KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Café & daily life › 요즘은 일과 삶의 균형을 맞추려고 노력 중이에요

“Lately I’ve been working on…” in Korean

요즘은 일과 삶의 균형을 맞추려고 노력 중이에요

yojeumeun ilgwa salmui gyunhyeongeul matchuryeogo noryeok jungieyo

Situation: Café & daily lifeLevel: Advanced (TOPIK 5–6)

Meaning

Lately I’ve been working on balancing work and life.

균형을 맞추다 means “to strike a balance,” and -는 중이다 means “in the middle of doing.” Young people often shorten the idea to 워라밸 (work-life balance).

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 20 · Words: 7

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
요즘은
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo
즘	ㅈ+ㅡ+ㅁ	[즈] jeu
은	ㅇ+ㅡ+ㄴ	[믄] meun
일과
일	ㅇ+ㅣ+ㄹ	il
과	ㄱ+ㅘ	gwa
삶의
삶	ㅅ+ㅏ+ㄻ	sam
의	ㅇ+ㅢ	ui
균형을
균	ㄱ+ㅠ+ㄴ	gyun
형	ㅎ+ㅕ+ㅇ	hyeong
을	ㅇ+ㅡ+ㄹ	eul
맞추려고
맞	ㅁ+ㅏ+ㅈ	[맏] mat
추	ㅊ+ㅜ	chu
려	ㄹ+ㅕ	ryeo
고	ㄱ+ㅗ	go
노력
노	ㄴ+ㅗ	no
력	ㄹ+ㅕ+ㄱ	ryeok
중이에요
중	ㅈ+ㅜ+ㅇ	jung
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	i
에	ㅇ+ㅔ	e
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 즘은 → [즈믄]
Final-sound reduction: every final consonant is pronounced as one of seven sounds — ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ or ㅇ. 맞추 → [맏추]

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.

These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).

Korean	Part of speech	Meaning	Level
균형	noun	balance	TOPIK level 5

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “요즘은 일과 삶의 균형을 맞추려고 노력 중이에요” mean?

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Answer: Lately I’ve been working on balancing work and life

Question 2 How do you say “Lately I’ve been working on balancing work and life” in Korean?

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Answer: 요즘은 일과 삶의 균형을 맞추려고 노력 중이에요 yojeumeun ilgwa salmui gyunhyeongeul matchuryeogo noryeok jungieyo

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커피를 줄이려고 해도 좀처럼 쉽지 않네요Even when I try to cut back on coffee, it’s really not easy
집안일은 미루면 미룰수록 더 쌓여요The more you put off housework, the more it piles up
시간 가는 줄 모르고 수다를 떨었어요We chatted away without noticing the time
하루가 눈 깜짝할 새에 지나갔어요The day flew by in the blink of an eye
일찍 자는 습관을 들이려고 해요I’m trying to build a habit of going to bed early
진동벨이 울리면 가져갈게요I’ll come get it when the buzzer rings