Nuance Dictionary / Sounds & Sensations
조마조마 jo-ma-jo-ma
The heart-fluttering, stomach-dropping anxiety of waiting for a verdict you cannot control.
What does 조마조마 mean?
조마조마 (jo-ma-jo-ma) means: The heart-fluttering, stomach-dropping anxiety of waiting for a verdict you cannot control.
Textbooks love to translate this as 'nervous' or 'anxious,' but those words miss the physical reality of the sensation.조마조마 is specifically the countdown state—refreshing the university admissions page at 4:59 PM, or waiting for the text message after a job interview. It’s not a deep, clinical depression or a chronic worry; it’s an acute, breathless flutter in your chest where hope and dread play tug-of-war. If you use it for general anxiety, natives will look at you sideways.
Other sides of 조마조마
◆ High-Stakes Parenting — Textbooks teach this as a generic synonym for 'nervous,' but natives reserve it for the agonizing micro-seconds when disaster feels inevitable—like watching a toddler sprint toward a flight of glass stairs with untied shoelaces. It’s an involuntary somatic flinch, not just worry; your palms sweat and your breath catches because you cannot intervene fast enough to save them from their own clumsy physics.
◆ Secret Keeping — Natives reach for 조마조마 when they are holding onto a surprise or hiding something harmless yet forbidden—like a hidden birthday cake in the fridge or a snack you shouldn't be eating—while the target is dangerously close. It captures that physical flutter in your chest where excitement and terror do a 50/50 split. Learners often confuse it with pure anxiety or fear, but 조마조마 has a mischievous, breathless edge to it; you're secretly thrilled even as you pray you don't get caught.
◆ Secret Keeping — Natives reach for 조마조마 when they are holding onto a surprise or hiding something harmless yet forbidden—like a hidden birthday cake in the fridge or a snack you shouldn't be eating—while the target is dangerously close. It captures that physical flutter in your chest where excitement and terror do a 50/50 split. Learners often confuse it with pure anxiety or fear, but 조마조마 has a mischievous, breathless edge to it; you're secretly thrilled even as you pray you don't get caught.
How it's actually used
- 결과 나오는 데 1주일 걸린다는데, 그때까지 조마조마해서 어떻게 기다리냐.
gyeolgwa naoneun de il-jubil geollindaneunde, geuttaekkaji jomajomahaeseo eotteoke gidarinya.
They say it takes a week for the results to come out, how am I supposed to wait feeling this anxious until then?
💡 Captures the agonizing stretch of time between taking the test and hearing your fate. - 합격자 발표 확인하는 순간 너무 조마조마해서 심장이 터지는 줄 알았다.
hapgyeokja balpyo hwakhin-haneun sungan neomu jomajomahaeseo simjangi teojineun jul aratta.
The moment I checked the successful applicants list, I was so jittery I thought my heart would burst.
💡 Pairs the word with a classic hyperbolic physical reaction to show peak suspense. - 로또 번호 맞추어 보는 동안 조마조마해 죽는 줄 알았네.
rotto beonho machueo boneun dongan jomajomahaeseojukneun jul aratne.
While checking my lottery numbers, I swear I thought I was going to die of suspense.
💡 Shows how the term applies equally to high-stakes life events and low-brow gambling thrills.
Related words in Sounds & Sensations
조물조물 jo-mul-jo-mul주렁주렁 ju-reong-ju-reong주룩주룩 ju-ruk-ju-ruk주섬주섬 ju-seom-ju-seom깡충깡충 kkang-chung-kkang-chung