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Grammar / Level 4 / Lesson 117

의성어 and 의태어: sound and shape words

By Daniel Buckley · 13 minute read · TOPIK 5

Vocabulary

  1. 의성어 - a word that imitates a sound
  2. 의태어 - a word that imitates a look or movement
  3. 빛나다 - to shine
  4. 흐르다 - to flow
  5. 끓다 - to boil
  6. 떨어지다 - to fall, to drop
  7. 어지럽다 - to be dizzy
  8. 쑤시다 - to ache, to throb
  9. 졸다 - to doze
  10. 기침 - a cough

A Korean review won't just say the chicken was good. It'll say the skin was 바삭바삭 and the rice cakes were 쫄깃쫄깃, while the stew went 보글보글 on the stove. Words like these are everywhere in Korean, in novels and adverts and at the doctor's, and they're not baby talk.

English has some of this, in "crunch", "sizzle" and "plop". Korean has thousands of them, and they follow patterns. Once you see the patterns, you can often feel what a new one means before you look it up.

Two kinds of word

의성어 imitate a sound. 의태어 imitate a look, a movement or a feeling, which is the part English barely has. Korean dictionaries list most of both as adverbs, and that's how they usually work: they sit right before the verb.

  1. 개가 멍멍 짖어요.

    The dog is going woof woof.

  2. 비가 주룩주룩 와요.

    The rain is pouring down.

  3. 아기가 쿨쿨 자요.

    The baby is fast asleep.

  4. 배에서 꼬르륵 소리가 나요.

    My stomach is rumbling.

  5. 물을 꿀꺽 마셨어요.

    I gulped the water down.

Those are sounds. The next group makes no noise at all. Look at the English, because it does something the Korean doesn't: it picks a different verb.

  1. 별이 반짝반짝 빛나요.

    The stars are twinkling.

  2. 토끼가 깡충깡충 뛰어가요.

    The rabbit is hopping along.

  3. 아이가 살금살금 방에 들어갔어요.

    The child crept into the room.

  4. 혼자 터벅터벅 걸어서 집에 갔어요.

    I trudged home alone.

  5. 학생이 수업 시간에 꾸벅꾸벅 졸아요.

    The student is nodding off in class.

That's the main thing to take from this section. English has "trudge", "creep" and "stagger". Korean keeps the plain verb 걷다 or 가다 and lets the shape word carry the manner, so these words do a job you can't skip.

※ Korean animals say different things from English ones: 멍멍 for a dog, 야옹 for a cat, 꿀꿀 for a pig, 음매 for a cow, 꼬끼오 for a rooster and 개굴개굴 for a frog. That last one is hiding in 개구리, the word for a frog.

Bright vowels and dark vowels

You met the split between ㅏ, ㅗ and everything else when you learned 아요 and 어요. In these words the split carries meaning. ㅏ and ㅗ sound small, light and quick, while ㅓ, ㅜ and ㅡ sound big, heavy and slow.

Small and light, big and heavy

  • The same word with its vowels swapped:퐁당: a pebble → 풍덩: a person졸졸: a trickle → 줄줄: a stream찰랑찰랑: ripples → 출렁출렁: swell깡충깡충: a rabbit → 껑충껑충: a deer반짝: a star → 번쩍: lightning

  1. 돌이 물에 퐁당 빠졌어요.

    The pebble went plop into the water.

  2. 친구가 바다에 풍덩 뛰어들었어요.

    My friend plunged into the sea.

  3. 물이 졸졸 흘러요.

    The water is trickling.

  4. 땀이 줄줄 흘러요.

    The sweat is pouring off me.

Colours do the same thing. 노랗다 is a bright yellow, and 누렇다 is a dull, brownish one. 파랗다 and 퍼렇다 split in the same way.

Plain, tense and breathy

Consonants work as a volume control. The same word with a tense consonant like ㄲ or ㅉ feels sharper, and with an aspirated one like ㅋ or ㅊ it feels stronger or rougher. Dictionaries say this outright: their entry for 쫄깃쫄깃 says it feels stronger than 졸깃졸깃.

  1. 밖이 깜깜해요.

    It's very dark outside.

  2. 방이 캄캄해요.

    The room is pitch black.

  3. 같은 길을 빙빙 돌았어요.

    We went round and round the same streets.

  4. 머리가 핑핑 돌아요.

    My head is spinning.

You don't need to produce these sets. You only need to recognise that 빙빙 and 핑핑 are one word at two strengths, and not look them up twice.

One beat or many

Doubling a word usually means the thing keeps happening. Said once, it happens once. That's why so many of these look doubled: most things that make a noise make it more than once.

  1. 문을 쾅 닫았어요.

    I slammed the door.

  2. 누가 문을 쾅쾅 두드려요.

    Someone is pounding on the door.

  3. 물이 똑 떨어졌어요.

    A drop of water fell.

  4. 문을 똑똑 두드렸어요.

    I knocked on the door.

You've probably used some single ones without noticing. These are shape words too, and they're some of the most common words in Korean.

  1. 오늘은 집에서 푹 쉬세요.

    Have a good rest at home today.

  2. 손잡이를 꽉 잡으세요.

    Hold on tight to the handle.

  3. 이 길로 쭉 가세요.

    Go straight down this road.

