Personality, Told Through Body Parts🦵👀👄

Korean has a habit of describing personality through the body. Someone's social skill, honesty, or judgment often gets pinned to a body part instead of a plain adjective. Here are some worth knowing.

발이 넓다 (wide feet)

Describes someone who's well-connected and knows a lot of people. Think of the friend who seems to know someone everywhere you go.

She's super well-connected, she knows people in every industry.

그 사람은 발이 넓어서 모르는 업계가 없어요.

입이 무겁다 (heavy mouth)

Used for someone who's good at keeping secrets. The opposite, someone who can't hold anything in, is 입이 가볍다 (light mouth).

You can trust him with anything, he never repeats what you tell him.

그 사람은 입이 무거워서 뭘 말해도 안전해요.

낯을 가리다 (picky about faces)

Describes someone who's shy or reserved around new people, taking time to warm up before acting comfortable. It's not the same as being generally shy, it's specifically about strangers.

I take a while to open up around people I just met.

저는 낯을 가리는 편이라 처음 보는 사람이랑은 좀 어색해요.

귀가 얇다 (thin ears)

Describes someone who's easily swayed by what other people say, the type who changes their opinion or makes decisions based on the last person they talked to.

He's easily influenced, he changes his mind whenever someone gives him advice.

걔는 귀가 얇아서 누가 뭐라고 하면 바로 마음이 바뀌어요.

손이 크다 (big hands)

Describes someone who's generous, especially with money or food. It's usually said about someone who cooks too much or buys too much without meaning to.

My mom always makes way more food than we need, she's generous like that.

우리 엄마는 손이 커서 항상 음식을 필요한 것보다 훨씬 많이 만들어요.

간이 크다 (big liver)

Describes someone who's bold or fearless, sometimes to the point of being reckless. The opposite, someone who's timid, is 간이 작다 (small liver).

He's got nerve, he asked the CEO directly for a raise.

그 사람 간이 크다, CEO한테 직접 연봉 인상을 요청했대.

얼굴이 두껍다 (thick face)

Describes someone who's shameless, unbothered by things that would normally be embarrassing.

He has no shame, he asked to borrow money again right after not paying me back.

걔는 얼굴이 두꺼워서 돈 안 갚고도 또 빌려달라고 해.

코가 높다 (high nose)

Describes someone who's arrogant or full of themselves.

She's pretty full of herself since she got that promotion.

그 사람 승진하고 나서 코가 높아졌어.

눈이 높다 (high eyes)

Describes someone with high standards, whether it's about people, products, or anything they're evaluating.

He's picky, none of the apartments we've seen are good enough for him.

걔는 눈이 높아서 우리가 본 집들 중에 마음에 드는 게 하나도 없대.