[Korean Culture & Language] Your eyes are high


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Photo by Pietro Jeng on Unsplash

There are many idioms based on the human body like ‘break a leg’ or ‘have one’s head in the clouds’. 

When Koreans say “눈 코 뜰 새 없다,” it is directly translated as “I don’t’ have time to open my eyes and nose”. Many people think that this idiom is used to accentuate the fact that they are so preoccupied that they don’t have time to move their ‘eyes’ or ‘nose’. However, ‘눈’ here actually refers to a ‘weave’ instead of an ‘eye,’ and ‘코’ refers to ‘mesh’ instead of a ‘nose’. So, the idiom actually means, “I am too busy that I didn’t even have time to weave a fishing net before fishing’. 


“이번 학기에 숙제가 너무 많아. 눈 코 뜰 새가 없어” means “I have way too much homework this semester. I am completely occupied”.



Photo by Quinten de Graaf on Unsplash

Another idiom, ‘눈이높다’ directly translates to “One’s Eyes are high”. Someone with “high eyes” has “high standards”.

Ex)
A: “넌 왜 여자친구 없어? 잘생기고 똑똑한데. (Why don’t you have a girlfriend? You’re good looking and smart.)”

B: “나도 모르겠어. 왜 없지? (I have no idea. Why don’t I?)”

A: “어떤 여자 좋아하는데? (What type of girl do you like?)”

B: “음… 바라는 거 별로 없는데. 운동 열심히 하고, 아이비리그 나오고, 피부 좋고, 착한 사람. (Umm… I don’t expect much. I want a girl who works out regularly, graduated from Ivy League, has perfect skin with doe-like eyes, and is sweet)

A: “뭐야. 눈이 심하게 높네! (Come on. Your standards are too high!)”


Numerous Korean idioms use the human body as the subject. Continue reading to find out more!

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