“To have a wide circle of acquaintances” in Korean

발이 넓다

bari neolda

Situation: Proverbs & idiomsLevel: Intermediate (TOPIK 3–4)

Meaning

To have a wide circle of acquaintances.

Literally “feet are wide.” It describes someone who goes everywhere and knows many people, much like “well-connected” in English.

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

Syllables: 4 · Words: 2

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
발이
발	ㅂ+ㅏ+ㄹ	[바] ba
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[리] ri
넓다
넓	ㄴ+ㅓ+ㄼ	neol
다	ㄷ+ㅏ	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. 발이 → [바리]

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.

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

Korean	Part of speech	Meaning	Level
발	noun	foot	TOPIK level 1

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Question 1 What does “발이 넓다” mean?

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Answer: To have a wide circle of acquaintances

Question 2 How do you say “To have a wide circle of acquaintances” in Korean?

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Answer: 발이 넓다 bari neolda

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