Everyday expressions — learn them through core images – ShareDocs

손 son Why a Korean task can "take a lot of hand" The end of you that reaches out and actually touches the world. Nothing moves until this part lands on it. Korean 5 uses

눈 nun In "her eyes are high," there are no eyes A window that lets the world in. A clear window sees well; a window hung high is hard to satisfy. Korean

마음 ma-eum Why Koreans "eat" a decision A bowl set inside your chest. What enters it, and what you swallow into it, is what you become. Korean

길 gil "There's no other road" — with no road in it A single line running from here to there. Follow the line and you arrive; break it and you can't. Korean

자리 ja-ri One empty square that is both a seat and a job title A square left empty so that something fits exactly into it. Empty, and a slot opens; filled, and you've settled in. Korean

말 mal Why Koreans say words become seeds A lump that leaves your mouth and crosses over to someone else. Once it lands, you can't take it back — and it starts working. Korean 5 uses

일 il Why a job and an incident are the same Korean word A lump dropped in front of you that won't clear until you deal with it. Dropped daily, it's a job; dropped suddenly, it's an incident. Korean 5 uses

때 ttae "When the time comes" — what time is that? A stretch snipped out of flowing time. Not a mark on a clock but the span a thing lies across. Korean

힘 him Why "힘들다" means hard, not heavy A push from inside the body toward the outside. Let it out and things move; let it drain and you can't move at all. Korean

물 mul What it means to "take on the company's water" Something that seeps into whatever it touches and dyes it its own color. Once it soaks in, not just the surface changes. Korean

불 bul Why a fire on your foot means you're out of time Something that spreads by itself the moment it catches. From that moment, time is chasing you. Korean 5 uses

바람 ba-ram Korean puts wind into tires — and into people An unseen flow that fills things from inside and sweeps past, shaking whatever it touches. Korean

앞 ap In Korean the future is ahead, never behind The direction you have turned your body to face. Whatever is over there arrives at you first. Korean

뒤 dwi "The back of it is complicated" — and there's no back alley The side your back is turned to. Your eyes can't reach it, so it comes later, stays unseen, and never shows on the surface. Korean 5 uses

안 an Where exactly is the room inside "within a week"? Draw a boundary line, then point only at what falls inside it. Whatever is outside the line is not the subject. Korean 5 uses

get up ɡet ʌp Even the wind gets up — one picture behind every use Something lying or sitting low pushes itself upright and rises. English 5 uses

get over ɡet ˈoʊvər A cold, a breakup, a fence — all the same hill A hill stands in your way; you climb it and come down on the other side. English 5 uses

take off teɪk ɔːf Shoes, planes and prices all come off the same way Something attached comes away from the surface it was stuck to — and once free, it may soar. English 5 uses

put off pʊt ɔːf Push it back far enough and even your appetite goes A hand shoves what is right in front of you back and away from now. English 5 uses

put up with pʊt ʌp wɪð Not 'tolerate' — holding a weight over your head You hold something heavy up on raised arms and refuse to set it down. English 5 uses

look after lʊk ˈæftər Care is just never taking your eyes off it Your eyes trail whatever is moving ahead of you; the moment they drop, the care stops. English 5 uses

look into lʊk ˈɪntuː Look at is the lid; look into is what's under it You lift the lid of a closed box and push your gaze down inside it. English 5 uses

run out of rʌn aʊt əv Milk, time and patience all hit the same empty bottom What was inside the container drains out until the bare bottom is showing. English 5 uses

break down breɪk daʊn A car, a negotiation and a person all collapse the same way Something holding itself upright cracks apart and sinks down to the ground. English 5 uses

bring up brɪŋ ʌp Raising a child and raising a subject are the same lift Something out of sight below is lifted up into full view. English 5 uses

come across kʌm əˈkrɔːs Why bumping into something and seeming cold are one word Unsought, something crosses over from the far side and lands right in front of you. English 5 uses

work out wɜːrk aʊt Keep working it and the answer comes out You keep kneading and turning a tangled lump until what was inside comes out of it. English 5 uses

たい tai たい is a hand reaching out of you A hand stretching forward out of your own chest. That hand only ever grows out of you. Japanese 5 uses

