Memorize Korean Proverbs, Idioms and Casual Slang: 173 Flashcards from 속담 to ㅋㅋㅋ
Study 85 Korean proverbs, 10 body idioms and 78 casual words with real flashcards: clipped proverbs, idiom pairs, and fixes for 심심해, 헐, 대박 and 왜냐하면.
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Koreans use proverbs (속담) all the time in conversation and on TV, and usually they only say the first half. Flip It deck CT7134 "Korean Idioms, Proverbs & Slang" has 173 cards in three blocks: 85 proverbs (cards 1-85), ten body-part idioms (86-95) and 78 casual-speech words (96-173). Only about ten of those are slang in the strict sense. The rest is basic 반말, the informal register you use with friends.
Study this deck: Korean Idioms, Proverbs & Slang
1 / 10고래 싸움에 새우 등 터진다
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
Eight cards from the deck
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| 고래 싸움에 새우 등 터진다 | When whales fight, the shrimp's back is broken (innocent bystanders suffer) |
| 누워서 떡 먹기 | Eating rice cake while lying down (piece of cake, very easy) |
| 우물 안 개구리 | Frog in a well (narrow-minded person) |
| 등잔 밑이 어둡다 | Under the lamp is dark (can't see what's closest) |
| 그림의 떡 | Rice cake in picture (pie in the sky) |
| 발이 넓다 | Wide feet (well-connected) |
| 눈 코 뜰 새 없다 | No time to open eyes or nose (extremely busy) |
| 화이팅 (hwaiting) | fighting / good luck |
What's inside
Proverbs: 호랑이도 제 말하면 온다, 원숭이도 나무에서 떨어진다, 금강산도 식후경, 백지장도 맞들면 낫다, 티끌 모아 태산, 소 잃고 외양간 고친다, 개천에서 용 난다, 세 살 버릇 여든까지 간다, 가는 날이 장날, 시작이 반이다, 백문이 불여일견, 식은 죽 먹기, 산 넘어 산. Body idioms: 손이 크다, 입이 무겁다/가볍다, 귀가 얇다, 눈이 높다, 코가 석 자, 간이 콩알만해지다. Casual speech: ㅋㅋㅋ, 대박, 짱, 헐, 오키, 잘자, 보고싶어, 배고파, 완전, 엄청, 근데, 나중에, 오빠, 언니, 형.
Study tips for this deck
Keep the clipped versions, but as hints. Card 53 (낮 말은 새가 듣고) and card 67 (백짓장도 맞들면) repeat cards 6 and 8 with the second half cut off. That's how people really say them, so don't keep them as separate cards. Put each one in the hint of its full proverb and practise finishing the sentence. Also fix the spelling in card 67: the standard form is 백지장, as in card 8.
Learn the body idioms in pairs. Cards 86-95 are easier as contrasts than as a list: 입이 무겁다 (keeps secrets) vs 입이 가볍다 (can't keep one), and 손이 크다 (generous) vs 손이 빠르다 (quick worker). Sort them by body part and add 발이 넓다 to the "social" group.
Glosses to correct
- 심심해 means "I'm bored", not "boring". "Boring" is 지루해 or 재미없어 (card 131).
- 헐 expresses shock, like "OMG / no way", not "fail". 대박 means "awesome / jackpot / wow" more often than "for real".
- 왜냐하면 means "because" only. "So" is 그래서.
- 도 (card 148) is a particle you attach to a noun (나도 = me too), not a word you can say on its own.
- 범 내려온다 (card 48): we couldn't verify the hiccup meaning. Most Koreans know it as the Sugungga pansori song that LEENALCHI turned into a viral hit in 2020.
- Every word in cards 96-173 is 반말. Add -요 before using them with strangers (고마워 → 고마워요, 미안해 → 미안해요).
The kinship words (오빠, 언니, 형) overlap with the fandom glossary in Korean K-pop & K-drama vocabulary, which adds the missing 누나.
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