Nuance Dictionary / Grammar
거리두기 geo-ri-du-gi
Creating psychological distance from an immediate, undesirable reality
What does 거리두기 mean?
거리두기 (geo-ri-du-gi) means: Creating psychological distance from an immediate, undesirable reality.
Linguistic distancing is the core mechanism of politeness and counterfactual grammar in Korean; stepping back makes room for imagination.
🔊 From the story above
었으면 — Ass-eoss-eu-myeon
돈이 많았으면 좋겠어요 — don-i man-ass-eu-myeon jo-ket-sseo-yo, "I wish I had a lot of money"
거리두기 — geo-ri-du-gi, "creating psychological distance"
가정 — ga-jeong, "hypothesis or assumption"
소망 — so-mang, "a deep, earnest wish for something currently absent"
한국어가 더 쉬웠으면 좋겠어요 — han-gu-geo-ga deo swi-woss-eu-myeon jo-ket-sseo-yo, "I wish Korean were easier"
시간이 더 있었으면 좋겠어요 — si-gan-i deo iss-eoss-eu-myeon jo-ket-sseo-yo, "I wish I had more time"
좋겠다 — jo-ket-da, "that would be nice"
How it's actually used
- 상처받지 않기 위해서 그 사람과 어느 정도의 감정적 거리두기가 필요했어요.
sang-cheo-bad-ji anh-gi wi-hae-seo geu saram-gwa eou-neu jeong-do-ui gam-jeong-jeok geo-ri-du-gi-ga pil-yo-haess-eoyo.
I needed a certain degree of emotional distance from that person to avoid getting hurt.
💡 Refers to psychological self-preservation. - 지나친 참견에는 적절한 거리두기로 대응하는 게 정신 건강에 좋아요.
ji-na-chin cham-gyeon-e-neun jeog-jeol-han geo-ri-du-gi-ro dae-eong-ha-neun ge jeong-sin geon-gang-e jo-a-yo.
Responding to excessive meddling with proper psychological distancing is good for your mental health.
💡 A practical defense mechanism against boundary-crossers. - 너무 가까워지면 서로의 단점만 보이니, 지금의 이 거리두기가 관계를 유지하는 비결이야.
neo-mu ga-kka-wo-ji-myeon seo-ro-ui dan-jeom-man bo-i-ni, ji-geum-ui i geo-ri-du-gi-ga gwan-gye-reul yu-ji-ha-neun bi-gyol-i-ya.
Getting too close only exposes each other's flaws, so this current distance is the secret to keeping our relationship intact.
💡 Justifies physical or emotional spacing as a healthy boundary.
Related words in Grammar
완곡어법 wan-gok-eoh-beop잡수시다 jap-su-si-da주무시다 ju-mu-si-da편찮으시다 pyeon-chan-eu-si-da돌아가시다 dol-a-ga-si-da