Lesson 21

This is an Advanced Idiomatic Expressions lesson related to 생각, “thought” or “idea”. 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:
생각 = thought, idea

1. 생각이 다르다 = to have a different opinion
▷ 다르다 = to be different

Literally translated, it means “the thought is different", but the actual meaning of 생각이 다르다 is to have a different opinion from another person.

Ex)
저는 그 문제에 대해서는 생각이 좀* 달라요.
= About that matter, I have a slightly different opinion.
* A lot of people use 좀 to be tactful or to avoid sounding too strong. However, if someone uses 조금 rather than 좀, as in, “조금 달라요”, they probably have a very different opinion.

2. 생각이 없다 = to not feel like eating/drinking

Literally translated 생각이 없다 means that you have no idea, or that you have not thought much about something. However, it is actually used to mean that you are not hungry or thirsty so you do not feel like eating or drinking. This phrase can also have a negative meaning, implying that someone is careless.

Ex)
저는 아침을 늦게 먹어서 점심 생각이 없어요.
= I had a late breakfast, so I do not feel like having lunch (now).

3. 생각에 잠기다 = to be lost in thought

잠기다 literally means “to be submerged” or “to be flooded”, so if you say that you are “flooded” by thoughts or are submerged in your thoughts, it means that you are deep in thought about something.

Ex)
무슨 생각에 잠겨 있었길래 전화 온 줄도 몰랐어요?
= What were you thinking about so hard? You did not even know that your phone was ringing.

4. 생각만 해도 = at the bare thought of it

The meaning of this one is fairly easy to guess, since it is translated as “even if I just think about it”. This is most commonly used when talking about something that you are scared about, something you do not enjoy experiencing, or when someone mentions something that is very absurd or is unlikely to happen.

Ex)
생각만 해도 소름이 끼쳐요.
= Just thinking about it alone gives me goosebumps.
생각만 해도 웃음이 나요.
= Just thinking about it makes me smile or laugh.

5. 생각하기도 싫다 = to not even want to think about it

When there is something you are not looking forward to and want to avoid if possible, you can say 생각하기도 싫다. You can also change it to 생각하고 싶지도 않다 to mean the same thing.

Ex)
다시 대학생이 되는 건 생각하기도 싫어요.
= I do not even want to think about becoming a university student. / I hate the idea of becoming a university student.
현우 씨가 여기에 온다고요? 생각하기도 싫어요.
= I hate the idea of Hyunwoo coming here.
* In this situation, you hate the thought of the person coming here. But if they are actually coming, you would not say this. You would just say, “싫어요.”

6. 생각이 나다 = for a thought to occur, to remember

생각이 나다 can be used in two types of situations: when you just remembered something that you previously could not recall (like someone’s name or the reason you called someone), or when something just occurred to you and you started thinking about it. When you are just going about your daily tasks and all of a sudden you think of someone that you know, you can say 생각이 나다. This phrase can also be written as one word, 생각나다.

Ex)
그냥 네 생각 나서 전화했어.
= I just thought of you, so I am calling you now.
생각(이) 나면 말해 주세요.
= Let me know if you think of it.

7. 생각이 들다 = for a thought to occur

생각이 들다 and 생각이 나다 are similar in usage, but 생각이 들다 is used only when talking about the actual “content” of a thought. You can say 생각이 나다 when a person or place comes to mind, and you can use 생각이 들다 to talk about an opinion or premonition. In many cases, 생각이 들다 is just translated as “to think”, “to feel”, or “to have a feeling”.

Ex)
이거 조금 이상하다는 생각 안 들어요?
= Don’t you feel that this is a bit strange?

8. -(으)ㄹ 생각은 없다 = to not intend to do something

When you feel bad about something you have said or done and want to apologize, one expression that can come in handy is -(으)ㄹ 생각은 없다. If you just say 생각 없다, it can either mean “to be not very hungry” or “to be thoughtless or careless”, but if you use -(으)ㄹ 생각은 없다 with a specific verb stem, it means that you do not intend to do something.

Ex)
놀라게 할 생각은 없었어요.
= I did not intend to surprise you.
겁줄 생각은 없었어요.
= I did not intend to scare you.

9. 생각이 간절하다 = to really want to have (usually a certain food/drink)

간절하다 means “ardent” or “desperate”, so if you say 생각이 간절하다, it means that you have a very strong yearning for something, usually a certain food or drink.

Ex)
요즘에 다이어트 하고 있는데, 운동하고 나면 콜라 생각이 간절해요.
= I am on a diet these days, and after I work out, I really want a Coke.
지금 물 생각이 간절하다.
= I really want some water right now.

10. 생각지도 못했던 일이다 = to be unthought-of, to have not been foreseen

생각지도 is short for 생각하지도, and by saying that something was 생각지도 못했던 일, you are saying that you did not have the faintest idea that something like that could happen.

Ex)
이건 정말 생각지도 못했던 결과네요.
= We really did not see this coming.
= This is really an unexpected result.

11. 생각해 보고 말 것도 없다 = to not even be worth thinking about

Here, 말다 means “to not do something”, and this usage of 말다 is always used in the form of -아/어/여 보고 말 것도 없다, which means that something “is not even worth trying to do”. Literally it means “there is not enough (substance or importance to it) to really bother doing it”.

Ex)
생각해 보고 말 것도 없이, 그 사람은 무조건 안 돼요.
= It is not even worth thinking about, he just cannot do it.
= Needless to say, my answer is no. I cannot let him do it.

12. -을/를 생각해서라도 = at least for the sake of (someone)

Literally translated, this means “even if you were to do it, just think about (someone else)”. In actual usage, it means “at least for the sake of (someone)”. This is commonly used when you want to persuade someone to do something that they do not want to do.

Ex)
가기 싫겠지만, 나를 생각해서라도 한 번만 참석해 줘.
= I know you do not want to go, but please attend just this once, at least for me.
* You might hear people say 부모님을 생각해서라도 to say, “at least do it for your parents”.