Nuance Dictionary / Social Situations
발버둥 bal-beo-dung
Fighting tooth and nail against overwhelming, hopeless odds just to keep your head above water.
What does 발버둥 mean?
발버둥 (bal-beo-dung) means: Fighting tooth and nail against overwhelming, hopeless odds just to keep your head above water.
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How it's actually used
- 물가 폭등 속에서 살아남으려고 발버둥쳐 봤자 소용없다.
mul-ga pok-deung sog-e-seo sa-ra-nam-u-ryeo-go bal-beo-dung-chyeo bwat-ja so-yong-eop-da.
It’s useless to struggle to survive amid soaring inflation.
💡 Reveals the fatalistic despair often paired with the word—the struggle is real, but the odds are completely rigged. - 이 바닥에서 살아남으려고 온갖 발버둥을 다 쳤지.
i ba-dak-e-seo sa-ra-nam-u-ryeo-go on-gat bal-beo-dung-eul da chyeot-ji.
I thrashed and clawed every which way just to survive in this cutthroat industry.
💡 Uses '온갖' (all sorts of) to emphasize the utter lack of dignity required when you're backed into a corner. - 그렇게 발버둥 친다고 인생이 한 번에 바뀌냐?
geu-reoh-ge bal-beo-dung chin-da-go in-saeng-i han beon-e ba-kwi-nya?
Does thrashing around like that actually change your life in an instant?
💡 A cynical peer check, showing how others view your exhausting, frantic efforts from the outside.
Related words in Social Situations
발 벗고 나서다 Bal beotgo naseoda발목을 잡다 balmogeul japda발을 빼다 Bareul ppaeda비행기 태우다 Bihaeng-gi taeuda보기에는 bogieneun