다리에 힘이 풀리다.
4109
Legs give way
Phrase in 30 Seconds
Use this when your legs feel like jelly because you're shocked, terrified, or completely exhausted.
- Means: To lose strength in your legs due to intense emotion or fatigue.
- Used in: Scary situations, hearing bad news, or after intense physical exercise.
- Don't confuse: With just having 'sore legs' from walking too much.
Explanation at your level:
المعنى
To feel one's legs weaken or buckle, often from shock, fear, or exhaustion.
خلفية ثقافية
Koreans use 'body idioms' to express sincerity. Collapsing or having weak legs is seen as a genuine, uncontrollable reaction to news, often depicted in media to show a character's deep emotional investment. The Japanese equivalent 'knees are laughing' shows a more humorous take on the physical shaking of legs, though it is used in similar stressful contexts. In the age of social media, this phrase is often used in 'reaction' posts to describe meeting a favorite celebrity or seeing a shocking plot twist in a show. The use of passive voice in Korean idioms (like '풀리다') often suggests that the person is a victim of their emotions, rather than in control of them.
Pair it with '주저앉다'
To sound more native, use '다리에 힘이 풀려 주저앉았다' (My legs gave out and I slumped down). It's a very common combination.
Don't use with '을'
Never say '다리에 힘을 풀리다'. The particle must be '이' because it's a passive state.
المعنى
To feel one's legs weaken or buckle, often from shock, fear, or exhaustion.
Pair it with '주저앉다'
To sound more native, use '다리에 힘이 풀려 주저앉았다' (My legs gave out and I slumped down). It's a very common combination.
Don't use with '을'
Never say '다리에 힘을 풀리다'. The particle must be '이' because it's a passive state.
Use for relief too!
Many learners only use this for fear. Using it for relief (e.g., after a hard exam) shows a higher level of language mastery.
اختبر نفسك
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the idiom.
너무 무서운 영화를 봐서 다리에 힘이 ( ).
The past tense '풀렸어요' is most natural here as it describes the result of watching the movie.
Which situation is most appropriate for this idiom?
언제 '다리에 힘이 풀리다'를 사용할까요?
This idiom is used for shock or relief, such as a near-accident.
Complete the dialogue.
가: 합격 소식 들었어? 나: 응, 너무 기뻐서 ( ).
Slumping down due to relief/joy is a classic use of this idiom.
Match the feeling to the idiom.
Match 'Extreme Relief' with the correct phrase.
Relief often causes the physical sensation of legs going weak.
🎉 النتيجة: /4
وسائل تعلم بصرية
الأسئلة الشائعة
10 أسئلةYes! If someone is so attractive that you feel weak, you can say '그 사람을 보고 다리에 힘이 풀렸어요.' It's a bit dramatic but common in romance.
Yes, it's a shortened version. '다리에 힘이 풀리다' is more complete, but '다리 풀렸다' is very common in casual speech.
The phrase itself is neutral. You can make it formal by using '-습니다' or informal by using '-어'.
'떨리다' means shaking/trembling. '풀리다' means the strength is gone. You can be shaking but still standing; if your legs '풀리다', you likely need to sit down.
It's much less common. Usually, for arms, we say '팔에 힘이 빠지다'. '다리에 힘이 풀리다' is the set idiom.
This is exactly the phrase you need: '다리에 힘이 풀렸어요.'
Yes, in novels or descriptive news articles, but not in a dry business report or a legal document.
Not necessarily, but it implies you *almost* fell or felt like you could have.
Yes, like winning the lottery or a surprise party, as long as the shock is big enough to be physical.
The Hanja for '힘' is {力|력}, though it is almost always written in Hangul in this idiom.
عبارات ذات صلة
다리가 후들거리다
similarLegs are trembling
맥이 풀리다
similarTo lose one's energy or spirit
간이 콩알만 해지다
relatedTo be extremely scared (liver becomes as small as a bean)
기진맥진하다
specialized formTo be exhausted to the point of collapse
أين تستخدمها
Watching a Horror Movie
A: 방금 그 장면 봤어? 진짜 무서웠지?
