KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Feelings & cheering › 마음 한구석이 짠해서 눈물이 날 것 같아요

“Something tugs at my heart and…” in Korean

마음 한구석이 짠해서 눈물이 날 것 같아요

maeum hanguseogi jjanhaeseo nunmuri nal geot gatayo

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

Meaning

Something tugs at my heart and I’m close to tears.

짠하다 is a tender ache of pity or sympathy for someone. 마음 한구석 (“a corner of the heart”) conveys a quiet sadness that wells up inside.

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

Syllables: 17 · 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
마음
마	ㅁ+ㅏ	ma
음	ㅇ+ㅡ+ㅁ	eum
한구석이
한	ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ	han
구	ㄱ+ㅜ	gu
석	ㅅ+ㅓ+ㄱ	[서] seo
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[기] gi
짠해서
짠	ㅉ+ㅏ+ㄴ	jjan
해	ㅎ+ㅐ	hae
서	ㅅ+ㅓ	seo
눈물이
눈	ㄴ+ㅜ+ㄴ	nun
물	ㅁ+ㅜ+ㄹ	[무] mu
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[리] ri
날	ㄴ+ㅏ+ㄹ	nal
것	ㄱ+ㅓ+ㅅ	[걷] geot
같아요
같	ㄱ+ㅏ+ㅌ	[가] ga
아	ㅇ+ㅏ	[타] ta
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. 석이 → [서기]
Final-sound reduction: every final consonant is pronounced as one of seven sounds — ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ or ㅇ. 것 → [걷]

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
마음	noun	heart, mind	TOPIK level 1
눈물	noun	tears	TOPIK level 2

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “마음 한구석이 짠해서 눈물이 날 것 같아요” mean?

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Answer: Something tugs at my heart and I’m close to tears

Question 2 How do you say “Something tugs at my heart and I’m close to tears” in Korean?

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Answer: 마음 한구석이 짠해서 눈물이 날 것 같아요 maeum hanguseogi jjanhaeseo nunmuri nal geot gatayo

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속에 담아 둔 말을 했더니 후련해졌어요I felt relieved after saying what I’d kept bottled up
실패에 굴하지 않고 다시 일어서는 모습이 멋져요It’s admirable to see someone get back up without giving in to failure
발 벗고 나서 주셔서 감사할 따름입니다I can’t thank you enough for stepping in so willingly
그 소식을 듣고 눈앞이 캄캄했어요When I heard the news, everything went dark before my eyes
가슴이 먹먹해서 아무 말도 안 나와요I’m so choked up that I can’t say a word
모든 일이 잘 풀리길 바랄게요I hope everything works out well for you