Lesson-10-谚语表达-귀

This is an Advanced Idiomatic Expressions lesson related to 귀, the ear! In order to fully understand and use the expressions introduced in this series, it is essential that you understand the grammatical structure of the sentences. When you come across a grammar point with which you are unfamiliar, please go back and review the related lessons.

Keyword:
귀 = ear

1. 귀가 밝다 = to have good ears

→ The literal translation of 밝다 is “to be bright”, but the actual meaning of 귀가 밝다 is that you have good ears. “To hear well” or “can hear well” is 잘 들을 수 있다 or 잘 들리다 in Korean, but it is more natural to say that your 귀 is 밝다 in many cases. It refers to your hearing capabilities, not whether you can hear a particular sound in a certain situation. In the case of the latter, you can say, “잘 안 들려요” to mean, “I cannot hear it clearly (due to other noise or sound).”

Ex)
젊었을 때는 저도 귀가 밝았는데, 지금은 작은 소리는 잘 안 들려요.
= I used to have good ears when I was young, too, but I cannot hear quiet sounds now.

2. 귀를 기울이다 = to pay attention to a sound or to what someone says
기울이다 = to tilt; to make something lean

→ When you want to pay attention to a certain sound, you naturally want to move your ears closer to the source of the sound. Even though you lean your whole body, in Korean you say that you lean your ear toward something. 귀를 기울이다 can mean both “trying to hear something well” and “paying attention to what someone says”.

Ex)
귀를 기울여서 잘 들어 보세요.
= Pay close attention to what you hear.
아이들이 선생님이 해 주는 이야기를 귀를 기울여서 듣고 있었어요.
= The children were listening to the story their teacher was telling them with full attention.

3. 귀에 대고 속삭이다 = to whisper into someone’s ears
대다 = to put something close to something else
속삭이다 = to whisper

→ You could just say 귀에 속삭이다 to say “to whisper into someone’s ears”, but the part 대고 is used to describe the action of going closer to someone before whispering. 귀에 대다 means to put something close to or touch the ear, and in this case, it is someone’s mouth.

Ex)
귀에 대고 속삭이지 말고 크게 말해요.
= Do not whisper to each other secretly. Speak loudly (to everybody).
* You can say this if two people are whispering to each other and you want them to speak up, or if someone is whispering to you and they do not need to whisper.

4. 귀먹다 = to be deaf, to be unable to hear

→ When someone cannot hear something well, you can use the expression 귀먹다 or 귀가 먹다. The word 먹다 is usually to eat, but not in this case. 귀가 먹다 can be used for someone who cannot hear due to old age, but you can also hear people say, “귀먹었어(요)?” to someone who cannot seem to understand or care about what they hear, even though they physically are able to hear.

Ex)
저 귀 안 먹었어요. 조용히 말해요.
= I am not deaf. Speak quietly.
너 귀먹었어? 왜 이렇게 못 알아들어?
= Did you go deaf? Why do not you understand what I am saying?

5. 귀가 간지럽다 = to feel like someone is talking behind one’s back
간지럽다 = to feel itchy

There is no way to spy on everybody and know when people talk about you, but you can use the expression 귀가 간지럽다 when you refer to the fact that people talk about you when you are not around. It is usually used in the past tense, after you find out that people talked about you in your absence.

Ex)
어쩐지 오늘 귀가 간지러웠어요.
= No wonder my ears were itchy today.
= I see that you talked about me.

6. 귀가 얇다 = to be easily influenced by what others say
얇다 = to be thin

→ If your ears are thin, it will be easy for words to penetrate your brain. 귀가 얇다 is a figurative way of saying that someone is easily influenced by what he or she hears.

Ex)
그 사람은 귀가 얇아서 설득하기 쉬워요.
= He is easily influenced by what people say, so he is easy to persuade.

7. 귀에 못이 *박히도록 (듣다) = to have heard something too much already
박히다 = to be embedded; to be stuck
-도록 = to the extent of...

→ 못 usually means “cannot” or “nail”, but in this case, it refers to a callus, or the hardened skin on your hand due to heavy use. When you hear something over and over again, your ear will (figuratively) harden, so when you say 귀에 못이 박히도록 (듣다), it means that you have (heard) something over and over again, so much that it makes you sick or upset.

Ex)
그 얘기는 귀에 못이 박히도록 들었어요.
= I have heard that story so much. I do not need to hear it again.
내가 귀에 못이 박히도록 *말했는데 왜 안 듣니?
= I have told you so many times, but why are you not listening?
* People also often say 귀에 못이 박히도록 말하다/이야기하다 to mean “to tell (someone) a million times”.