Meaning
To experience images, sounds, or sensations during sleep.
Cultural Background
The concept of 'Taemong' (conception dreams) is very strong. Family members or the mother-to-be dream of specific animals or fruits, which are believed to predict the child's gender or personality. Dream selling (꿈 판매) is a unique social custom. If you have a good dream, you can 'sell' it to someone else so they get the luck. You shouldn't tell the details of the dream until you sell it! Pigs and Wealth: Dreaming of a pig, especially one entering your house, is the ultimate sign of incoming money. Many lottery winners claim to have had a 'pig dream' before winning. The 'Dog Dream' (개꿈): This refers to a dream that is messy, nonsensical, or just plain weird. Koreans use this term to dismiss a dream as having no prophetic meaning.
Drop the marker
In casual conversation, always say '꿈 꿨어' instead of '꿈을 꿨어'. It sounds much more native.
The 'See' Trap
Never use '보다' (to see). This is the #1 mistake for English and Japanese speakers.
Meaning
To experience images, sounds, or sensations during sleep.
Drop the marker
In casual conversation, always say '꿈 꿨어' instead of '꿈을 꿨어'. It sounds much more native.
The 'See' Trap
Never use '보다' (to see). This is the #1 mistake for English and Japanese speakers.
Morning Greetings
Asking '좋은 꿈 꿨어?' is a very warm way to start a conversation with a loved one in the morning.
Ambition vs Sleep
If someone asks '꿈이 뭐예요?', they are 99% of the time asking about your career/life goals, not what you dreamed about last night.
Test Yourself
Choose the most natural verb to complete the sentence.
어젯밤에 아주 신기한 꿈을 ______.
In Korean, the only verb that pairs with '꿈' (dream) is '꾸다' (past tense: 꿨어요).
Fill in the blank with the correct form of '꿈을 꾸다'.
저는 나중에 훌륭한 선생님이 되는 (____ ____).
When talking about a current aspiration or general goal, the present tense '꿈을 꿔요' or '꿈을 꾸고 있어요' is used.
Complete the dialogue naturally.
가: 왜 그렇게 피곤해 보여요? 나: 어제 밤에 (____ ____) 잠을 못 잤거든요.
If someone is tired because of a dream, it's usually because they had a nightmare (악몽).
Match the type of dream to the situation.
Which dream would lead a Korean person to buy a lottery ticket?
Pigs (돼지) are symbols of wealth in Korea, so a 'pig dream' is considered very lucky for money.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Dream Verbs Across Languages
Practice Bank
4 exercises어젯밤에 아주 신기한 꿈을 ______.
In Korean, the only verb that pairs with '꿈' (dream) is '꾸다' (past tense: 꿨어요).
저는 나중에 훌륭한 선생님이 되는 (____ ____).
When talking about a current aspiration or general goal, the present tense '꿈을 꿔요' or '꿈을 꾸고 있어요' is used.
가: 왜 그렇게 피곤해 보여요? 나: 어제 밤에 (____ ____) 잠을 못 잤거든요.
If someone is tired because of a dream, it's usually because they had a nightmare (악몽).
Which dream would lead a Korean person to buy a lottery ticket?
Pigs (돼지) are symbols of wealth in Korea, so a 'pig dream' is considered very lucky for money.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
10 questionsNot really. For daydreaming while awake, use '공상하다' or '딴생각하다'. '꿈을 꾸다' is strictly for sleep or life goals.
It's the same meaning, just a contracted form. '꿈꾸다' is very common in writing and song titles.
It's a dream about pigs, which in Korea symbolizes wealth and good luck. People often buy lottery tickets after having one.
Use '악몽을 꿨어요' (Akmong-eul kkwosseoyo).
It's a linguistic tradition called a cognate object. Certain nouns in Korean have their own dedicated verbs.
No, even then, the act of dreaming is '꿨어요'. You can say '꿈에서 영화를 봤어요' (I saw a movie in my dream).
It means 'Wake up!' or 'Stop dreaming!', used when someone is being unrealistic.
The phrase itself is neutral. The formality depends on the ending (e.g., ~다, ~어요, ~습니다).
Ask '꿈이 뭐예요?' (What is your dream?) or '장래희망이 뭐예요?' (What is your future hope?).
A conception dream that is believed to predict a baby's birth. It's a very important part of Korean culture.
Related Phrases
꿈이 이루어지다
builds onDreams come true
꿈을 버리다
contrastTo give up on a dream
꿈을 키우다
similarTo nurture a dream
{악몽|惡夢}
specialized formNightmare
{몽상|夢想}에 빠지다
similarTo fall into a daydream/fantasy
