You probably know that eating is a huge part of Korean culture. In English, you use different verbs like eat food, drink water, or take medicine. In Korean, the verb 먹다 covers them all.
However, there are so many other ways we use this verb in daily life that you might not know yet. Today, I’ll introduce some unique expressions with examples.
- 겁 먹지 마. 괜찮을 거야. – Don’t be scared. It’ll be okay.
“겁” is a Sino-Korean word meaning “fear.” While I’m not exactly sure why we “eat” fear, “겁 먹다” simply means “to be scared.”
- 나쁜 마음 먹지 말고, 착하게 살아. – Don’t harbor bad intentions; live a good life.
In Korean, we have the expression “마음 먹다”. It’s a very common way to say “to make up one’s mind” or “to resolve to do something.”
- 이거 너무 무거워서 진짜 애 먹었어요. – This was so heavy that I really struggled with it.
In this context, “애” doesn’t mean “kids.” In native Korean, it actually refers to “intestines.” Though “eating your own intestines” sounds impossible, we use it to mean “having a hard time” or “struggling with something.”
- 나한테 욕 먹고 싶으면 계속 그렇게 해. – Keep doing that if you want to get scolded by me.
“욕” refers to any kind of swearing or bad language. While “욕 하다” is the active “to swear,” “욕 먹다” is the passive style. It means “to be scolded” or “to be criticized.”
- 오늘 화장 너무 잘 먹었죠? 어때요?- My makeup went on so well today, right? What do you think?
You won’t find a subject “eating” the makeup here. We use this when cosmetics blend perfectly into the skin, making the face look great.
And the last one:
- 아! 한 방 먹었다! – Ah! You got me!
Here, “방” is a counter for a physical strike or punch. Originally used when someone was hit hard, it’s now a fixed expression for when you are unexpectedly shocked or caught off guard by a clever remark or situation.
- 너 충격 먹었어? – Are you shocked?
Interestingly, when “먹다” follows another verb to form a phrase, the whole chunk often takes on a negative nuance. If you’re curious about those, I’ll try to cover them in a future lesson.
Leave a Reply