Lesson 6

This is an Advanced Idiomatic Expressions lesson related to 발, the foot. 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:
발 = foot

1. 발이 넓다 = to be well-connected
▷ 넓다 = to be wide

You can use this expression to describe how someone has a strong social network and knows many people in various fields. In this expression, 발 symbolizes the scope of one’s reach or influence. If you want to literally describe someone’s feet as being large or wide, you would say 발이 크다.

Ex)
그 사람은 발이 진짜 넓은 것 같아요. 모르는 사람이 없어요.
= It seems like he is really well-connected. There is not one person he does not know.

2. 발 벗고 나서다 = to throw oneself into a matter with enthusiasm
▷ 벗다 = to take off
▷ 나서다 = to come forward

When someone you know is in trouble, or when you see a problem, even if it is not directly related to you, sometimes you want to help. In that case, you can say 발 벗고 나서다 to describe how you enthusiastically throw yourself into the situation. Here, 발 벗다 means “to take off your shoes to go into a room to do something”, but it is only used as an idiomatic expression and is never used literally. If you want to say “to take off (one’s) shoes”, you would say 신발(을) 벗다.

Ex)
많은 사람들이 우리를 돕기 위해서 발 벗고 나서 줬어요.
= A lot of people went out of their way to help us.

3. 발을 담그다 = to be involved in something
▷ 담그다 = to dip, to soak

When you dip your feet into the water (in a swimming pool or the ocean), you can say 발을 물에 담그다. When you take water (물) out of this phrase and just say 발을 담그다, it means “to get involved in a matter”. This expression is usually used to describe how hard it is to quit something once you start.

Ex)
드라마 보는 것에 한번 발을 담그면 빠져나올 수 없어요.
= Once you start watching TV dramas, it is not easy to quit (watching them).

4. 발 디딜 틈이 없다 = to be really packed
▷ 틈 = gap

발을 디디다 means “to step on something”, usually in order to start walking or to stand on something. You can use the expression 발 디딜 틈이 없다 when you want to describe how a place is really crowded and there is no space for you to move around.

Ex)
요즘 홍대는 밤에 가면 사람이 너무 많아서 발 디딜 틈이 없어요.
= These days, if you go to Hongdae at night, there are so many people (that you can barely find a place to stand).

5. 한발 늦다 = to fall a step behind
▷ 늦다 = to be late

This expression is similar to the English expression “to fall a step behind”. 한 is the native Korean number for “one”, so 한 발 can mean “one foot”. However, in this context, it means “one step”, and therefore the expression means you are “late by just one step”. This is usually used when you just missed a bus or the subway, but not when you are talking about being late for a meeting or for work. You can also use it if you have an idea but someone else came up with it or did it first. When 한 발 is used figuratively in this type of idiomatic expression, it is written without a space.

Ex)
지하철 문이 닫히기 전에 타려고 뛰었는데 한발 늦었어요.
= I ran to get on the train before the doors closed, but I was one step too late.

6. 발 빠르게 움직이다 = to move fast, to do the necessary actions quickly
▷ 빠르게 = quickly
▷ 움직이다 = to move

발 빠르게 움직이다 can mean “to literally and physically move fast”. It can also mean “to quickly take care of a problem” or “to quickly do the necessary actions to solve a problem or prevent it from occurring”.

Ex)
경화 씨가 발 빠르게 움직인 덕분에 문제가 더 커지지 않았어요.
= Thanks to Kyung-hwa, who moved fast, the problem did not escalate.

7. 발이 묶이다 = to be detained, confined, shackled
▷ 묶다 = to tie
▷ 묶이다 = to be tied up

If your feet are tied up by a rope or a chain, you cannot go anywhere. Therefore, when you cannot go anywhere, either because of the situation you are in or because of the weather, you can use the expression 발이 묶이다. 발 here literally means “feet”, but it also symbolizes the inability to go somewhere. People often use this expression when there is a lot of rain or snow so they cannot go anywhere or leave the house.

Ex)
이곳에 눈이 너무 많이 와서 발이 묶였어요.
= It snowed too much here, so I am stuck inside.

8. 발로 뛰다 = to work hard in the field
▷ 뛰다 = to run

Almost everyone uses their feet to run. It is rare to find someone who runs with their hands, but if you say 발로 뛰다 instead of just 뛰다, it means “to work hard in the field”. Therefore, 발로 뛰다 means to actually go out and get first-hand experience, rather than just doing desk work or researching through books.

Ex)
컴퓨터 앞에만 앉아 있는 것보다 나가서 직접 발로 뛰면 더 좋은 정보를 얻을 수 있을 거예요.
= Rather than sitting in front of a computer, if you go out and work in the field yourself, you will get better information.

9. 새 발의 피 = a drop in the bucket
▷ 새 = bird
▷ 피 = blood

Except for some large species, like the ostrich birds are usually considered small in comparison to many other animals. If a bird is injured and bleeds from its foot, the amount of blood is usually small because its feet are very small. If you say 새 발의 피, it has a similar meaning to the English phrase “a drop in the bucket”. In other words, it means that the situation is insignificant or pales in comparison to something that happened before.

Ex)
이번 일에 비하면 지난번 일은 정말 새 발의 피예요.
= This is nothing compared to what happened last time.

10. 발을 끊다 = to stop visiting
▷ 끊다 = to cut

If there is a place that you visited regularly or often that you have stopped visiting, you can use 발을 끊다 to refer to the fact that you do not go there anymore. 발 here does not mean “feet”, but refers to the visit itself. If you cut off the 발 (visit), it means you no longer visit or go to a particular place.

Ex)
살이 많이 쪄서 살을 빼려고 자주 가던 치킨 집에 발을 끊었어요.
= I have gained a lot of weight, so in order to lose it I quit going to a chicken restaurant that I used to go to frequently.

Sample Dialogue

석진: 아! 한발 늦었네요. 벌써 식당이 꽉 찼어요.
경은: 와! 이 식당은 진짜 인기가 많은가 봐요. 발 디딜 틈이 없네요.
석진: 저 건너편 집으로 갈까요?
경은: 아, 저기는 바뀐 주인이 마음에 안 들어서 발 끊었어요.

Seokjin: Ah! We're one step behind. The restaurant is already packed.
Kyeong-eun: Wow! I guess this restaurant is really popular. There's barely room to move.
Seokjin: Should we go to the place across the road?
Kyeong-eun: Ah, I don't like the new owner of that place so I stopped going there.

Exercises for Lesson 6

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate idioms with 발 from this lesson.

( )
= to stop visiting
( )
= to be really packed
( )
= to fall a step behind
( )
= to be well-connected
( )
= to throw oneself into a matter with enthusiasm

Answers for Level 9, Lesson 6

1. 발을 끊다
2. 발 디딜 틈이 없다
3. 한발 늦다
4. 발이 넓다
5. 발 벗고 나서다