Nuance Dictionary / Social Situations
미필 mi-pil
Acting with reckless foresight of a harmful outcome, knowing it might happen but pressing forward anyway.
What does 미필 mean?
미필 (mi-pil) means: Acting with reckless foresight of a harmful outcome, knowing it might happen but pressing forward anyway.
When natives drop this in legal, investigative, or intense debate contexts, they are invoking '미필적 고의' (dolus eventualis)—the slippery legal middle ground between a tragic accident and premeditated murder. It signals a chilling psychological state: you didn't explicitly want the crime to happen, but you saw the loaded gun, pulled the trigger anyway, and thought 'eh, whatever happens, happens.' Learners often confuse it with simple carelessness, but in Korean legal reality, it carries the heavy weight of criminal intent because you consciously gambled with someone else's safety.
Other sides of 미필
◆ Competitive Gaming & Esports — In gaming chats, players hijack this legal term for 'criminal intent by negligence' to roast teammates who flash-dive 1v5. It is used with mock-seriousness to suggest your teammate didn't just misplay, but possessed a reckless, almost premeditated disregard for the team's victory. Learners often translate it literally as 'unfulfilled military service,' totally missing the high-salt esports humor.
How it's actually used
- 그 화재는 단순 과실이 아니라 미필적 고의에 의한 방화로 볼 여지가 충분합니다.
Geu hwa-jae-neun dan-sun gwa-sil-i a-ni-ra mi-pil-jeok go-ui-e u-i-han bang-hwa-ro bol yeo-ji-ga chung-bun-ham-ni-da.
There is ample room to view that fire not as mere negligence, but as arson committed with willful negligence.
💡 Shows how the term upgrades a mistake into a serious criminal charge by proving mental awareness. - 이 정도 위험성을 알면서도 운전했다면 미필에 해당합니다.
I jeong-do wi-heom-seong-eul al-myeon-seo-do un-jeon-haet-da-myeon mi-pil-e hae-dang-ham-ni-da.
If he drove knowing this level of risk, it falls under conditional intent.
💡 Demonstrates the courtroom shorthand where '미필' alone is used to invoke the full gravity of '미필적 고의'. - 그 사고는 단순 과실이 아니라 미필적 고의에 의한 범죄로 볼 여지가 충분합니다.
geu sago-neun dansun gwasir-i anira mipiljeok go-ui-e uihan beomjoe-ro bol yeoji-ga chungbunhamnida.
There is plenty of room to view that accident not as mere negligence, but as a crime committed with dolus eventualis.
💡 Used in legal or investigative contexts to imply awareness of potential harm.
Related words in Social Situations
밑 빠진 독에 물 붓기 Mit pajin doge mul butgi모 아니면 도 Mo animyeon do모임 mo-im목이 빠지다 Mogi ppajida목에 힘을 주다 Mok-e him-eul juda