경험을 쌓다
gyeongheomeul ssahda
gain experience
Phrase in 30 Seconds
Use this to describe the process of gaining skills or wisdom through active participation over time.
- Means: To accumulate experience like stacking bricks (max 15 words)
- Used in: Job interviews, resumes, and discussing personal growth (max 15 words)
- Don't confuse: Don't use 'get' (받다); use 'stack' (쌓다) for active effort (max 15 words)
Explanation at your level:
Significado
To accumulate knowledge or skill through practice.
Contexto cultural
The 'Spec' (스펙) culture drives many young Koreans to 'stack' experiences relentlessly. This includes high TOEIC scores, internships, and overseas volunteer work. There is a traditional proverb '고생은 사서도 한다' (You should even buy hardship to experience it), which encourages young people to 'stack' difficult experiences for future growth. In the workplace, 'stacking experience' is often synonymous with 'surviving' the hierarchy. The longer you stay, the more 'stones' you have in your wall of authority. In international Korean companies, 'global experience' (글로벌 경험) is highly valued, leading many to seek 'stacking' opportunities in branch offices abroad.
Resume Power
Use '경험을 쌓다' instead of '경험이 있다' on your resume to sound more proactive.
Don't use 'Get'
Avoid saying '경험을 얻다' or '경험을 받다'. It sounds like the experience was a gift rather than something you worked for.
Significado
To accumulate knowledge or skill through practice.
Resume Power
Use '경험을 쌓다' instead of '경험이 있다' on your resume to sound more proactive.
Don't use 'Get'
Avoid saying '경험을 얻다' or '경험을 받다'. It sounds like the experience was a gift rather than something you worked for.
Adverb Pairing
Pair it with '차곡차곡' (neatly/one by one) to sound like a very diligent and organized person.
The 'Spec' Context
If you hear young Koreans talking about 'stacking,' they are almost certainly talking about job qualifications.
Ponte a prueba
Fill in the blank with the correct form of '쌓다'.
저는 인턴십을 통해 많은 경험을 ( ).
The standard collocation for gaining experience is '경험을 쌓다'.
Which sentence is the most natural for a job interview?
면접에서 할 말로 가장 적절한 것은?
'실무 경험을 쌓다' is the most professional and natural way to describe work experience.
Complete the dialogue.
A: 왜 그렇게 열심히 아르바이트를 해? B: 돈도 벌고 ( ) 싶어서.
In the context of working to gain skills/knowledge, '쌓다' is the best fit.
Match the phrase to the situation.
Which phrase fits a 'Career Resume' best?
'경력을 쌓다' specifically means building a professional career.
🎉 Puntuación: /4
Ayudas visuales
Experience vs. Career
Preguntas frecuentes
10 preguntasUsually, no. '쌓다' implies building something useful. For bad things, use '겪다' (to undergo).
'경험' is general experience (life, travel, etc.), while '경력' is specifically professional work history.
Yes, it's grammatically correct, but '경험을 많이 쌓았어요' sounds more like you've grown from it.
You can say '경험이 없어요' or '경험을 쌓지 못했어요' (I haven't been able to build experience).
Yes! '지식을 쌓다' (to build knowledge) is a very common and natural expression.
It's neutral. It works in both casual talk and formal interviews.
Korean culture historically values the steady, vertical accumulation of effort, like building a stone tower.
'다양한' (diverse) and '풍부한' (rich/plentiful) are the most common.
You can say '추억을 쌓다', but '추억을 만들다' is slightly more common for memories.
Young people might say '스펙 쌓다' when focusing on job-related qualifications.
Frases relacionadas
경력을 쌓다
specialized formTo build a career history.
실력을 쌓다
similarTo build up one's skills/ability.
덕을 쌓다
similarTo do good deeds / build up virtue.
추억을 쌓다
similarTo build/make memories.
담을 쌓다
contrastTo build a wall against something.
