Nuance Dictionary / Grammar
대로 Daero
Doing or happening in exact accordance with a rule, plan, or stated word.
What does 대로 mean?
대로 (Daero) means: Doing or happening in exact accordance with a rule, plan, or stated word.
Native speakers reach for 대로 when they want to emphasize absolute compliance, as if tracing a physical line or script without deviation. Unlike softer suggestions, using 대로 signals a strict adherence to a standard, recipe, schedule, or someone's explicit command. Learners often misuse it as a vague 'like,' forgetting that true 대로 carries the weight of a template being strictly fulfilled.
Other sides of 대로
◆ Just As — When natives use 대로 in this 'on-the-spot' sense, it captures an unfiltered, mirror-like immediacy—acting without pause to match a model, a feeling, or a sight. Learners often confuse it with standard instructions, missing the impulsive, spontaneous snap of someone copying an action or emotion right as it hits them. It turns speech into an instantaneous reflex.
◆ As Much As Possible — When textbooks teach '-대로', they usually trap you in the rigid 'according to' box. But natives use '-대로' to let loose, attaching it to words of desire, capacity, or emotion to mean 'to one's heart's content' or 'as much as you damn well please.' It signals a sudden removal of brakes—eating until you explode, crying until your eyes swell, or doing whatever you feel like doing without a single care in the world. Learners usually miss this visceral, boundary-pushing energy entirely, defaulting to clunky literal translations instead of feeling the release.
◆ As Much As Possible — When textbooks teach '-대로', they usually trap you in the rigid 'according to' box. But natives use '-대로' to let loose, attaching it to words of desire, capacity, or emotion to mean 'to one's heart's content' or 'as much as you damn well please.' It signals a sudden removal of brakes—eating until you explode, crying until your eyes swell, or doing whatever you feel like doing without a single care in the world. Learners usually miss this visceral, boundary-pushing energy entirely, defaulting to clunky literal translations instead of feeling the release.
How it's actually used
- 선생님이 시킨 대로 했어요.
seonsaeng-nimi sik-in daero haess-eoyo.
I did exactly as the teacher told me to.
💡 Reveals how 대로 locks an action into someone else's precise instructions without adding personal interpretation. - 레시피대로 만들었는데 맛이 왜 이래?
resipi-daero mandeul-eonneunde mas-i wae irae?
I made it strictly according to the recipe, so why does it taste like this?
💡 Shows how 대로 is used when holding a standard or guide accountable for the final outcome. - 약속대로 이번 주말에 만나요.
yaksok-daero ibeon jumal-e mannayo.
Let's meet this weekend, as promised.
💡 Demonstrates how 대로 honors a prior agreement down to the letter.