오다
o-da
오다 is the arrow coming toward you
The picture Something far off getting closer and closer to where you stand. On foot or out of the sky, it still comes at you. 오다 is the arrow moving toward you; 가다 is the arrow moving away from you.
Where the picture shows up in 오다
-
a thing arrives at you
택배 왔어요.
taek-bae wa-sseo-yo
The parcel's here.
A parcel that has been travelling down the road lands with a thud on your own doorstep
-
down from the sky onto you
비 오는데 우산 있어요?
bi o-neun-de u-san i-sseo-yo
It's raining — do you have an umbrella?
Rain comes down out of the sky and falls straight onto the top of your head
-
it comes over your body
감기 오려나 봐요.
gam-gi o-ryeo-na bwa-yo
I think I'm coming down with a cold.
A cool draught creeps up from behind toward the back of your neck and your shoulders
-
sleep rolls over you
졸음이 와서 커피 마셨어요.
jo-reu-mi wa-seo keo-pi ma-syeo-sseo-yo
I got sleepy, so I had a coffee.
Sleepiness settles over your eyelids like a heavy quilt being pulled down
-
news reaches you
연락 오면 알려 주세요.
yeol-lak o-myeon al-lyeo ju-se-yo
Let me know if they get in touch.
A message that set off from over there arrives on the phone in your hand and lights up the screen
연락하다 is you contacting them; 연락(이) 오다 is them reaching you.
All of it in one picture
오다 is the arrow of something far off closing in on you. Put a parcel on that arrow and it reaches your doorstep; put rain on it and it falls out of the sky onto your head; put a cold on it and it creeps into your body. Put drowsiness on it and it settles over your eyes; put news on it and someone else's message lands on your screen. So with 오다, you need not move at all — something is on its way toward you.