Nuance Dictionary / Daily Verbs
털어놓다 teo-reo-not-da
To confess, spill a secret, or completely pour out one's heart
What does 털어놓다 mean?
털어놓다 (teo-reo-not-da) means: To confess, spill a secret, or completely pour out one's heart.
Literally 'to shake out and put down'. When you have been holding a painful secret or heavy stress for months, and you finally sit down with a best friend and tell them everything, you '털어놓다'.
Other sides of 털어놓다
◆ confession — Textbooks translate this as 'to confess' or 'to disclose,' but that misses the visceral weight of the verb. It literalizes shaking everything out of a sack—dusting out every hidden corner until nothing is left concealed. In Korean social dynamics, where maintaining *chemyeon* (face/social dignity) and reading *nunchi* govern daily interactions, keeping things locked inside is the default state of self-preservation. When someone finally *teoreonohda*, it marks a dramatic breaching of that defensive wall. It is never used for casual updates; it is reserved for the exact moment the emotional pressure becomes too heavy to bear, usually shifting a relationship permanently across an invisible line of intimacy.
🎙️ 털어놓다는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [터러노타]로 소리나요 (격음화, 연음법칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 너무 힘들면 나한테 다 털어놓아도 돼.
neomu himdeulmyeon nahante da teoreonohado dwae.
If it's too hard, you can confess everything to me.
💡 Used to invite someone to share their burdens or secrets. - 그동안 숨겨왔던 진실을 결국 털어놓았다.
geudongan sumgyeowatdeon jinsireul gyeolguk teoreonohatda.
He finally spilled the truth that he had been hiding all this time.
💡 Used for revealing deep secrets or admissions of guilt. - 그동안 마음속에 담아두었던 고민을 드디어 친구에게 다 털어놓았어.
Geudongan maeumsoge damadueotdeon gomineul deudieo chinguege da teoreonohasseo.
I finally poured out all the worries I had been keeping bottled up inside to my friend.
💡 Use 털어놓다 when opening up about deep secrets or emotional burdens.
Related words in Daily Verbs
때우다 ttae-u-da챙기다 chaeng-gi-da눈감아주다 nun-gam-a-ju-da달래다 dal-lae-da격려하다 gyeong-nyeo-ha-da