[Korean Culture & Language] Long Tails Get Caught

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When someone is caught or arrested for doing something wrong, we say that ‘one is busted.’

In Korean, it is called ‘들키다’ or ‘들통나다.’


‘들통’ originally refers to a container that has nothing inside that you can see its bottom. 

Nowadays, the word is used to describe a situation where one’s secret has become revealed or caught.


Ex) 

A: 너 어제도 경제 수업 빠지고 민지랑 데이트 하지 않았어? 오늘도 빠지게?
A: Didn’t you miss the Econ class yesterday and go on a date with Min-Ji yesterday? Are you doing that again today?
B: 괜찮아. 준이가 대리출석 해 주고 있어.
B: It’s okay. June is covering for me and saying my name for roll call.

A: 그러다 곧 들통난다. 꼬리가 길면 잡히는 법이야.
A: You’re going to get busted soon. If you have long tails, you’ll get caught.

B: 알지. 그래서 오늘까지만 하려고!

B: I know. Today will be my last day doing this!
A: 좋은 생각이야.
A: That’s a good idea.



‘꼬리가 길면 잡히는 법’ is directly translated to ‘If you have long tails, you’ll get caught.’


‘꼬리’ means ‘tail’

‘길다’ means ‘long’

‘잡히다’ means ‘get caught’

‘법’ means ‘rule’ or ‘surely’


It’s an old Korean idiom that means ‘if you continue doing something (usually something wrong) for a long time, people will find out (you will get caught).’


Have you ever had a ‘long tail’ and been caught before?

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