Lesson 6

This is an Advanced Idiomatic Expressions lesson related to 일, which means “work”. 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: 일 = work

1. 일을 쉬다 = to not be working, to be between jobs

쉬다 means “to rest” and in this context, rather than referring to taking a break during working hours, it means that you are not employed at the moment. It usually has the meaning of being “temporarily between jobs”, so it cannot be used to describe someone who is in retirement and has no plans to start working again. You can say “일을 쉬고 있어요” when you are either looking for a new job or taking a leave from your current job.

Ex) 요즘 일을 잠깐 쉬고 있어요.
= I am not working at the moment.

2. 일할 맛이 나다 = to find it enjoyable to work, to be motivated to work

맛 means “taste”, and 맛이 나다 means “to taste like” something. For example, 이상한 맛이 나다 means “to taste strange”. 일할 맛, therefore, translates to “the taste to work”. What this phrase actually means, however, is that working is enjoyable and fun because of factors like a good working environment, close relationships with your coworkers, high pay, etc.

Ex) 요즘에 주문이 별로 안 들어와서 일할 맛이 안 나요.
= There are not many orders coming in these days, so I do not feel motivated to work.

3. 일 복이 많다 = to have a lot of work coming in

복 means “luck” or “good fortune”. To describe someone who has a lot of work coming in, generally or just at the moment, you can say 일 복이 많다, which means “to have a lot of work-related luck”. Sometimes you will also hear the phrase 일 복을 타고 나다, which means “to be born with a lot of luck related to work”, or “to be destined to never struggle to find work”.

Ex) 일 복이 너무 많으셔서 그래요. 일 좀 줄이세요.
= It is because you are a magnet for work. Cut down on some work.

Ex) 요즘 일 복이 터졌어요.
= I am blessed with a lot of work these days.

4. 일을 벌이다 = to start something new, to start a new (potentially unnecessary) project

벌이다 means “to start a project or event”, “wage a war”, or “stage a protest”. The passive voice form of 벌이다 is 벌어지다, which translates to “to happen” or “to take place”. 일을 벌이다 means “to start a new project”, or “to stir up some new trouble”. Depending on the context, it is often used to criticize someone who is starting something new unnecessarily even though they are already busy with other things.

Ex) 왜 자꾸 새로운 일을 벌여요? 원래 하던 거부터 마무리해요.
= Why do you keep starting something new? Finish what you were working on first.

5. 일하고 결혼하다 = to know nothing but work, to be always working

결혼하다 means “to get married”, and so 일하고 결혼하다 means “to be married to one’s work”. It refers to someone who is always working and never doing anything else.

Ex) 그 사람은 맨날 일밖에 안 해요. 일하고 결혼했어요.
= He does nothing but work. He is married to his job.

6. 일이 잘 풀리다 = to work out well, to be resolved well

풀다 means “to resolve” or “untie” something, and the passive voice, 풀리다, means “to be resolved”. So 일이 잘 풀리다 means that something either went well, or a problem was resolved smoothly.

Ex) 요즘은 일이 잘 풀려서 스트레스를 안 받아요.
= Everything is working out smoothly these days, so I am not stressed.

It is often used in the negative form as well.

Ex) 일이 잘 안 풀리니까 포기하고 싶어요.
= Because things are not working out smoothly, I want to give up.

7. 일이 손에 안 잡히다 = cannot focus on work

잡다 means “to grab” or “hold” something. The passive voice of 잡다 is 잡히다, and means “to be grabbed” or “to be held”. It also has the meaning of “can be held”. So 일이 손에 안 잡히다 means that while you want to focus on working you cannot, usually because you have something on your mind that is worrying or bothering you.

Ex) 오늘 아침에 핸드폰을 잃어버려서 지금 일이 손에 안 잡혀요.
= I lost my phone this morning, so I cannot focus on work now.

8. 일밖에 모르다 = to not be interested in anything else but work

-밖에 is used with a negative sentence to form the meaning of “only”, so 일밖에 모르다 means “to know only work” or “to know nothing but work”. It is used to describe a person whose only interest is work.

Ex) 그 사람은 일밖에 몰라서 주말에도 맨날 바빠요.
= He is not interested in anything else but work, so he is always busy even on the weekend.

9. 볼일 = something to take care of; an errand to run

보다 means “to see”, but in the expression 볼일, its meaning is closer to “to tend to” or “to take care of”. So 볼일 can be an errand you need to run or something you need to take care of. Two verbs that are commonly used with 볼일 are 보다 and 있다. 볼일을 보다 usually means “to take care of an errand or task”, but in a very casual setting, it can also refer to going to the bathroom. 볼일이 있다 means “to have something to take care of”.

Ex) 볼일이 있어서 잠깐 해외에 나와 있어요.
= I am overseas for a short while to take care of something.

10. 일도 아니다 = to be very easy to do; to be a piece of cake

Literally translated, this phrase means “to not even be work”. It is used to refer to something that is very easy to do.

Ex) 저한테 이 정도는 일도 아니죠.
= For me, this is a piece of cake.

11. 일이 산더미처럼 쌓여 있다 = to have a lot of work; to be loaded with work

산 means “mountain” and 더미 means “pile”. 쓰레기 더미 is a pile of trash, and 빚더미 is a pile of debt. 산더미 (pronounced 산떠미) is used figuratively to mean “a mountain of” something. It does not refer to an actual mountain.

Ex) 아침 일찍 출근했는데 아직도 일이 산더미처럼 쌓여 있어요.
= I came to work early in the morning, but I still have a ton of work to do.

12. 되는 일이 없다 = nothing works out

되다 here means “to be fulfilled well” or “to be accomplished well”, so this phrase literally means “nothing is fulfilled well” or “nothing is accomplished well”. When things do not work out as you expected or planned, you can use this expression.

Ex) 저는 왜 이렇게 되는 일이 없을까요?
= Why on earth do you think things do not work out for me?