Lesson 21

This is an Advanced Idiomatic Expressions lesson related to 말, which means “word(s)” or “language”. In order to fully understand and use the expressions introduced in this series, it is essential that you understand the grammatical structure of the sentences. When you come across a grammar point that you are unfamiliar with, please go back and review the related TTMIK lessons.

Keyword:
말 = word(s), language, what one says

1. 말을 높이다 = to speak in formal language to someone

→ 높다 means “to be high”, and 높이다 means “to make something higher” or “to raise” something. Therefore 말을 높이다 means to speak in 존댓말, with respect and formality. It is usually used in a negative form to tell someone that they can feel free to speak in 반말 to you. The act of starting to speak in 반말 to someone is 말을 놓다, so you can say “말 놓으세요” to someone who is unnecessarily speaking 존댓말 to you.

Ex) 저한테는 말 안 높이셔도 돼요. 말 편하게 하세요.
= You do not have to speak formally to me. Please speak in casual language to me.

2. 말도 안 되다 = to not make sense; to be nonsensical

→ 되다 means “to become”, so if you say 말이 안 되다, it literally means “it does not become a word/language”. When you experience something ridiculous, and you think it is nonsensical, you can say “말이 안 돼요.” If you add -도, which means “even”, and say 말도 안 되다, it means “to not even make sense” and makes the meaning of the sentence stronger. On the contrary, if you would like to say that something does make sense, you can just say 말이 되다. However, please note that using 도 with 말이 되다 sounds unnatural.

Ex) 말도 안 돼. 한국어 한 달 배우고 토픽 6급을 땄다는 게 말이 돼?
= Impossible. Does it make sense that he/she passed TOPIK level 6 after learning Korean for a month?

3. 말을 아끼다 = to save one’s breath, to not say much

→ 아끼다 means to save or cherish something so that it is not wasted. So 말을 아끼다 means that there are definitely things you could say, but you choose not to speak much on the matter. This is usually done to avoid unnecessary trouble or interest from other people.

Ex) 저도 하고 싶은 말은 많았지만, 오늘 기자들 앞에서는 말을 아꼈습니다.
= I had a lot that I wanted to say, too, but in front of the reporters today, I did not say much.

4. 말이 많다 = to be talkative; there is considerable controversy (over something)

→ 많다 means “to be a lot”, so 말이 많다 can simply mean that someone is talkative. However, if you describe a thing or an event as 말이 많다, it means that there is a lot of controversy over the thing or the event. You can imagine a situation where a lot of people are criticizing something.

Ex) 요즘 그 회사에 대해서 말이 많아요.
= There is a lot of controversy about that company these days.

5. 말이 통하다 = to understand each other well, to click

→ 통하다 means “to connect” or “to go through”. When 말이 잘 통하다 is used to describe two people, it means that they can relate to each other well and are on the same wavelength. When you describe someone as a 말이 통하는 사람, it means that they understand what you say, and you can have good conversations with them.

Ex) 오랜만에 말이 통하는 친구를 만나서 너무 좋아요.
= I am so happy to have made a new friend that I can have good conversations with for the first time in a while.

6. 말이 안 통하다 = to be unreasonable, to be ridiculous

→ 말이 통하다 is used to talk about two or more people who click well with and understand one another. However, 말이 안 통하다 refers to a person who is difficult to talk to because they are unreasonable or ridiculous. If you say 말이 안 통하다 about two people not understanding each other, the context is usually about not speaking the other person’s native language.

Ex) 말이 통해야 이야기를 하지… 그 사람이랑은 도무지 말이 안 통해요.
= To have a conversation, you need to mutually understand each other. He is just unreasonable. You cannot talk to him.

7. 말문이 막히다 = to be at a loss for words, to be speechless

→ 말문 literally means “word door” and refers to your mouth, and 막히다 means “to be blocked”. You never refer to your mouth as 말문 on its own, but the idiomatic phrase 말문이 막히다 is used quite commonly when you do not know what to say because you are shocked or overwhelmed.

Ex) 갑작스러운 제안에 너무 놀라서 말문이 막혔어요.
= I was so surprised by the sudden offer that I did not know what to say.

8. 말을 꺼내다 = to bring up a topic

→ 꺼내다 means “to take something out” or “to pull something out”. Imagine pulling words out of your head that you have had for a while. It can be used to refer to both heavy topics that you have been hesitating to mention or light topics that you are briefly mentioning.

Ex) 저도 오랫동안 고민하다가 어렵게 말을 꺼낸 거예요.
= I also hesitated for a long time before I brought it up with difficulty.

9. 말 나오지 않게 하다 = to prevent people from talking about something, to not let others complain about something

→ 말이 나오다 literally means “words come out”. It is often used to mean that people are talking about something negative, and either complaining about it or criticizing it. For example, if you play the drums at midnight every night, and your neighbors start talking about it, you can use the expression 말이 나오다 to describe your neighbors. This expression is often used in the form 말이 나오지 않게, which means “so that people do not criticize it”.

Ex) 더 이상 말 나오지 않게 앞으로 더 조심하세요.
= Be careful so that there will not be any more talk about it in the future.

10. 말이 아니다 = to be in a terrible situation, to be in an unspeakable condition

→ The literal translation of 말이 아니다 can be misleading, but what it actually means is 말할 수 있는 상태가 아니다 (= to not be in a situation that can be spoken of). When a situation or condition is so bad that you cannot even talk about it, you can say 말이 아니다.

Ex) 지금은 정말 상황이 말이 아니에요.
= Right now the situation is really terrible.

11. 말이 말 같지 않다 = to not be worth listening to

→ Literally translated, 말이 말 같지 않다 means “words do not sound like words”. When someone’s words or remarks are so ridiculous that they seem like noise or meaningless sound, you can use the expression 말 같지 않다. Other variations are “말 같은 소리를 해야지 (= You need to say something that makes sense, not this current nonsense)”, “말 같지 않은 소리 그만해 (= Stop talking nonsense)”, and “사람 말이 말 같지 않아? (= You think that what I am saying is not worth listening to?)” These expressions are often said in 반말 because they are not very respectful expressions to begin with.

Ex) 내 말이 말 같지 않아? 왜 자꾸 그러는 거야?
= Do you think what I am saying is worthless? Why do you keep doing that?

12. 입에 발린 말을 하다 = to pay lip service, to flatter

→ 바르다 means to apply something, like lotion or cream, on a surface. 입에 발린 말 literally means “words that are coated on the mouth” or “words that are applied on the mouth” and refers to lip service or flattering words that may not necessarily be true.

Ex) 그 사람은 맨날 입에 발린 말만 해요. 다 믿으면 안 돼요.
= He always only pays lip service. You should not believe everything he says.

13. 할 말을 잃다 = to be at a loss for words, to not know what to say

→ 잃다 means “to lose”, and 할 말을 잃다 means that you are lost for words and do not know what to say. You usually use this expression when talking about something absurd or hard to believe. 할 말을 잃다 often also carries the connotation of “giving up” or “not even trying to persuade otherwise” because the other person’s behavior or remarks are so ridiculous.

Ex) 그 사람이 너무 뻔뻔하게 나와서 제가 할 말을 잃었어요.
= He acted so shamelessly that I was at a loss for words.