Nuance Dictionary / Animalistic & Sneaky Movements
엉금엉금 eong-geum-eong-geum
Crawling slowly and heavily on all fours, like a turtle
What does 엉금엉금 mean?
엉금엉금 (eong-geum-eong-geum) means: Crawling slowly and heavily on all fours, like a turtle.
The classic description of a slow, laborious crawl.
🎙️ 엉금엉금은 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [엉그멍금]로 소리나요 (연음법칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 아기가 거실 바닥을 엉금엉금 기어다닌다.
agiga geosil badageul eonggeumeonggeum gieodaninda.
The baby is crawling slowly and clumsily across the living room floor.
💡 Classic word for a baby or animal crawling on all fours. - 다리가 너무 아파서 엉금엉금 기어서 올라갔어.
dariga neomu apaseo eonggeumeonggeum gieoseo ollagatseo.
My legs hurt so much that I crawled up slowly on all fours.
💡 Can be used metaphorically for humans moving with great difficulty. - 아기가 거실 바닥을 엉금엉금 기어서 엄마에게 다가왔다.
agiga geosil badageul eongeumeongeum gieoseo eommaege dagawatda.
The baby crawled slowly and laboriously across the living room floor toward her mom.
💡 Mainly used for babies or animals moving on all fours.
Related words in Animalistic & Sneaky Movements
뽈뽈 ppol-ppol폴짝폴짝 pol-jjak-pol-jjak꼬물꼬물 kko-mul-kko-mul꿈틀꿈틀 kkum-teul-kkum-teul꼬깃꼬깃 kko-git-kko-git