-아/어 버리다
a/eo beorida
Wiping your hands clean: -아/어 버리다
The picture Finishing off what was in your hands and brushing your palms — nothing left on them. -아/어 버리다 brushes it all off and leaves nothing; -아/어 두다 does it and leaves it sitting right there.
Where the picture shows up in -아/어 버리다
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not a crumb left
케이크를 혼자 다 먹어 버렸어요.
ke-i-keu-reul hon-ja da meo-geo beo-ryeo-sseo-yo
I ate the whole cake by myself.
The cake plate with only fork marks on it — not one crumb left
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gone before you could grab it
버스가 그냥 가 버렸어요.
beo-seu-ga geu-nyang ga beo-ryeo-sseo-yo
The bus just left without me.
You reach the stop and there is only the back of the bus shrinking away, and its exhaust
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cleared off, and it feels good
밀린 일을 오늘 다 끝내 버렸어요.
mil-lin i-reul o-neul da kkeun-nae beo-ryeo-sseo-yo
I got all the backlog done today.
The stack of paperwork gone from the desk, and the bare desk gleaming
The same form carries regret or relief — the situation and your tone decide which.
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beyond getting back
지하철에서 지갑을 잃어버렸어요.
ji-ha-cheo-re-seo ji-ga-beul i-reo-beo-ryeo-sseo-yo
I lost my wallet on the subway.
Your hand goes into your pocket and finds only the lining
잃어버리다 has fused into a single word and is written without a space.
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held in, then poured out
화가 나서 다 말해 버렸어요.
hwa-ga na-seo da mal-hae beo-ryeo-sseo-yo
I got angry and said all of it.
A mouth held tightly shut opens once, and everything stored behind it pours out to the bottom
All of it in one picture
-아/어 버리다 is one picture: palms brushed, nothing left on them. No crumb on the plate and the cake is eaten up; only the back of the bus and it has gone without you. A bare gleaming desk and the backlog is cleared off; only lining in your pocket and the wallet is lost; everything poured out to the bottom and you have said it all. So -아/어 버리다 is not 'it ended' but 'nothing is left' — and that emptiness is what becomes either regret or relief.