Nuance Dictionary / People & Relationships
발이 넓다 bari neolda
Possessing a strategic web of industry connections that functions as a high-value corporate asset for sourcing clients and insider intelligence.
What does 발이 넓다 mean?
발이 넓다 (bari neolda) means: Possessing a strategic web of industry connections that functions as a high-value corporate asset for sourcing clients and insider intelligence.
Textbooks love to reduce this idiom to a cute literal image of having 'wide feet' or just knowing a lot of casual friends, but in the boardroom, it’s shorthand for a heavy-hitting connector. When a senior colleague or recruiter drops this, they aren't praising your weekend social calendar; they are evaluating your market leverage, your ability to bypass gatekeepers, and your capacity to pull off a deal through sheer rolodex power. Learners fail by treating it like a casual personality trait rather than a calculated, high-utility professional weapon.
Other sides of 발이 넓다
◆ The Social Hub (Connecting People) — Textbooks teach you this means having 'wide feet,' but natives use it for that one person who casually connects your middle school friends with your work colleagues at a random Friday night gathering. It is warm, affectionate, and tinged with slight awe at how someone has the social battery to keep track of fifty different people's lives. Learners often misuse it like a LinkedIn endorsement for business networking, missing the cozy, late-night-pocha energy entirely.
◆ The Informational Grapevine — While other facets celebrate career networking or party hosting, this one highlights the human radar system. When natives use '발이 넓다' this way, they aren't just impressed by how many people you know—they are slightly amused, and maybe a bit wary, of how fast information travels through you. It signals that you are the ultimate human switchboard for secrets, juicy updates, and underground buzz. Learners often think this phrase is strictly neutral or professional, but in casual conversation, it's frequently used with a smirk to say, 'Nothing happens in this town without this person finding out in five minutes.'
◆ The Informational Grapevine — While other facets celebrate career networking or party hosting, this one highlights the human radar system. When natives use '발이 넓다' this way, they aren't just impressed by how many people you know—they are slightly amused, and maybe a bit wary, of how fast information travels through you. It signals that you are the ultimate human switchboard for secrets, juicy updates, and underground buzz. Learners often think this phrase is strictly neutral or professional, but in casual conversation, it's frequently used with a smirk to say, 'Nothing happens in this town without this person finding out in five minutes.'
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How it's actually used
- 이번 프로젝트는 발이 넓은 사람이 나서야 투자처를 뚫을 수 있어요.
ibeon peurojekteuneun bari neolpeun sarami naseoya tuja-cheoreul tturul su isseoyo.
For this project, we need someone well-connected to break through and secure investors.
💡 Connects network breadth directly to commercial survival and deal-closing capability. - 김 과장은 업계에 발이 넓어서 경쟁사 동향을 누구보다 빨리 알아요.
gim gwajangeun eopgyee bari neolpeoseo gyeongjaesa donghyangeul nuguboda ppalli arayo.
Manager Kim has a vast network in the industry, so he knows competitor movements faster than anyone.
💡 Frames networking not just for sales, but as a crucial stream of corporate intelligence. - 대표님이 워낙 발이 넓으셔서 협력사 미팅이 순조롭게 풀렸습니다.
daepyonimi wonak bari neolpeuseyeo hyeomnyeoksa mitingi sunjoropge pullyeotseumnida.
Our CEO is exceptionally well-connected, so the partnership meetings went off without a hitch.
💡 Acknowledges executive-level networking as the ultimate lubricant for corporate partnerships.
Related words in People & Relationships
빈말 Bin-mal대접 Dae-jeop뒷담화 Dwit-dam-hwa어장관리 eo-jang-gwan-ri가스라이팅 gaseu-ra-iting