겨우
gyeo-u
겨우 is a toe just barely over the line
The picture A foot that got over the threshold with only its toes, a hair away from catching on it. 겨우 barely reaches from the short side; 넉넉히 fills it with room to spare.
Where the picture shows up in 겨우
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over the line by a toe
겨우 시간에 맞췄어요.
gyeo-u si-ga-ne mat-chwo-sseo-yo
I only just made it in time.
You wedge a shoulder in as the door is closing and squeeze through at the last instant.
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less than you hoped
하루 종일 팔았는데 겨우 다섯 개예요.
ha-ru jong-il pa-ran-neun-de gyeo-u da-seot gae-ye-yo
A whole day selling and only five of them.
An empty display stand, and a register with just a few coins lying in it.
In front of a number it carries the sting of 'only this much'.
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holding on with nothing left
지금은 겨우 버티고 있어요.
ji-geu-meun gyeo-u beo-ti-go i-sseo-yo
I'm barely holding on right now.
Knees shaking, yet one hand still grips the railing and keeps the body upright.
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finally, after dragging on
일이 겨우 끝났어요.
i-ri gyeo-u kkeun-na-sseo-yo
The work is finally over.
Late at night, the last sheet of a long-standing pile goes down and a breath goes out.
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belittling the cause
겨우 그 일로 화를 내세요?
gyeo-u geu il-lo hwa-reul nae-se-yo
You're angry over something that small?
Two fingers pinch a tiny gap to show how small it is, with the eyebrows going up.
It shrinks the other person's concern, so use it carefully.
All of it in one picture
겨우 is the picture of a toe just over the line. A shoulder wedged into a closing door means you made it 겨우; a few coins in the register means you sold 겨우 five. Shaking knees on a railing means you are holding on 겨우, the last sheet going down means the work is 겨우 over, two fingers pinching a tiny gap means it was 겨우 that much of a matter. The question is never whether the line was crossed — 겨우 always clings to the side where there was not enough.