WORDROW Korean Idioms Idioms under “ㅈ” — 266 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.
spoil or obstruct To ruin or obstruct an undertaking, atmosphere, or the like. 
2 meanings profit or enjoy sexual pleasure To obtain a result or gain. 
Follow the lower ore vein Mine along the ore vein where rich ore reappears below a break. 
make lye To place ash from bean pods, fresh greens, or the like in a steamer and pour water over it so that lye runs out through the holes. 
Exchange words in support Exchange words to help an affair or conversation go well 
Put others to shame Be beyond comparison. 
feel as dreadful as death An expression for feeling unwilling because something inspires fear or horror. 
Go to the next world A euphemistic expression for “to die” 
Send someone to their death A euphemistic expression for killing. 
Become ill through spirit possession Be possessed by a spirit believed to cause severe illness and become gravely ill 
be affiliated with To belong to an organization. 
Transfer one’s affiliation Change one’s affiliation 
Have no prospects Have a bleak outlook. 
have good prospects To have bright prospects. 
Be unprecedented Be unusually marked, to an extent never seen before 
As never before Unusually, to a degree never previously experienced. 
The phone rings off the hook For a telephone to be used continuously without a break 
Attend roll call Attend roll call without missing it and go through the procedure. 
go on foot To walk on one’s own feet without riding anything. 
leave someone bewildered To distract someone’s mind and leave them dazed. 
3 meanings Regain consciousness or come to one’s senses Regain lost consciousness 
3 meanings Regain judgment; regain motivation; regain consciousness Become able to judge things. 
2 meanings come to one’s senses To regain lost consciousness. 
3 meanings Be out of one’s senses or absorbed Think or act abnormally without sound mental judgment 
Have an excellent memory Have outstanding memory. 
Have an illicit affair Of a man and woman who are not spouses, enter an illicit relationship. 
Have glossy, well-fed baby skin Have plump flesh from milk feeding and glossy skin 
Shared · 2 be weaned For an infant or young animal to stop feeding on milk. 
Shared · 3 Show immaturity Show an attitude or air of mental or physical immaturity. 
Shared · 3 show immaturity To display an attitude or appearance of mental or physical immaturity. 
Wean Stop feeding milk to an infant or young animal and let it grow by eating other food. 
Shared · 2 be weaned For an infant or young animal to stop feeding on milk. 
Have abundant breast milk Produce a large amount of breast milk. 
2 meanings Get on the proper course For progress to enter a normal state 
Shared · 2 Beauty is in the beholder's eye Even a worthless object looks good if it pleases oneself. 
stand on one’s own feet To carry out one’s assigned work by one’s own strength without relying on others. 
As though the world belonged to oneself Figuratively, the manner of behaving entirely as one wishes 
Worry needlessly on one's own Worry uselessly by oneself. 
cover one’s own faults To conceal one’s own faults that have been exposed. 
2 meanings Manage one’s affairs or seek one’s own gain Properly judge and independently handle what confronts oneself 
put someone firmly in their place To break another person’s spirit so they dare not entertain contrary intentions. 
Put the brakes on Hinder or stop the progress or activity of something 
Please grant this favor Earnestly seeking kindness or help. 
remain stagnant To have no development. 
come and go as if at home To come and go freely without the slightest hesitation. 
Sow millet between cereal rows In early spring, dig with a hoe between rows planted with barley or wheat and sow millet sparsely. 
infect through scratching or handling To cause inflammation attributed to fingernails by scratching or kneading. 
Develop inflammation from scratching Develop inflammation from scratching or kneading with the hands 
Invoke a legal provision Cite a particular clause of a rule or law. 
Cherish profoundly Value an object with extreme care 
be helplessly at another’s mercy An expression for helplessness, meaning meat placed on a chopping board. 
Kick someone in the shins Vulgarly, kick someone’s shinbone with a shoe-clad foot 
Shared · 2 Become strangely inexplicable Become so strange and mysterious that one cannot understand what happened 
Acquire a mysterious power Be affected by an uncanny, mysterious force. 
Shared · 2 become strangely inexplicable A North Korean idiom meaning to become so strange and uncanny that one cannot understand what happened. 
Trace the origins Clarify the source of a matter. 
Beat wildly Strike wildly. 
2 meanings have one’s soles struck For a bridegroom to be hung upside down and struck on the soles of the feet. 
Ritually beat the groom’s soles Playfully hang the bridegroom upside down and beat his soles to obtain a post-wedding feast from him 
Trim the toenails In the royal court, an expression formerly used for trimming toenails.