이 크다 (the hand is big) does not describe the size of a hand. It says the person is generous. Korean calls such phrases 관용어 (gwanyongeo), set expressions whose meaning is not the sum of the words. They are natural in speech, and every Korean learner meets them in dramas and conversation.

The body is a good place to start with idioms because you already know the words. Korean idioms often begin close to the literal sense and then move to character: a big hand gives much, a light mouth lets secrets out, and thin ears let in every opinion. The groups here follow the body from the hands down to the feet, then up to the eyes, ears, mouth and face, and finish with the heart and the liver.

You need to read Hangul to use the tables. If you cannot yet, start with reading Hangul. For the plain words for body parts, see the body vocabulary page.

Which Body Part Idioms Should You Learn First?

Learn the idioms that describe people you know. Five are easy to use at once: 손이 크다, 발이 넓다, 입이 가볍다, 귀가 얇다 and 눈이 높다. With these five you can describe a generous friend, a well-connected colleague, someone who cannot keep a secret, someone easily persuaded and someone with high standards. Then add by situation:

1. If you talk about people. 입이 무겁다, 입이 짧다, 얼굴이 두껍다, 간이 크다 and 얼굴이 넓다.
2. If you talk about work. 발등에 불이 떨어지다, 눈코 뜰 새 없다, 발목을 잡다, 손을 떼다 and 손을 잡다.
3. If you talk about feelings. 마음이 무겁다, 마음을 놓다, 간이 콩알만 해지다, 간담이 서늘하다 and 손에 땀을 쥐다.
4. If you listen to dramas. 귀에 못이 박히다, 눈에 띄다, 귀를 기울이다 and 팔짱을 끼다.

The scene below numbers ten of the idioms with small tags on a drawn figure, so you can tie each idiom to a body part.

Word · 10

1. 1

   손이 크다

   Play

   soni keuda

   generous; gives or cooks in large amounts

2. 2

   손이 맵다

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   soni maepda

   hits hard; a stinging slap

3. 3

   팔짱을 끼다

   Play

   paljjangeul kkida

   to look on without helping; also to link arms

4. 4

   발이 넓다

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   bari neolda

   well-connected; knows many people

5. 5

   눈이 높다

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   nuni nopda

   to have high standards; to be picky about quality

6. 6

   귀가 얇다

   Play

   gwiga yalda

   easily persuaded; easily swayed

7. 7

   입이 가볍다

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   ibi gabyeopda

   talks too much; cannot keep a secret

8. 8

   얼굴이 두껍다

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   eolguri dukkeopda

   shameless; thick-skinned

9. 9

   마음이 무겁다

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   maeumi mugeopda

   to feel heavy-hearted

10. 10

    간이 크다

    Play

    gani keuda

    bold; daring

Tap a number to hear the idiom. At 5 idioms a day the list takes six days.

Hand and Arm Idioms (손)

The hand idioms are about doing and giving. 손이 크다 is generous and 손이 맵다 is hits hard. 손을 잡다 and 손을 떼다 are opposites: join forces and quit. 손에 땀을 쥐다 describes tension, and 팔짱을 끼다 describes watching without helping.

손이 크다 and 손이 맵다 use the same pattern, body part + 이 + adjective, but the adjective is different. 크다 is big, so a big hand gives much. 맵다 is spicy, and in Korean spicy food also stings, so a spicy hand stings. 손을 잡다 and 손을 떼다 use 을 because the hand is the object of a verb. The first pattern describes a person, and the second describes an act.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short, polite spoken sentence. Notice the pattern person + 은/는 + body part + 이/가 + adjective. The person takes the topic particle, and the body part takes the subject particle, so 우리 할머니는 손이 커요 literally says "as for my grandmother, the hand is big". Say a sentence aloud, then read it again with the idiom hidden and say its meaning in English. The particles are explained in the Korean particles guide.

How Do You Say Foot and Leg Idioms (발) in Korean?

Foot idioms are about movement and connection. 발이 넓다 is well-connected, 발이 빠르다 is quick to act, and 발 벗고 나서다 is to take part eagerly. 발등에 불이 떨어지다 is pressure of a close deadline, 발목을 잡다 is to hold someone back, and 발을 끊다 is to stop going somewhere.

발 here often means going around: the person with wide feet has been to many places and has met many people. That is why 발이 넓다 is about acquaintances and not about the size of a foot. In 발등에 불이 떨어지다 the top of the foot (발등) is where a spark would land, so the fire is right at your feet and you must act at once. 발을 끊다 also exists as 발길을 끊다, and the longer form is a little more formal.

Eye and Ear Idioms (눈, 귀)

Eye and ear idioms are about taste, attention and influence. 눈이 높다 is high standards, 눈에 띄다 is stand out, and 눈코 뜰 새 없다 is extremely busy. 귀가 얇다 is easily persuaded, 귀에 못이 박히다 is heard too often, and 귀를 기울이다 is listen carefully.

눈이 높다 is not about eyes being high: it means the standard of your taste is high. The opposite is 눈이 낮다. 귀가 얇다 uses the picture of thin ears that let every sound in. Its English twin is "easily swayed". Both 눈에 띄다 and 귀를 기울이다 are positive or neutral. 귀가 얇다 is the idiom for someone who believes whatever they hear, and it is a mild criticism.

How Do You Say Mouth and Face Idioms (입, 얼굴) in Korean?

Mouth idioms are about talk and food. 입이 가볍다 and 입이 무겁다 are opposites: talks too much and discreet. 입이 짧다 is a picky eater, and 입에 침이 마르다 is to praise again and again. Face idioms are about how others see you: 얼굴이 두껍다 is shameless, and 얼굴이 넓다 is knowing many people.

