A2 Idiom Neutral

찬물을 끼얹다.

chanmureul kkieon-da.

Pour cold water (on enthusiasm).

Phrase in 30 Seconds

To dampen someone's enthusiasm or spoil a joyful atmosphere by saying something negative or unexpected.

  • Means: To ruin a good mood or stop someone's excitement abruptly.
  • Used in: Meetings, social gatherings, or when someone shares good news.
  • Don't confuse: It is not about actual water; it is purely metaphorical.
High energy + Negative comment = Awkward silence

Explanation at your level:

This phrase means to stop a happy mood. If people are happy and you say something bad, you are throwing cold water.
When people are excited about something, they are in a good mood. If you say something negative that makes everyone feel bad, you are 'throwing cold water' on them.
This idiom describes the act of dampening enthusiasm. It is used when someone makes a discouraging or pessimistic remark that abruptly ends a positive or joyful social atmosphere.
The idiom '찬물을 끼얹다' functions as a metaphor for social disruption. It characterizes the behavior of an individual who, through ill-timed criticism or negativity, effectively neutralizes the collective excitement of a group.
This phrase serves as a socio-linguistic marker for the violation of conversational 'nunchi'. It denotes the deliberate or inadvertent act of extinguishing the affective energy of a social gathering, often through the introduction of discordant or sobering information.
Syntactically, the phrase functions as a transitive idiom where the metaphorical object 'cold water' acts as an agent of emotional thermal regulation. It captures the cognitive dissonance between a group's shared positive affect and the sudden, jarring introduction of reality-based negativity.

Significado

To dampen someone's enthusiasm or spoil a joyful atmosphere.

🌍

Contexto cultural

Reflects the importance of 'nunchi' (reading the room).

💡

Context is key

Only use this when the mood is actually positive.

Significado

To dampen someone's enthusiasm or spoil a joyful atmosphere.

💡

Context is key

Only use this when the mood is actually positive.

Ponte a prueba

Fill in the blank with the correct verb.

그가 갑자기 우리 대화에 찬물을 ______.

✓ ¡Correcto! ✗ No del todo. Respuesta correcta: 끼얹었다

The idiom is '찬물을 끼얹다'.

🎉 Puntuación: /1

Ayudas visuales

Preguntas frecuentes

1 preguntas

No, it is too informal and metaphorical for professional writing.

Frases relacionadas

🔄

분위기를 깨다

synonym

To break the mood

Dónde usarla

💼

Office Meeting

Team Lead: We finally finished the project!

Colleague: But we are still over budget. Don't throw cold water on us yet.

formal

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Imagine a hot, happy party and someone dumping a bucket of ice water on the floor.

Visual Association

A bright, sunny room suddenly turning gray because someone opened a window to a storm.

Story

Min-su was excited about his promotion. He told his friend, who replied, 'But you'll have to work weekends now.' Min-su felt like cold water had been poured on his joy.

Word Web

분위기 (atmosphere)신나다 (excited)깨다 (break)부정적 (negative)기분 (mood)충격 (shock)

Desafío

Observe a conversation today and identify one moment where someone could have 'thrown cold water' but didn't.

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Echar un jarro de agua fría

Spanish uses 'jarro' (jug) while Korean uses the verb '끼얹다' (to splash).

French moderate

Jeter un froid

It describes the result (a cold atmosphere) rather than the action of pouring.

German partial

Jemandem den Wind aus den Segeln nehmen

German focuses on stopping progress; Korean focuses on ruining the mood.

Japanese high

冷や水を浴びせる

None; the cultural usage is nearly identical.

Arabic high

صب الماء البارد على

Used primarily for dampening enthusiasm.

Chinese high

泼冷水

Very concise, often used as a verb-object phrase.

Korean self

찬물을 끼얹다

N/A

Portuguese high

Jogar um balde de água fria

Uses 'bucket' (balde) instead of 'jug'.

Easily Confused

찬물을 끼얹다. vs 김을 빼다

Both mean to ruin enthusiasm.

김을 빼다 is more about deflating someone's ego or excitement; 찬물을 끼얹다 is about ruining the group's atmosphere.

Preguntas frecuentes (1)

No, it is too informal and metaphorical for professional writing.

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