Key Facts
- Hangul: 발; Revised Romanization: bal
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: Neutral everyday word; 'feet' is also 발 (no plural needed).
Foot in Korean: What Does 발 Mean?
발 has one sense, the foot. The register is neutral and everyday. "Feet" is also 발: Korean does not need a plural form here.
How Do You Pronounce 발?
One syllable, bal. The final ㄹ links to a following vowel, so 발이 is spoken with the ㄹ moving across, which the romanization spells bari.
Example Sentences with 발
발이 아파요.
bari apayo.
My foot hurts.
A body-ache sentence built on 아파요, "hurts". The same frame works for most body parts.
발을 씻으세요.
bareul ssiseuseyo.
Please wash your feet.
씻으세요 asks someone politely to wash. The honorific 으세요 makes it a gentle instruction.
발이 너무 커서 신발이 없어요.
bari neomu keoseo sinbari eopseoyo.
My feet are so big that I can't find shoes that fit.
The sentence has two clauses joined by the connective -서: 커서 means "because they are big". The big feet cause the shoe problem, and 신발 means shoes.
Common Phrases and Collocations
발이 크다 means having big feet, 발을 밟다 means stepping on someone's foot, and 발이 넓다 is an idiom for having wide connections.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 발이 크다 | to have big feet |
| 발을 밟다 | to step on someone's foot |
| 발이 넓다 | to have wide connections (idiom) |
The Mistake to Avoid
Wrong: saying 다리 when you mean the foot, since English speakers sometimes blur leg and foot.
Right: 발 is the foot, from the ankle down; 다리 is the leg.
발 Compared with Similar Words
다리 covers the leg, and it is also the word for bridge. 발가락 is the toe, built directly on 발.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 발 | foot | This page's word |
| 다리 | leg | 다리 is the leg; 발 is the foot only. |
| 발가락 | toe | 발가락 is a toe. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
발 is native Korean with no hanja form.
In a Shoe Shop: Explaining the Fit
A shopper tries on a pair of shoes. The assistant asks about the fit, and the shopper explains where the problem is.
Assistant
신발은 어때요?
Sinbareun eottaeyo?
How are the shoes?
Shopper
발이 아파요. 너무 작아요.
Bari apayo. Neomu jagayo.
My feet hurt. They’re too small.
Assistant
큰 사이즈로 드릴까요?
Keun saijeuro deurilkkayo?
Would you like a larger size?
Shopper
네, 부탁해요.
Ne, butakaeyo.
Yes, please.
발이 아파요 names the body part that hurts, while 너무 작아요 refers to the shoes already under discussion. Korean can leave out that repeated noun. A shopper does not need to say “my” before 발 when describing their own discomfort. 큰 사이즈 asks for a larger size without needing to know the exact number yet.
When 발 Is Literal and When It Is an Idiom
발이 넓다 literally says that someone’s feet are wide. As an idiom, it means the person knows many people and has useful connections. In a conversation about finding someone who can help with a job, the phrase usually concerns their network. In a shoe shop, a discussion of wide feet may be completely literal.
발이 크다, “to have big feet”, is the ordinary physical description in the example above. The difference between 크다, “big”, and 넓다, “wide”, matters: the familiar social idiom uses 넓다. Context and the adjective work together, so recognizing 발 alone is only part of understanding the sentence.
발을 밟다 means to step on someone’s foot. You might hear it in a crowded train or during dance practice. In a literal scene, the foot is the thing being stepped on, so 발 takes the object marker 을. That differs from 발이 아파요, where the foot is what hurts and takes 이.
발을 맞추다 literally means matching steps. It can describe walking or marching in step, and it can also describe coordinating efforts with other people. If a group is discussing working together, the phrase can concern cooperation even when nobody is walking.
Where Will You Hear 발?
A shoe fitting may involve 발 크기, foot size, or 발볼, the width across the front of the foot. Two people who wear the same length can still need different shoe shapes. 발볼 gives you a more precise word when a shoe feels tight across the sides.
In everyday talk, 맨발 means bare feet. Someone walking without shoes or socks is 맨발. The word itself describes the feet; it does not tell you whether the person is indoors, outdoors, relaxed or in a hurry. A scene or the rest of the sentence supplies that information.
At a clinic, 발 points to the foot, while 발목 points to the ankle. Naming the exact area helps the listener understand where you mean. 발 is a neutral body-part word; polite endings such as the 아파요 in the examples make the surrounding sentence polite.
Parts of the Foot and Nearby Words
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 발목 | ankle | The joint between the foot and leg. |
| 발가락 | toe | A more precise word for pain at the front of the foot. |
| 발바닥 | sole of the foot | Names the underside that touches the ground. |
| 발뒤꿈치 | heel | Names the back part of the foot. |
The body vocabulary lesson teaches the surrounding set. These compounds all begin with 발, which makes the foot word a useful anchor for learning the smaller parts.
Quick Self-Test
- In a conversation about social connections, what does 발이 넓다 mean?
- Which word names the ankle?
- Why does 발 take 을 in 발을 밟다?
Show answers
- To know many people or have a wide network.
- 발목 means ankle.
- The foot is the object: the thing being stepped on.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "foot" in Korean?
Say 발 (bal).
How do you say "feet"?
It is also 발. No plural is needed.
What does 발이 넓다 mean?
It is an idiom meaning to have wide connections.
Is 발 the same as 다리?
No. 발 is the foot and 다리 is the leg.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Body words. 발 sits there next to other body parts.
- Index: look up more words near "foot" in Korean words A to Z.
- Practice: the word for foot fits into the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Next in this list, see the page for hand.
- Compare with the page for leg.