Dónde usarla
Job Interview
Interviewer: 우리 회사에 지원한 이유가 무엇인가요?
Applicant: 이 분야에서 더 많은 실무 경험을 쌓고 싶어서 지원했습니다.
Talking to a Mentor
Student: 선생님, 방학 때 뭘 하면 좋을까요?
Mentor: 여행을 가거나 봉사활동을 하면서 다양한 경험을 쌓아 보세요.
Part-time Job
Friend A: 카페 알바 힘든데 왜 계속해?
Friend B: 힘들어도 사람 대하는 경험을 쌓을 수 있어서 좋아.
Studying Abroad
Parent: 외국 생활이 힘들지 않니?
Child: 조금 힘들지만, 여기서만 쌓을 수 있는 경험이 많아요.
Starting a Hobby
Person A: 그림 배우기 시작했다며?
Person B: 응, 아직 초보지만 차근차근 경험을 쌓아 보려고.
Resume Writing
Career Coach: 이 부분에 어떤 내용을 넣을까요?
Student: 동아리 활동을 통해 리더십 경험을 쌓았다는 내용을 넣고 싶어요.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Think of 'Ssatda' (쌓다) as 'Stacking' blocks of 'Gyeongheom' (Experience).
Visual Association
Imagine a person standing on a tall tower of colorful blocks. Each block has a label like 'Internship,' 'Travel,' or 'Mistake.' The higher the tower, the further they can see.
Rhyme
경험을 쌓다, 실력을 갖다 (Stack experience, have the skill).
Story
Min-su wanted to be a chef. He didn't just read books; he went to a restaurant and 'stacked' (쌓다) onion-chopping experience, then 'stacked' sauce-making experience. Now, his tower of experience is so high he is a head chef!
Word Web
Desafío
Write down three things you have 'stacked' (쌓았다) in the last year and one thing you want to 'stack' (쌓고 싶다) next year.
In Other Languages
To gain/build experience
Korean specifically uses the 'stacking' verb, which is more visual than 'gain'.
経験を積む (Keiken o tsumu)
Almost no difference in usage or nuance.
积累经验 (Jīlěi jīngyàn)
Chinese feels slightly more abstract/formal than the physical 'stacking' in Korean.
Ganar experiencia
Spanish focuses on 'earning' it like a prize; Korean focuses on 'building' it like a wall.
Acquérir de l'expérience
French is more formal/legalistic; Korean is more visual/physical.
Erfahrung sammeln
German 'collects' experiences; Korean 'stacks' them vertically.
اكتساب الخبرة (Iktisab al-khibra)
Arabic focuses on the state of acquisition.
Ganhar experiência
Focuses on the result of having the experience.
Easily Confused
Learners often use the simple verb 'to experience' when they mean 'to gain experience over time.'
Use '경험하다' for a single event (e.g., experiencing a culture shock). Use '경험을 쌓다' for a long-term process (e.g., working in an industry).
Both mean to experience, but '체험' is more about 'hands-on' or 'physical' experience.
'체험' is often used for short-term programs like 'temple stay' or 'pottery making.'
Preguntas frecuentes (10)
Usually, no. '쌓다' implies building something useful. For bad things, use '겪다' (to undergo).
'경험' is general experience (life, travel, etc.), while '경력' is specifically professional work history.
Yes, it's grammatically correct, but '경험을 많이 쌓았어요' sounds more like you've grown from it.
You can say '경험이 없어요' or '경험을 쌓지 못했어요' (I haven't been able to build experience).
Yes! '지식을 쌓다' (to build knowledge) is a very common and natural expression.
It's neutral. It works in both casual talk and formal interviews.
Korean culture historically values the steady, vertical accumulation of effort, like building a stone tower.
'다양한' (diverse) and '풍부한' (rich/plentiful) are the most common.
You can say '추억을 쌓다', but '추억을 만들다' is slightly more common for memories.
Young people might say '스펙 쌓다' when focusing on job-related qualifications.