B: 응, 너무 놀라서 지금 다리에 힘이 풀렸어.
Receiving Exam Results
딸: 엄마, 저 장학금 받게 됐어요!
엄마: 어머, 정말? 다행이다... 엄마는 너무 기뻐서 다리에 힘이 풀리네.
After a Near-Miss Accident
운전자: 죄송합니다, 정말 큰일 날 뻔했네요.
보행자: 괜찮아요... 근데 너무 놀라서 다리에 힘이 풀려 못 걷겠어요.
Finishing a Marathon
친구 1: 드디어 결승점이다! 기분이 어때?
친구 2: 말도 마. 지금 다리에 힘이 다 풀려서 바로 눕고 싶어.
A Surprise Proposal
남자: 나랑 결혼해 줄래?
여자: 세상에... 너무 깜짝 놀라서 다리에 힘이 풀려.
Hearing Bad News at Work
부장: 김 대리, 이번 프로젝트가 취소되었다네.
김 대리: 네? 그 소식을 들으니 정말 다리에 힘이 풀리는군요.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Think of your legs as 'Dali' (다리) paintings—melting and soft like the clocks in his famous artwork.
Visual Association
Imagine a marionette puppet whose strings are suddenly cut. The legs collapse instantly because there is no 'him' (힘/strength) holding them up.
Rhyme
Darie himi pulli-da, now I'm on the mulli-da (floor).
Story
You are walking through a haunted house. Suddenly, a ghost jumps out! You try to run, but your legs turn into cooked noodles. You can't move because the 'strength' (힘) has been 'unplugged' (풀리다) from your 'legs' (다리).
Word Web
تحدٍّ
Next time you finish a very hard workout or see something shocking in a K-drama, say out loud: '와, 진짜 다리에 힘이 풀리네!'
In Other Languages
My legs turned to jelly / My knees buckled
English often uses a simile (like jelly), whereas Korean uses a passive verb (loosened).
膝が笑う (hiza ga warau)
Japanese focuses on the shaking (trembling), while Korean focuses on the loss of strength.
吓得腿软 (xià de tuǐ ruǎn)
Chinese explicitly mentions the cause (scared) within the common phrase structure.
Temblar las piernas
Spanish emphasizes the visible shaking more than the internal feeling of strength leaving.
Avoir les jambes en coton
French uses a noun (cotton) to describe the quality of the legs.
Weiche Knie bekommen
Focuses specifically on the knees rather than the whole leg.
ارتجفت فرائصه (irtajafat fara'isuhu)
Focuses on the upper body/shoulders rather than the legs.
Ficar com as pernas bambas
The word 'bamba' implies unsteadiness more than a total release of strength.
Easily Confused
Learners use the active '풀다' instead of passive '풀리다'.
Remember: '풀다' is what you do to your shoelaces; '풀리다' is what happens to your legs when you see a ghost.
Both involve strange leg sensations.
'저리다' is 'pins and needles' (numbness); '힘이 풀리다' is 'weakness' (no power).
الأسئلة الشائعة (10)
Yes! If someone is so attractive that you feel weak, you can say '그 사람을 보고 다리에 힘이 풀렸어요.' It's a bit dramatic but common in romance.
Yes, it's a shortened version. '다리에 힘이 풀리다' is more complete, but '다리 풀렸다' is very common in casual speech.
The phrase itself is neutral. You can make it formal by using '-습니다' or informal by using '-어'.
'떨리다' means shaking/trembling. '풀리다' means the strength is gone. You can be shaking but still standing; if your legs '풀리다', you likely need to sit down.
It's much less common. Usually, for arms, we say '팔에 힘이 빠지다'. '다리에 힘이 풀리다' is the set idiom.
This is exactly the phrase you need: '다리에 힘이 풀렸어요.'
Yes, in novels or descriptive news articles, but not in a dry business report or a legal document.
Not necessarily, but it implies you *almost* fell or felt like you could have.
Yes, like winning the lottery or a surprise party, as long as the shock is big enough to be physical.
The Hanja for '힘' is {力|력}, though it is almost always written in Hangul in this idiom.
