“Like a frog in a well, unaware…” in Korean

우물 안 개구리

umul an gaeguri

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

Meaning

Like a frog in a well, unaware of the wider world.

Literally “a frog in a well.” It describes someone who knows only a small world and has never seen the bigger picture.

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

Syllables: 6 · 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
우물
우	ㅇ+ㅜ	u
물	ㅁ+ㅜ+ㄹ	mul
안	ㅇ+ㅏ+ㄴ	an
개구리
개	ㄱ+ㅐ	gae
구	ㄱ+ㅜ	gu
리	ㄹ+ㅣ	ri

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Style: Set expressionSentence type: Statement or set phrase

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.

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 “우물 안 개구리” mean?

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Answer: Like a frog in a well, unaware of the wider world

Question 2 How do you say “Like a frog in a well, unaware of the wider world” in Korean?

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Answer: 우물 안 개구리 umul an gaeguri

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