Compare idioms that learners mix up. 발이 넓다 and 얼굴이 넓다 both mean that you know many people; 발이 넓다 is the one you will hear most. 입이 가볍다 is a different thing: it does not mean you know many people, but that you cannot keep a secret. The table below sets out the contrasts.

Heart and Liver Idioms (마음, 간)

The last group is about the inner life. 마음을 먹다, 마음이 무겁다 and 마음을 놓다 describe decisions and worries. In traditional thinking, the liver (간) was linked with courage, so 간이 크다 is bold and 간이 콩알만 해지다 is scared. 간담이 서늘하다 adds the gallbladder (담) for a chill of fear.

마음 is both heart and mind in Korean, and these idioms all use it as the place where thoughts and feelings are kept. 간 is not a poetic word here, and it is the plain word for the liver organ. 간이 크다 and 얼굴이 두껍다 can both describe someone who does something that others would not dare to do. 간이 크다 is bold and often admiring. 얼굴이 두껍다 is shameless and always critical. See also the emotion vocabulary page.

How Do Body Part Idioms Work in a Sentence?

Most body part idioms use one of four patterns. The table gives each pattern with an example from this page.

The idiom is fixed. You change the ending, not the words. The adjective idioms behave like any adjective: 손이 커요 (is generous), 손이 컸어요 (was generous) and 손이 큰 사람 (a generous person). The verb idioms behave like any verb: 마음을 놓다 becomes 마음을 놓았어요 or 마음을 놓으세요. Do not swap the body part. 손이 크다 is generous, and 발이 크다 means the feet are large.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

In everyday speech the particles join the body-part word, and the final consonant moves to the next sound. The table shows eight idioms and how they sound.

The rules come from the Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원. Revised Romanization does not write tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, so it writes 손이 맵다 as soni maepda and not soni maepta. Revised Romanization spaces the words as the Korean is spaced and shows the spoken form of each idiom in square brackets in the tables.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each idiom has a normal clip, and five harder ones also have a slow clip at 0.8 times the speed: 손이 맵다, 귀에 못이 박히다, 눈코 뜰 새 없다, 발등에 불이 떨어지다 and 간이 콩알만 해지다. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 손이 맵다 first. The syllable 손 links to 이, so you hear so-ni, and the last sound is a tense ㄸ: maep-tta. Then listen to 귀에 못이 박히다, where 못이 sounds like mo-si.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Body Part Idioms?

• Reading the idiom literally. 눈이 높다 is not about tall eyes, and 입이 짧다 is not about a short mouth.
• Saying 입이 작다 for a picky eater. 입이 작다 means the mouth is small. The idiom is 입이 짧다.
• Using the wrong particle. With an adjective use 이/가: 손이 크다. 손을 크다 is not Korean.
• Using 발이 크다 for a well-connected person. 발이 크다 means the feet are big. The idiom is 발이 넓다.
• Treating 얼굴이 두껍다 as a compliment. The English "thick-skinned" can be a compliment, but the Korean idiom means shameless.
• Reading 귀에 못이 박히다 as gwi-e mot-i bak-hi-da. The ㅅ links to 이 and the ㄱ and ㅎ join, so it is [귀에 모시 바키다].

The particle error is the one that is easiest to avoid: if the idiom describes a person with an adjective, use 이/가. The next sections turn the list into drills.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the deck in recognition mode until the 30 idioms feel familiar. Second, switch to listening mode and press the clip before the card turns. Third, take the quiz below. The deck stores your progress only in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks, and the vocabulary worksheets page lists printable sheets. A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page.

The deck holds the same 30 cards as the tables above: Hangul, Revised Romanization and meaning.

Try this eight-question check.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with the Korean Idioms hub for other kinds of idiom, or open the Four-Character Idioms page for idioms of Chinese origin. For the plain body words, return to the body vocabulary page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Generous in Korean?

The idiom 손이 크다 (soni keuda), literally the hand is big, means generous, especially with food and gifts. In plain words you can also say 인심이 후하다 (insimi huhada), which means generous in hospitality. Use 손이 크다 for a person who gives or cooks in large amounts, as in 우리 할머니는 손이 커요 (my grandmother is generous).

How Do You Pronounce 손이 맵다 (soni maepda)?

손이 맵다 is said [소니 맵따]. The final ㄴ of 손 links to the vowel of 이, so you hear so-ni. In 맵다 the ㄷ becomes a tense ㄸ after the final ㅂ, so you hear maep-tta. Revised Romanization writes soni maepda, so use the audio for the real sound.

How Many Body Part Idioms Should I Learn First?

Learn about 10 first. Take the five that describe people (손이 크다, 발이 넓다, 입이 가볍다, 귀가 얇다 and 눈이 높다) and five that describe feelings and work (마음이 무겁다, 간이 크다, 눈에 띄다, 손을 잡다 and 발등에 불이 떨어지다). Add the rest of the 30 over the next two weeks.

Where Can I Practise Body Part Idioms with Flashcards?

Use the Korean idioms flashcards for a mixed idiom deck, or the vocabulary flashcard decks page, which lists every deck with audio. This page also carries a deck with all 30 idioms in recognition mode. Your progress stays in your browser, so it is not shared with other devices.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea officially adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid that does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, so spoken forms are given in square brackets and the Hangul and audio are the guide.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Body Part Idioms?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, write the Hangul from memory, cover the English column and check your answers against the tables.

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