Nuance Dictionary / Social Situations
진땀을 빼다 Jintmameul ppaeda
To sweat literal bullets while maintaining a cool, unbothered exterior during a high-stakes professional crisis.
What does 진땀을 빼다 mean?
진땀을 빼다 (Jintmameul ppaeda) means: To sweat literal bullets while maintaining a cool, unbothered exterior during a high-stakes professional crisis.
Textbooks translate this as 'to have a hard time,' which completely flattens the vivid, physical image of cold sweat leaking out under immense pressure. Natives use this when a sudden system crash, an aggressive client, or an impossible deadline forces them to smile and nod on the outside while their internal organs are staging a revolt. It is the gold standard for describing professional panic that you are legally and socially obligated to conceal.
Other sides of 진땀을 빼다
◆ The Social Gauntlet — Textbooks love to reduce this to 'to sweat profusely,' but in the social wild, it's about emotional drainage. Natives reach for it when they've spent two hours nodding at an insufferable relative at a holiday table or dodging an ex's passive-aggressive questions at a wedding. It signals that your internal organs were doing backflips of rage while your face had to remain a picture of serene hospitality. Learners usually think it means physical exercise or hard work; natives know it's the specific, silent torture of social survival.
◆ The Physical Endurance Test — Textbooks love to reduce this to mental stress, but natives often reach for it when their muscles are literally screaming from manual labor, moving heavy furniture, or surviving a brutal workout. It captures that specific, swampy exhaustion where your shirt is plastered to your back and you're sweating out of pure physical survival. Learners usually miss that the 'sweat' here isn't just about being nervous in a meeting—it’s about the heavy, aching toll a demanding physical chore takes on your body.
◆ The Physical Endurance Test — Textbooks love to reduce this to mental stress, but natives often reach for it when their muscles are literally screaming from manual labor, moving heavy furniture, or surviving a brutal workout. It captures that specific, swampy exhaustion where your shirt is plastered to your back and you're sweating out of pure physical survival. Learners usually miss that the 'sweat' here isn't just about being nervous in a meeting—it’s about the heavy, aching toll a demanding physical chore takes on your body.
🎙️ 진땀을 빼다는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [진따믈 빼다]로 소리나요 (연음법칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 대표님이 갑자기 기술 아키텍처를 설명하라고 하셔서 진땀을 뺐어요.
Daepyonimi gapjagi gisul akitekcheoreul seolmyeongharago haseseo jintmameul ppaesseoyo.
I sweated bullets when the CEO suddenly asked me to explain the technical architecture.
💡 Captures the classic workplace ambush where unpreparedness meets high expectations. - 그 외국계 바이어 상대하느라 오늘 하루 종일 진땀 뺐네.
Geu oegukgye bayeo sangdaehaneura oneul haru jongil jintmam ppaenne.
Man, I was on edge all day dealing with that foreign buyer.
💡 Shows the retrospective relief and exhaustion after surviving a grueling negotiation. - 시위하는 주주들 앞에서 경영진이 진땀을 빼고 있습니다.
Siwihaneun jujudeul apeseo gyeongyeongjini jintmameul ppaego itseumnida.
The management team is sweating it out in front of the protesting shareholders.
💡 Demonstrates public, high-exposure crisis management where composure is everything.
Related words in Social Situations
주관적 ju-gwan-jeok중독 jung-dok중독성 jung-dok-seong깔끔하다 kkal-kkeum-ha-da코가 납작해지다 koga napjakhaejida