KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Feelings & cheering › 가슴이 먹먹해서 아무 말도 안 나와요

“I’m so choked up that I can’t say a word” in Korean

가슴이 먹먹해서 아무 말도 안 나와요

gaseumi meongmeokaeseo amu maldo an nawayo

Situation: Feelings & cheeringLevel: Advanced (TOPIK 5–6)

Meaning

I’m so choked up that I can’t say a word.

먹먹하다 describes a chest so tight with sadness or emotion that words will not come. It can also describe ears feeling blocked.

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

Syllables: 15 · Words: 6

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
가슴이
가	ㄱ+ㅏ	ga
슴	ㅅ+ㅡ+ㅁ	[스] seu
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[미] mi
먹먹해서
먹	ㅁ+ㅓ+ㄱ	[멍] meong
먹	ㅁ+ㅓ+ㄱ	[머] meo
해	ㅎ+ㅐ	[캐] kae
서	ㅅ+ㅓ	seo
아무
아	ㅇ+ㅏ	a
무	ㅁ+ㅜ	mu
말도
말	ㅁ+ㅏ+ㄹ	mal
도	ㄷ+ㅗ	do
안	ㅇ+ㅏ+ㄴ	an
나와요
나	ㄴ+ㅏ	na
와	ㅇ+ㅘ	wa
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. 슴이 → [스미]
Nasalization: a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ becomes ㅇ, ㄴ or ㅁ before ㄴ or ㅁ (and a ㄹ after ㅁ or ㅇ becomes ㄴ). 먹먹해 → [멍머캐]
Aspiration: ㅎ next to ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ or ㅈ blends with it into ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ or ㅊ. 먹해 → [머캐]

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
안	adverb	not (negation)	TOPIK level 1

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Question 1 What does “가슴이 먹먹해서 아무 말도 안 나와요” mean?

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Answer: I’m so choked up that I can’t say a word

Question 2 How do you say “I’m so choked up that I can’t say a word” in Korean?

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Answer: 가슴이 먹먹해서 아무 말도 안 나와요 gaseumi meongmeokaeseo amu maldo an nawayo

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그 소식을 듣고 눈앞이 캄캄했어요When I heard the news, everything went dark before my eyes
발 벗고 나서 주셔서 감사할 따름입니다I can’t thank you enough for stepping in so willingly
속에 담아 둔 말을 했더니 후련해졌어요I felt relieved after saying what I’d kept bottled up
마음 한구석이 짠해서 눈물이 날 것 같아요Something tugs at my heart and I’m close to tears
실패에 굴하지 않고 다시 일어서는 모습이 멋져요It’s admirable to see someone get back up without giving in to failure
모든 일이 잘 풀리길 바랄게요I hope everything works out well for you