WORDROW Korean Idioms Idioms under “ㄱ” — 699 idioms
Browse idioms by the initial consonant of the first Korean syllable, in Hangul order. On this site, ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, and ㅉ are grouped under ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and ㅈ, respectively.
Devote sustained effort Continue working diligently over a long period, investing painstaking effort 
not come anywhere close To be beyond comparison. 
Learn texts quickly Understand quickly when learning to read texts 
Be slow at understanding texts Be slow to understand when learning to read texts. 
begin to understand texts To come to understand properly when learning to read texts. 
have little literacy To be unable to read, or to have insufficient learning. 
Literally Without exaggeration or falsehood 
arrest prohibition violators To arrest someone who has violated a prohibition. 
Round up prohibition violators Arrest everyone who has violated a prohibition 
Be caught violating a prohibition Of someone who has violated a prohibition, be apprehended. 
Set an estimated price Set an approximate market price or value for an object. 
Draw a boundary Set a limit or boundary 
2 meanings Name a price or judge a level State a price when buying or selling goods 
Match the going price Set an object's price by looking at the prices of similar objects. 
2 meanings check or offer a price To find out how much an item costs. 
2 meanings Estimate a price or outcome Name an estimated price for goods 
Develop a rift Have a relationship grow distant or strained. 
Reach an acceptable price Of a price, reach a suitable point for buying and selling. 
Direct a shamanic ritual Oversee the progress of a shamanic ritual 
gain rapid momentum For work, discussion, or the like to proceed quickly. 
Drop dead Die suddenly. 
rush about frantically To rush about wildly in haste, not knowing what to do. 
Deal with the immediate crisis First address and resolve a pressing problem 
gain confidence To gain momentum without feeling discouraged. 
Be speechless with astonishment Be so dumbfounded that one cannot speak 
2 meanings Be ravenously hungry or desperate to possess Be extremely starved and crave food urgently 
Work the door Slang: guard the entrance to a theater, entertainment venue, or the like. 
have someone flee far away A figurative expression for a person fleeing far away, alluding to singing “The wild goose flew away fluttering.” 
A lifetime of wandering hardship Figuratively, a life wandering like a migratory bird with seemingly endless hardship ahead 
Use all one's strength Exert all the strength one has. 
feel free to assert oneself To escape oppression or difficult circumstances and feel mentally free. 
Exploit severely Exploit severely. 
2 meanings toil desperately or be exploited To make every effort despite great difficulty. 
Work in a factory Live and work as a factory worker 
Add fuel to the fire Incite emotions or actions and intensify them 
Fuel something further An emphatic expression for intensifying emotion or behavior by encouraging it. 
3 meanings exploit, crowd, or cry A figurative expression for owners of the means of production in a class society appropriating the fruits of labor without payment from direct producers who lack those means. 
grease someone’s palm Colloquially, to use bribes so that a matter is handled smoothly. 
Live in abundance Be prosperous and plentiful 
understand each other intuitively To understand each other implicitly because one’s thinking, interests, or the like coincide or are close. 
Taste for poison For a senior court lady to taste the king’s meals or medicinal decoctions first to check for poison 
Provide famine relief For the state or an individual to distribute grain to people starving in a famine 
Treat someone Pay for another person's treat. 
Lose one's liveliness Have one's complexion darken or lose vitality. 
Have unknown ancestry Express that someone's ancestors and family lineage are unknown. 
Lay out bedding A term formerly used in the royal court for laying out bedding 
fade from memory For something once remembered to be forgotten. 
Begin to stir Gradually enter an active state 
become a wife or concubine Humbly, for a woman to become a wife or concubine. 
Become established For the most important part of an undertaking to become able to function properly 
2 meanings collapse or swoon To sink into exhaustion for lack of strength. 
Need no lengthy discussion Have no need to elaborate at length. 
lie in the grave For a person to die and be buried underground. 
Go on at length Speak for a long time, adding unnecessary details 
Lie down A euphemistic expression for lying down. 
have a good memory for routes To remember routes well enough to find a place after only one or two visits. 
Have a poor sense of direction Remember routes so poorly that one cannot readily retrace a road already traveled 
An unimaginative fool Figuratively, an unoriginal, foolish person, suggesting an inflexible son-in-law who can do only what he has been taught. 
find a way To find a means. 
Clear a path Clear things off a road or make them move aside