B1 Idiom Neutre

발목을 묶다.

4110

Hinder progress

Phrase in 30 Seconds

Use this when someone or something is preventing you from moving forward or leaving a situation.

  • Means: To restrict someone's freedom of movement or progress.
  • Used in: Travel delays, financial debts, or heavy workloads.
  • Don't confuse: With '발목을 잡다', which often implies sabotage or dragging someone down.
🏃‍♂️ + ⛓️ = 🛑 (Desire to move + Restriction = Stuck)

Explanation at your level:

This phrase means you cannot go. It is like a rope on your legs. You want to go to the park, but it is raining. The rain 'ties your ankles.' You stay home. It is for when you are stuck.
This idiom is used when something stops you from moving or leaving. For example, if your car is broken, you are stuck at home. You can say the broken car 'tied your ankles.' It is a way to say 'I am stranded' or 'I am restricted' using a body part word.
At the intermediate level, you should use this to describe situations where external factors impede your progress. It's common in travel contexts (like being stranded at an airport) or financial contexts (like debt preventing you from starting a business). It highlights the frustration of wanting to move forward but being held back by an obligation or circumstance beyond your control.
This figurative expression encapsulates the tension between individual agency and external constraints. While '발목을 묶다' can describe physical stranding, it's frequently employed in professional discourse to describe systemic issues—such as regulations or economic downturns—that 'tie the ankles' of industry growth. Mastery involves distinguishing it from '발목을 잡다', which carries a more proactive sense of hindrance or sabotage.
Linguistically, this idiom functions as a metaphorical extension of physical restraint to abstract socio-economic limitations. It often appears in editorial writing to critique policies that stifle innovation. The nuance lies in the 'binding' nature of the obstacle, suggesting a state of enforced stasis. Advanced learners should note the passive construction '발목이 묶이다' is more prevalent when the speaker is the victim of the circumstances.
This idiom serves as a cognitive linguistic anchor for the conceptual metaphor 'PROGRESS IS MOTION' and 'OBSTACLES ARE RESTRAINTS.' In sophisticated discourse, it can be used to analyze the paralysis of choice or the deterministic nature of socio-economic 'ropes' that bind an individual to their class or locale. Mastery at this level involves using the phrase to weave complex narratives about the interplay between fate, duty, and the desire for transcendence in a modern Korean context.

Signification

To restrict or impede someone's actions or progress.

🌍

Contexte culturel

In Korea, 'tying the ankles' is often associated with the 'Sandwich Generation'—those who are tied down by the dual responsibility of caring for aging parents and young children. The phrase is frequently used in business to describe 'Red Tape' (규제). It reflects a societal frustration with bureaucratic hurdles that slow down the 'Pali-pali' (fast) progress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this phrase saw a massive spike in usage in Korean media to describe the global paralysis of travel. Historically, the phrase alludes to the physical tethering of livestock, a common sight in traditional Korean farming villages (Nong-chon).

💡

Passive is King

You will hear '발목이 묶였다' (My ankles were tied) much more often than the active form in daily life.

⚠️

Not for Shoes

Never use this to mean you are tying your shoelaces. Use '신발끈을 매다/묶다' instead.

Signification

To restrict or impede someone's actions or progress.

💡

Passive is King

You will hear '발목이 묶였다' (My ankles were tied) much more often than the active form in daily life.

⚠️

Not for Shoes

Never use this to mean you are tying your shoelaces. Use '신발끈을 매다/묶다' instead.

🎯

News Reading

When reading Korean business news, look for this phrase to identify the 'bottleneck' or 'obstacle' in a story.

💬

Empathy

Using this phrase shows you understand the frustration of being stuck, which is a very relatable feeling in high-pressure Korean society.

Teste-toi

Fill in the blank with the correct form of '발목을 묶다'.

갑작스러운 폭설이 공항 이용객들의 ( ) 고립시켰다.

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : 발목을 묶어

The snow (subject) is doing the action to the travelers (object), so the active form '발목을 묶어' is correct.

Which sentence uses the idiom naturally?

Choose the most natural sentence.

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : 빚 때문에 새로운 도전을 못 하고 발목이 묶여 있어요.

This correctly uses the idiom to describe a financial restriction preventing progress.

Complete the dialogue.

가: 왜 어제 파티에 안 왔어? 나: 미안, 갑자기 회사에 일이 생겨서 ( ).

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : 발목이 묶였거든

The speaker was stranded/stuck at work, so the passive form '발목이 묶이다' is most natural.

Match the situation to the phrase.

Which situation best fits '발목을 묶다'?

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : A flight cancellation due to a typhoon

A typhoon causing a flight cancellation is a classic external force that 'ties the ankles' of travelers.

🎉 Score : /4

Aides visuelles

묶다 (Tie) vs. 잡다 (Grab)

{발목|足頸}을 묶다
Restricting movement Stranded at airport
External situation Snow, Debt
{발목|足頸}을 잡다
Sabotage/Hindrance A rival holding you back
Past mistakes A scandal

Questions fréquentes

10 questions

Literally, yes, but it sounds like a kidnapping scenario. Figuratively, it's much more common.

Not at all. It's a neutral idiom used in news, business, and casual talk.