  4. 약속을 깜빡 잊었어요.

    The appointment slipped my mind.

  1. 아기가 쿨쿨 자요.

  2. 별이 반짝반짝 빛나요.

  3. 개가 멍멍 짖어요.

  4. 아이가 살금살금 들어갔어요.

  5. 돌이 퐁당 빠졌어요.

  6. 터벅터벅 걸었어요.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

Making them verbs: 하다, 거리다, 대다 and 이다

The adverb use isn't the only one. Add 하다 to a doubled word and you have a word for a state or a feeling, and many of these are adjectives. This is how you'd describe food: 이 떡은 쫄깃쫄깃해요.

거리다 makes a verb for something that keeps on happening, and it goes on the single form of the word. 대다 means the same and is just as correct, and the dictionary gives them as equals. Don't mix it up with 아/어 대다: that one goes on the 아/어 form of a verb, and this one goes on the root.

From shape word to verb

  • 하다: on the doubled word, for a state or feeling.말랑말랑 → 말랑말랑하다어질어질 → 어질어질하다
  • 거리다, 대다: drop the doubling, then add. It keeps happening.두근두근 → 두근거리다, 두근대다끈적끈적 → 끈적거리다소곤소곤 → 소곤거리다비틀비틀 → 비틀거리다
  • One-syllable roots usually stay doubled.깔깔 → 깔깔거리다킥킥 → 킥킥거리다쿵쿵 → 쿵쿵거리다
  • 이다: some roots only, and the result is an ordinary verb.반짝 → 반짝이다깜빡 → 깜빡이다끄덕 → 끄덕이다

Pick a verb

두근거리다두근거리두근거려요

  1. 가슴이 두근거려요.

    My heart is pounding.

  2. 바닥이 끈적거려요.

    The floor is sticky.

  3. 뒤에 앉은 학생들이 소곤거려요.

    The students at the back are whispering.

  4. 친구가 비틀거리면서 걸어왔어요.

    My friend came staggering over.

  5. 아이들이 깔깔거렸어요.

    The kids shrieked with laughter.

  6. 화면이 계속 깜빡여요.

    The screen keeps flickering.

  7. 민수 씨가 고개를 끄덕였어요.

    Minsu nodded.

※ A last family doesn't repeat: it rhymes. 허둥지둥 is flustered, 티격태격 is bickering, 싱글벙글 is beaming and 알록달록 is brightly coloured. The grammar is the same as for the others.

At the table and at the doctor's

If you learn a dozen of these, learn them for food and for pain. Food writing runs on them, and they're a normal way to say how something hurts. A doctor can do more with 욱신욱신 than with 아파요.

  1. 이 치킨은 정말 바삭바삭해요.

    This chicken is really crispy.

  2. 사과가 아삭아삭해요.

    The apple is nice and crisp.

  3. 떡이 쫄깃쫄깃해요.

    The rice cake is chewy.

  4. 찌개가 보글보글 끓고 있어요.

    The stew is bubbling away.

  5. 고기가 지글지글 익어요.

    The meat is sizzling.

  1. 머리가 지끈지끈 아파요.

    I have a throbbing headache.

  2. 어깨가 욱신욱신 쑤셔요.

    My shoulder throbs.

  3. 목이 따끔따끔해요.

    My throat stings.

  4. 속이 메슥거려요.

    I feel queasy.

  5. 머리가 어질어질해요.

    I feel dizzy.

A

어디가 불편해서 오셨어요?

Where uncomfortable, so came?

B

머리가 지끈지끈 아프고 목도 따끔따끔해요.

Head throbbing hurts and throat also stings.

A

기침도 하세요?

Cough also do?

B

네, 밤에 콜록콜록 기침을 해서 잠을 못 자요.

Yes, at night cough-cough cough, so sleep can't.

A

어지러우세요?

Dizzy?

B

네, 일어나면 머리가 어질어질해요.

Yes, when get up head is dizzy.

A

감기네요. 약 드시고 집에서 푹 쉬세요.

A cold, I see. Medicine take and at home deeply rest.

Common mistakes

  1. 가슴이 두근두근거려요.

    가슴이 두근거려요.

    거리다 goes on the single form of a two-syllable root.

  2. 이 치킨은 바삭바삭이에요.

    이 치킨은 바삭바삭해요.

    Dictionaries list these as adverbs, not nouns, so the standard verb is 바삭바삭하다.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

별이 ___ 빛나요. (반짝, doubled) The stars are twinkling.

It keeps happening, so double it.

Summary

Reading a sound or shape word

  • Vowels: ㅏ and ㅗ are small and light. ㅓ, ㅜ and ㅡ are big and heavy.퐁당, 풍덩
  • Consonants: tense and aspirated forms are stronger.깜깜하다, 캄캄하다
  • Doubling: it happens again and again.쾅, 쾅쾅
  • 하다: a state or a feeling.쫄깃쫄깃하다
  • 거리다, 대다: it keeps happening.두근거리다, 두근대다
  • 이다: some roots only.반짝이다

Now you can say

  1. 오늘은 집에서 푹 쉬세요.

    Have a good rest at home today.

  2. 머리가 지끈지끈 아파요.

    I have a throbbing headache.

  3. 가슴이 두근거려요.

    My heart is pounding.

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