Korean Proverbs & Body Idioms ①: -듯이, -아라/어라
Korean idioms lean on -듯이 to say 'just like' (물 쓰듯이 돈을 써요 — spends money like water), the plain imperative -아라/어라 for proverbs and sayings (돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 — even a stone bridge, tap it before you cross), plus body idioms like 손이 크다 (generous) and 발이 넓다 (well-connected).
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)
Korean idioms and proverbs run on two grammar tools plus a stock of body expressions. -듯이 draws a vivid simile — 물 쓰듯이 돈을 써요 (he spends money like water) — and -아라/어라, the plain imperative, is the voice of every proverb (돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 — even a stone bridge, tap it before you cross). Then come the 관용어: 손이 크다 (generous), 발이 넓다 (well-connected), 입이 무겁다 (discreet). Master these and your Korean starts to sound like a native’s, not a textbook’s.
Chapter 6 is where Grade 4 gets colorful — idioms, proverbs, and real talk. You already handle natural conversation with banmal and read between the lines in social-change stories; now you’ll add the fixed expressions that flavor everyday Korean. Start with the body idioms that pack a whole personality into three syllables.
Ten body idioms (신체 관용어)
Each pairs a body part with an adjective to mean something figurative — learn them whole.
How do I say “just like X”? — -듯이 / -듯
To paint a vivid comparison — “(just) as / like” — attach -듯이 (or its short form -듯) to a verb or adjective stem. It powers similes and shows up all over proverbs.
물 쓰듯이 돈을 써요 = spends money like water 눈 녹듯이 사라졌어요 = vanished like snow melting 땀이 비 오듯이 흘렀어요 = sweat poured like rain 불 보듯 뻔해요 = it’s obvious, as clear as seeing a fire
The two forms are interchangeable: 쓰듯이 = 쓰듯. The clipped -듯 is especially common in set phrases (물 흐르듯, 불 보듯 뻔하다). With a past form it can mean “as if”: 마치 본 듯이 말해요 = talks as if he saw it.
The proverb command — -아라/어라
Proverbs and sayings speak in the plain imperative -아라/어라 — the blunt “do it!” with no politeness layer. It’s the timeless, authoritative voice of folk wisdom (and of parents to little kids).
돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 = even a stone bridge, tap it before you cross 누워서 침 뱉지 마라 = don’t spit while lying down (it lands on you) 될성부른 나무는 떡잎부터 알아본다 → 알아봐라 = judge the sprout from its first leaf 티끌 모아 태산, 한 푼이라도 모아라 = save even a penny — dust piles into a mountain
Stem + 아라 (for ㅏ/ㅗ stems) or 어라 (for others): 건너다 → 건너라, 먹다 → 먹어라, 보다 → 봐라. In normal polite speech you’d switch to -(으)세요, but a proverb always keeps this bare form — never 건너세요.
Eight proverbs to know (속담 8)
돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 — tap even a stone bridge before crossing → look before you leap 누워서 떡 먹기 — like eating rice cake lying down → a piece of cake, dead easy 티끌 모아 태산 — dust gathers into a great mountain → many a little makes a mickle 발 없는 말이 천 리 간다 — words with no feet travel a thousand 里 → rumors spread fast 가는 말이 고와야 오는 말이 곱다 — kind words out, kind words back → treat others well to be treated well 호랑이도 제 말 하면 온다 — speak of the tiger and it appears → speak of the devil 고래 싸움에 새우 등 터진다 — in a whale fight, the shrimp’s back bursts → the weak suffer in others’ battles 시작이 반이다 — starting is half (the work) → well begun is half done
Notice 발 없는 말이 천 리 간다 leans on a pun — 말 is both “word” and “horse.” These compact phrases carry a whole worldview, which is why Koreans drop them mid-conversation to land a point.
Talking about people with idioms
Two friends gossip lightly — idioms and -듯이, live:
See them weave together: 발이 넓다 / 입이 가볍다 / 입이 무겁다 sketch each person, 발 없는 말처럼 and 물 쓰듯이 add similes with -처럼/-듯이, and the proverbs 돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 / 티끌 모아 태산 land the advice. That’s idiomatic Korean in seven lines.
FAQ
What’s the difference between -듯이 and -듯? They mean the same thing — ‘just as / like’ — and -듯 is simply the shortened form of -듯이. Both attach to a verb or adjective stem to draw a vivid comparison: 물 쓰듯이 돈을 써요 / 물 쓰듯 돈을 써요 = spends money like water; 눈 녹듯이 사라졌어요 = vanished like snow melting. The longer -듯이 feels a touch more spoken; the clipped -듯 shows up a lot in set phrases and proverbs (물 흐르듯, 불 보듯 뻔하다 = obvious as seeing a fire). You can also use -듯이 with a past form to mean ‘as if’: 마치 본 듯이 말해요 = talks as if he saw it. For everyday similes, treat 쓰듯이 and 쓰듯 as interchangeable.
Why do proverbs use -아라/어라 instead of 하세요? -아라/어라 is the plain imperative — the blunt ‘do it!’ form with no politeness attached: 건너라 (cross!), 먹어라 (eat!), 보아라/봐라 (look!). Proverbs and old sayings are written in this timeless, authoritative voice, the way English proverbs use bare commands (‘Look before you leap’). So a saying like 돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 stays in -아라/어라, never 건너세요. You’ll also hear this form from parents to young kids and in writing, but in normal polite conversation you’d switch to -(으)세요 or 해요. Think of -아라/어라 as the ‘proverb and command’ register.
Are body idioms like 손이 크다 literal or fixed expressions? They’re fixed idioms — you can’t read them word by word. 손이 크다 literally says ‘hands are big,’ but it means ‘generous / cooks in large amounts,’ not anything about hand size. Likewise 발이 넓다 = well-connected (not ‘wide feet’), 입이 무겁다 = discreet (not ‘heavy mouth’), 귀가 얇다 = easily swayed (not ‘thin ears’), 눈이 높다 = picky/has high standards. Because they’re set, the adjective is locked: you say 발이 넓다, never 발이 크다, even though both sound like ‘big feet’ in English. Learn each 신체 관용어 (body idiom) as one whole unit, the way you’d learn a single word.
Next: asking favors & declining — -는 김에, -고 해서. Previous: social change — -는 줄, 이면. Full path: curriculum hub.