Almost none. '발목' (ankle) is slightly more descriptive, but '발을 묶다' is also very common.

Yes, if the jam is long enough to make you feel 'stuck' or 'stranded'.

Yes, often in ballads to describe being unable to leave a past love.

Yes, it always implies a restriction that is unwanted or inconvenient.

아이들 때문에 {발목|足頸}이 묶였어요.

Yes, '계약이 내 {발목|足頸}을 묶고 있다' is a very natural sentence.

There isn't a direct idiomatic opposite, but '족쇄를 풀다' (to undo the shackles) is close.

Yes, to describe a challenge you faced, e.g., '자금 부족이 제 {발목|足頸}을 묶었지만...'

Expressions liées

🔗

발목을 잡다

similar

To hold someone back / to sabotage

🔄

발을 묶다

synonym

To tie the feet

🔗

손발을 묶다

specialized form

To tie hands and feet

🔄

발이 묶이다

synonym

To have one's feet tied

🔗

꼼짝 못 하게 하다

similar

To make someone unable to budge

Où l'utiliser

✈️

Airport Delay

A: 왜 아직도 공항이에요?

B: 안개 때문에 비행기가 못 떠서 {발목|足頸}이 묶였어요.

neutral
💸

Financial Debt

A: 그 친구는 왜 여행을 안 가요?

B: 학자금 대출이 그 친구 {발목|足頸}을 묶고 있거든요.

neutral
💼

Office Overwork

A: 오늘 저녁에 술 한잔 어때?

B: 미안, 급한 프로젝트 때문에 회사에 {발목|足頸}이 묶였어.

informal
📉

Economic News

앵커: 원자재 가격 상승이 수출 기업들의 {발목|足頸}을 묶고 있습니다.

기자: 네, 맞습니다. 대책 마련이 시급해 보입니다.

formal
🏠

Family Obligations

A: 유학은 포기하신 건가요?

B: 부모님 건강이 안 좋아지셔서 제 {발목|足頸}을 묶네요.

neutral
🚗

Traffic Jam

A: 어디야? 다 왔어?

B: 아니, 사고 때문에 도로에 {발목|足頸}이 묶였어. 좀 늦을 것 같아.

informal

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Imagine a 'Mog' (ankle) being 'Muk' (tied) with a rope. Mog-Muk-Stop!

Visual Association

Visualize a runner at a starting line, but their ankles are tied to a heavy iron ball labeled 'DEBT' or 'SNOW'. They are straining to run but can't move.

Rhyme

발목을 묶으면, 갈 수가 없네 (If you tie the ankles, you cannot go).

Story

A traveler named Min-su wanted to see the world. But every time he packed his bags, a giant rope made of 'Unfinished Work' would wrap around his ankles and pull him back to his desk. He was '발목을 묶였다'.

Word Web

발목 (ankle)묶다 (to tie)묶이다 (to be tied)제한 (restriction)장애물 (obstacle)정체 (stagnation)고립 (isolation)

Défi

Try to use this phrase in a sentence about why you couldn't attend a meeting or a party today.

In Other Languages

English high

To be tied down / To have one's hands tied

English focuses on hands (action), Korean focuses on ankles (movement).

Spanish high

Estar atado de pies y manos

Spanish usually includes hands, whereas the basic Korean idiom focuses only on ankles.

French moderate

Avoir les mains liées

French is about the inability to act; Korean is about the inability to move/progress.

German moderate

Jemandem sind die Hände gebunden

German is often about legal or rule-based restrictions.

Japanese high

足止めを食らう (Ashidome o kurau)

Japanese uses 'stop' (止め), Korean uses 'tie' (묶다).

Arabic partial

مكتوف الأيدي (Maktuf al-aydi)

Focuses on the posture of helplessness rather than the inability to travel.

Chinese high

束手束脚 (Shù shǒu shù jiǎo)

Chinese often implies being 'cramped' or 'inhibited' by one's own caution.

Portuguese moderate

Estar de mãos atadas

Focuses on hands and power rather than ankles and movement.

Easily Confused

발목을 묶다. vs 발목을 잡다

Both involve the ankle and being held back.

Think of '묶다' (tie) as a rope preventing you from leaving, and '잡다' (grab) as a hand pulling you back from success.

발목을 묶다. vs 목을 조이다

Both involve a body part and a restrictive action.

'목을 조이다' (to strangle) is much more aggressive and usually refers to extreme financial pressure or life-threatening stress.

FAQ (10)

Literally, yes, but it sounds like a kidnapping scenario. Figuratively, it's much more common.

Not at all. It's a neutral idiom used in news, business, and casual talk.

Almost none. '발목' (ankle) is slightly more descriptive, but '발을 묶다' is also very common.

Yes, if the jam is long enough to make you feel 'stuck' or 'stranded'.

Yes, often in ballads to describe being unable to leave a past love.

Yes, it always implies a restriction that is unwanted or inconvenient.

아이들 때문에 {발목|足頸}이 묶였어요.

Yes, '계약이 내 {발목|足頸}을 묶고 있다' is a very natural sentence.

There isn't a direct idiomatic opposite, but '족쇄를 풀다' (to undo the shackles) is close.

Yes, to describe a challenge you faced, e.g., '자금 부족이 제 {발목|足頸}을 묶었지만...'

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