KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Proverbs & idioms › 윗물이 맑아야 아랫물이 맑다

“Clear water upstream makes…” in Korean

윗물이 맑아야 아랫물이 맑다

winmuri malgaya araenmuri makda

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

Meaning

Clear water upstream makes clear water downstream.

Literally “only when upstream water is clear is downstream water clear.” When leaders or parents set a good example, those below follow.

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

Syllables: 12 · Words: 4

Said aloud, it sounds like [윈무리 말가야 아랜무리 막따].

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
윗물이
윗	ㅇ+ㅟ+ㅅ	[윈] win
물	ㅁ+ㅜ+ㄹ	[무] mu
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[리] ri
맑아야
맑	ㅁ+ㅏ+ㄺ	[말] mal
아	ㅇ+ㅏ	[가] ga
야	ㅇ+ㅑ	ya
아랫물이
아	ㅇ+ㅏ	a
랫	ㄹ+ㅐ+ㅅ	[랜] raen
물	ㅁ+ㅜ+ㄹ	[무] mu
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[리] ri
맑다
맑	ㅁ+ㅏ+ㄺ	[막] mak
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”.

Nasalization: a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ becomes ㅇ, ㄴ or ㅁ before ㄴ or ㅁ (and a ㄹ after ㅁ or ㅇ becomes ㄴ). 윗물이 → [윈무리]
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. 물이 → [무리]
Tensing: after a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). 맑다 → [막따]