KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Proverbs & idioms › 공든 탑이 무너지랴
“A tower built with devotion won’t crumble” in Korean
공든 탑이 무너지랴
gongdeun tabi muneojirya
Meaning
A tower built with devotion won’t crumble.
Usage note
Literally “would a tower built with effort ever fall?” The rhetorical -랴 implies “of course not”, encouraging the belief that sincere effort never goes to waste.
Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.
How to pronounce it
Said aloud, it sounds like [공든 타비 무너지랴].
| Syllable | Letters (consonant + vowel + final) | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 공든 | ||
| 공 | ㄱ+ㅗ+ㅇ | gong |
| 든 | ㄷ+ㅡ+ㄴ | deun |
| 탑이 | ||
| 탑 | ㅌ+ㅏ+ㅂ | [타] ta |
| 이 | ㅇ+ㅣ | [비] bi |
| 무너지랴 | ||
| 무 | ㅁ+ㅜ | mu |
| 너 | ㄴ+ㅓ | neo |
| 지 | ㅈ+ㅣ | ji |
| 랴 | ㄹ+ㅑ | rya |
A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.
Sound changes in this phrase
- 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. 탑이 → [타비]
Speech style
There is no verb ending, so the phrase has no politeness level of its own: it is a short fixed expression or a noun phrase.
Quick self-check
Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.
Question 1 What does “공든 탑이 무너지랴” mean?
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Answer: A tower built with devotion won’t crumble
Question 2 How do you say “A tower built with devotion won’t crumble” in Korean?
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Answer: 공든 탑이 무너지랴 gongdeun tabi muneojirya
Question 3 How is “공든 탑이 무너지랴” pronounced?
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Answer: [공든 타비 무너지랴]
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Practice in the gameMore phrases for this situation
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- 까마귀 날자 배 떨어진다A coincidence that makes you look guilty
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