Nuance Dictionary / Social Situations
콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다 Kong simeun de kong nago pat simeun de pat nanda
You reap what you sow; actions have inevitable, proportional consequences.
What does 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다 mean?
콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다 (Kong simeun de kong nago pat simeun de pat nanda) means: You reap what you sow; actions have inevitable, proportional consequences.
Elders pull this proverb out when they need to deliver an inescapable moral beatdown about cause and effect. Literally meaning 'where beans are planted, beans grow; where red beans are planted, red beans grow,' it is the ultimate parental trump card used to connect a kid's current bad behavior or poor effort directly to their future misery. Learners often think it's just a cute agricultural metaphor, but in the wild, it carries the heavy, slightly weary sigh of an older generation reminding you that reality is stubbornly fair.
Other sides of 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다
◆ skeptical social commentary — While textbooks love to frame this as a warm moral proverb about parenting, cynical natives whip it out when a notoriously corrupt politician launches an anti-corruption task force or when a lifelong jerk suddenly claims to have found inner peace. It’s the ultimate Korean eye-roll. You use it to signal that a leopard doesn't change its spots, dismissing sudden institutional reform or miraculous personal growth as a cheap cosmetic trick.
🎙️ 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [콩 시믄 데 콩 나고 팓 씨믄 데 판 난다]로 소리나요 (경음화, 받침규칙, 비음화, 연음법칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 평소에 공부도 안 하다가 시험 망쳐놓고 왜 울어? 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 나는 법이야.
Pyeongsoe gongbudo an hadaga siheom manghyeonoko wae ureo? Kong simeun de kong nago pat simeun de pat naneun beobiya.
Why are you crying about flunking the test when you didn't even study? You reap what you sow.
💡 Classic parental scolding when someone complains about the inevitable results of their own laziness. - 남한테 맨날 상처 주는 말만 하니까 그 모양이지. 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다잖아.
Namhante maennal sangcheo juneun malman hanika geu moyangiji. Kong simeun de kong nago pat simeun de pat nandajana.
No wonder you're in that mess, you're always hurting people with your words. Like they say, you reap what you sow.
💡 Used by peers or elders to point out that poor social karma always comes back around. - 부모가 평소에 어떻게 하느냐가 중요해. 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다잖아, 애들은 다 보고 배운다고.
Bumoga pyeongsoe eotteoke haneuniyaga jung-）【eomhae. Kong simeun de kong nago pat simeun de pat nandajana, aedeureun da bogo baeundago.
How parents act day-to-day matters. You reap what you sow, after all—kids watch and learn everything.
💡 Invoked as a warning to adults that children mirror their behavior.
Related words in Social Situations
마음을 먹다 maeumeul meokda머리를 맞대다 Meoril matdaeda미필 mi-pil밑 빠진 독에 물 붓기 Mit pajin doge mul butgi모 아니면 도 Mo animyeon do