치과 수가 분쟁과 환자 빼돌리기 — Dental Billing Dispute and Patient Poaching

Vocabulary

걱정하다 verb

Beginner

to worry, to be concerned about someone

emotions community

혼자 다니면 걱정돼.

I'm worried when you go around alone.

장사하다 verb

Beginner

to do business, to run a shop, to sell goods

work community

오늘도 장사해야 해서 일찍 나왔어.

I came out early today because I have to work the shop.

구하다 verb

Beginner

to save, to rescue someone from danger

community emotions

물에 빠진 애를 구해 줬어.

I saved a kid who had fallen in the water.

뇌진탕 noun

Beginner

concussion (a medical condition from a blow to the head)

medical

넘어져서 뇌진탕이 왔대.

They say she got a concussion from falling.

직업병 noun

Intermediate

occupational disease; a health problem caused by one's profession

work medical

허리 아픈 거 직업병이야, 어쩔 수 없어.

The back pain is an occupational hazard — can't help it.

꿀 빨다 expression

Intermediate

to have it easy, to coast through work without effort (lit. 'to suck honey')

work

남들은 꿀 빠는 줄 알아도 사실 엄청 힘들어.

People think I have it easy, but it's actually really tough.

3D noun

Intermediate

3D work; slang for a job that is dirty, dangerous, and difficult (더럽고, 위험하고, 힘든)

work

사람들은 몰라도 이 일 나름 3D야.

People don't know, but this job is its own kind of 3D.

피신하다 verb

Intermediate

to flee for safety, to take refuge, to hide out

community emotions

집에 있기 싫어서 여기 피신 왔어.

I didn't want to be home so I came to hide out here.

괴한 noun

Intermediate

assailant, suspicious stranger, unknown attacker

community

밤길에 괴한이 나타났다는 얘기 들었어?

Did you hear that a suspicious stranger appeared on the road at night?

회진 noun

Intermediate

doctor's rounds; a scheduled visit by a physician to check on inpatients

medical

아침마다 의사 선생님이 회진 돌아.

The doctor does rounds every morning.

몸을 가누다 expression

Intermediate

to control one's body, to keep one's balance; often used negatively when someone cannot stay upright

medical emotions

너무 피곤해서 몸을 못 가누겠어.

I'm so exhausted I can barely hold myself up.

막강하다 adjective

Intermediate

to be overwhelmingly powerful, formidable, tough to handle

emotions community

저 팀 진짜 막강해서 이기기 힘들어.

That team is so formidable it's hard to beat them.

Key Expressions

Expressing worry or mild reproach

~면 어떡해 "if [you do X], what do [we/I] do?"

Used to express worry or gentle reproach when someone has done something risky or irresponsible; conveys 'how could you do that?' or 'what were you thinking?'

이 밤에 혼자 나가면 어떡해?

What are you doing going out alone this late at night?

~을 뻔했다 "almost did [X]"

Describes a near-miss — something dangerous or significant that almost happened but didn't; conveys relief mixed with alarm.

늦잠 자서 버스를 놓칠 뻔했어.

I overslept and almost missed the bus.

Softening or hedging a statement

나름 "in its own way, by its own standards"

Used before a description to soften it or add nuance — meaning 'it's not perfect, but it qualifies in its own right'; similar to 'in its own way' or 'you could say'.

이 동네 나름 살기 좋아.

This neighborhood is good to live in, in its own way.

~인 줄 알았지? "you thought it was [X], didn't you?"

A rhetorical challenge used to call out a wrong assumption someone held; carries a tone of mild indignation or 'see, you were wrong about me'.

내가 쉬운 줄 알았지? 엄청 힘들어.

You thought it was easy for me, didn't you? It's incredibly hard.

Reported speech and hearsay

~대요 / ~래요 "[they] say that..."

Used to relay information you heard from someone else; marks the sentence as hearsay or reported speech rather than direct knowledge.

간밤에 사고가 났대요.

They say there was an accident last night.

~는 줄 알아? "do you know how much / what it's like?"

Used emotionally to emphasize that the listener cannot appreciate the speaker's experience; often paired with a measure of intensity like 얼마나.

기다리면서 얼마나 불안했는 줄 알아?

Do you know how anxious I was while I was waiting?

Grammar Patterns

~(으)ㄹ 만큼

Degree comparison: 'to the extent that'

Intermediate

This pattern attaches to a verb or adjective stem to express the degree or extent of an action or state. It means 'so much that' or 'to the point where,' and is used to show that one situation reaches the threshold of causing another. It is common in both spoken and written Korean.

Practice sentences

졸릴 만큼 지루한 강의였어.

It was a lecture boring enough to put you to sleep.

숨이 막힐 만큼 아름다운 풍경이었어.

It was a view so beautiful it took your breath away.

💡 Don't confuse ~(으)ㄹ 만큼 (extent: 'to the degree of') with ~만큼 after a noun (comparison: 'as much as a noun'); both look similar but attach differently.

~아/어서 그런가

Speculating about a cause: 'Maybe because...'

Int–Advanced

This pattern is used to speculate about why something is the way it is, based on a possible cause. It combines the causal connector ~아/어서 with 그런가 (I wonder if that's why), giving a tentative, musing tone — 'maybe it's because of X that Y.' It is very common in casual Korean conversation.

Practice sentences

어릴 때 많이 읽어서 그런가 책 읽는 게 편해.

Maybe because I read a lot as a kid, reading feels natural to me.

바닷가 근처에서 살아서 그런가 해산물을 좋아하게 됐어.

Maybe because I lived near the coast, I came to love seafood.

💡 The 그런가 ending signals you are guessing, not asserting — dropping it and saying just 아/어서 changes it to a confident statement of cause, which sounds too direct in this speculative context.

~(을/를) 뻔하다

Near-miss: 'almost happened'

Intermediate

This pattern expresses that something nearly occurred but ultimately did not. It is always used for events that did NOT actually happen, and carries an emotional weight of relief, shock, or alarm. The verb before 뻔하다 takes the future modifier form -(으)ㄹ, and the pattern is often used with 당하다 or other passive verbs in dramatic situations.

Practice sentences

차에 치일 뻔했어, 진짜 무서웠어.

I almost got hit by a car — I was really scared.

중요한 발표를 까먹을 뻔했어.

I almost forgot the important presentation.

💡 Never use ~(으)ㄹ 뻔하다 for something that actually happened — it strictly marks a near-miss that was avoided.

Vocabulary

Key Expressions

Expressing worry or mild reproach

Softening or hedging a statement

Reported speech and hearsay

Grammar Patterns

Cultural Notes