You probably know the verb 날다, which means “to fly.” It’s a Level 2 word. You might notice that 날다 on its own isn’t used that often in daily conversations. But how about 날리다?
날리다 is the causative version of 날다, meaning “to make something fly” or “to let something fly away.”
At first, you might only think of simple sentences like “종이비행기를 날려요 (I fly a paper airplane).” But native Koreans use it in daily life for different meanings much more often!
Think about flying a paper airplane. You could throw it with your hand, but there are also ways to make it fly without physically touching it. Like letting the wind carry it.
And once that paper airplane leaves your hand and flies away, it is out of your control. That is the core concept of the verb 날리다. From this core idea, several secondary meanings developed.
For example, you can actually make your own name fly. The expression 이름을 날리다 literally means “to make one’s name fly,” which actually means to become famous. Pretty unexpected, right? While it’s not an everyday phrase, I wanted to mention it because it’s such a fun and interesting expression.
Now, here is how Koreans really use 날리다 all the time these days:
- 돈을 날리다 (To blow/lose money)
- 시간을 날리다 (To waste/lose time)
- 기회를 날리다 (To blow/miss an opportunity)
Money, time, and opportunities aren’t things you can easily get whenever you want, right? Here, 날리다 means losing something precious so that it is no longer yours and out of your control.
Let’s look at some real-life examples:
- 카지노에서 있는 돈 다 날렸어. (I blew all my money at the casino.)
- 너 때문에 내 주말 다 날렸잖아. 책임져! (You ruined my whole weekend! Take responsibility!)
- 이번 기회 날리면 안 돼요. 저 좀 도와 주세요. (I can’t blow this opportunity. Please help me out.)
See how it works? Now you know the real logic behind 날리다!