“Things have gotten urgent” in Korean: 발등에 불이 떨어졌다

발등에 불이 떨어졌다

baldeunge buri tteoreojyeotda

Situation: Proverbs & idiomsLevel: Advanced (TOPIK 5–6)

Meaning

Things have gotten urgent. The heat is on.

Literally “fire has fallen on the top of my foot”. An idiom for a deadline or crisis that forces you to act at once, like “the heat is on”.

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

Syllables: 9 · Words: 3

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
발등에
발	ㅂ+ㅏ+ㄹ	bal
등	ㄷ+ㅡ+ㅇ	deung
에	ㅇ+ㅔ	e
불이
불	ㅂ+ㅜ+ㄹ	[부] bu
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[리] ri
떨어졌다
떨	ㄸ+ㅓ+ㄹ	[떠] tteo
어	ㅇ+ㅓ	[러] reo
졌	ㅈ+ㅕ+ㅆ	[젿] jyeot
다	ㄷ+ㅏ	[따] da

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. 불이 → [부리]
Tensing: after a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). 졌다 → [젿따]

Style: Plain form (-다)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

Ends in -다. Common in proverbs, writing and the news, but not how you normally speak to the person in front of you.

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Question 1 What does “발등에 불이 떨어졌다” mean?

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Answer: Things have gotten urgent. The heat is on

Question 2 How do you say “Things have gotten urgent. The heat is on” in Korean?

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Answer: 발등에 불이 떨어졌다 baldeunge buri tteoreojyeotda

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