そうだ souda The two そうだ are one thing: "this isn't mine" You didn't verify it. You picked it off the surface with your eyes, or off the air with your ears, and you set it down exactly as you found it. Japanese 5 uses

ようだ youda ようだ isn't guessing — it's laying one sheet over another Two transparent sheets laid on top of each other: this one lines up with that one. Japanese

らしい rashii らしい holds hearsay and "so very spring" in one hand A smell drifting over from the other side. You didn't make it — that side gave it off. Japanese 5 uses

はず hazu はず isn't a guess — it's the sound of things clicking into place Two gear teeth locking together. Line up what you already know and it can only land here. Japanese 5 uses

つもり tsumori つもり is a picture that hangs only in your head A picture you painted in advance — hanging inside your head, not out in the world. Japanese 5 uses

べき beki べき isn't "have to" — it's a ruler held over the situation A straight ruler of right and wrong, held over the situation from above. Not your circumstances — what the ruler points at. Japanese 5 uses

かもしれない kamoshirenai かもしれない leaves the door open a crack A closed door pushed open just wide enough for a finger. Through that gap, another possibility can walk in. Japanese 5 uses

なければならない nakereba-naranai なければならない isn't long and hard — it's a road with one way left A fork where every branch is blocked except one. There is no way around. Japanese

てもいい temoii てもいい isn't permission — it's a sign that the door is open The door in front of you is standing open. Walk through and nothing bad happens. Japanese 5 uses

てはいけない tewaikenai てはいけない isn't "forbidden" — it's a bar dropping across the door A bar slams down across the door that was open. This way through is closed. Japanese

だろう darou だろう isn't a guess — it's a ball rolled toward the other person Instead of nailing your sentence down, you roll a ball gently toward the person across from you. Japanese 5 uses

-요 -yo One word, four sentences: 가요 A small cushion you set on the end of a sentence. Whatever the sentence is, the cushion makes it land gently. Korean 5 uses

-습니다 -seumnida The suit your sentence puts on Standing up straight to speak. Not fear of the listener — the setting is public, so the sentence dresses up. Korean 5 uses

-(으)시- -(eu)si- Not bowing down — lifting them up Sliding a small platform under someone inside your sentence, so their seat sits one level higher. Korean 5 uses

-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 -(eu)l su itda Not ability — an open door A door stands ahead of you. If it's open, you can walk through. What opened it might be your skill, a rule, or just today's schedule. Korean 5 uses

-아/어야 하다 -a/eoya hada Not because you want to — because it's been set on you Someone has set a stone on your shoulder. You move because of the weight. Only the identity of whoever set it there changes. Korean 5 uses

-(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다 -(eu)n/neun geot gatda Fogging a window you can see through perfectly Looking outside through a misted window. The shape is there; you simply decline to state it flatly. Korean 5 uses

-지 않다 -ji anta Say the whole thing, then flip the switch You say the sentence all the way through, then reach out at the end and flick the switch down. Korean 5 uses

안/못 an/mot Who built the wall — you or someone else? A wall stands across your path. All that changes is whether you built it yourself or someone else did. Korean 5 uses

좀 jom It shrinks the request, not the amount You fold a request or a complaint small in your palm before holding it out. The actual size hasn't changed. Korean 5 uses

잘 jal Not 'excellently' — 'without snagging' Gears turning without catching anywhere. A person, a machine, a sound — if it runs without snagging, that's 잘. Korean 5 uses

너무 neomu The needle has gone past the last mark A gauge needle swung past the final mark. Only the direction it crossed in — bad or good — changes. Korean 5 uses

거의 geoui A foot stopped just short of the finish line A foot planted right where you could reach the line but haven't. You didn't touch it — but you know exactly where it is. Korean 5 uses

아직 ajik Not 'no' — 'still on the way' A point marked on a moving timeline, and you haven't reached it yet. The line keeps rolling forward. Korean 5 uses

-(으)ㄹ까요 -(eu)lkkayo Setting your thought down in front of the other person Taking the thought out of your own head, placing it on the table in front of someone, and pushing the decision over to their side. Korean 5 uses