“To be easily swayed by others” in Korean: 귀가 얇다

귀가 얇다

gwiga yalda

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

Meaning

To be easily swayed by others.

Literally “ears are thin.” It describes a person who quickly believes and follows other people’s opinions.

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

Describe someone who is easily persuaded by ads or salespeople. Use it in a sentence: 귀가 얇아서 자꾸 사요.

Literally it’s “ears are thin”, not about hearing. It’s mildly critical, so avoid saying it to someone’s face. In a sentence conjugate it: 귀가 얇아요.

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
귀가
귀	ㄱ+ㅟ	gwi
가	ㄱ+ㅏ	ga
얇다
얇	ㅇ+ㅑ+ㄼ	yal
다	ㄷ+ㅏ	da

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

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
귀	noun	ear	TOPIK level 1

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “귀가 얇다” mean?

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Answer: To be easily swayed by others

Question 2 How do you say “To be easily swayed by others” in Korean?

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Answer: 귀가 얇다 gwiga yalda

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