Let’s learn colloquialism in Korean! ~코 (ko)
여러분 안녕하세요! SLS에서 한국어를 가르치고 있는 Ashley 선생님 입니다!
If someone says ‘코’, it is originally related to your nose. However if 코 is used as colloquialism, it creates totally new contexts. In modern Korean, 코is commonly used to express your situations in relation to your due date, pride, portion and personality. Let’s find out some examples.
First, 코앞에 닥치다 (ko a pe dak chi da) means that you do not have enough time to finish your work and study until the due date. For example, 윌은 코 앞에 닥친 시험 때문에 오늘 저녁 파티에 갈 수 없습니다. 시험 공부를 해야 합니다 (Will cannot go to tonight’s party because of the test that has a very little time until the due date).
Second, 콧대가 높다 (ko dae ga nop da) can be used when you want to describe some person who is always so proud of herself/himself. For example, 수잔은 머리에 든 것도 없으면서 언제나 잘난 척 합니다. 그렇게 콧대가 높은 여자는 아무리 예뻐도 정말 싫습니다 (Susan is too proud of herself and pretend to be smart. I dislike a girl like her who is too proud of her, even if she is very gorgeous).
Finally, 코에 붙이다 (koe buchida) is used when you describe the situations when you do not have enough food to feed many people. For example, 저는 어제 애슐리씨의 생일파티에 갔어요. 사람은 열 명인데 음식은 적어서 누구코에 붙일까 했어요. 저는 배가 고팠어요. (I went to Ashley’s birthday party yesterday. There were ten people but food was too little to feel all. I was hungry.)
코 앞에 닥치다, 콧대가 높다 and 코에 붙이다 are commonly used in everyday life. It is worth to remember these three expressions so you can be an upgraded Korean learner!
Ashley (Korean teacher)
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