Nuance Dictionary / Interpersonal Friction
우기다 u-gi-da
To stubbornly insist on something, often despite clear evidence to the contrary
What does 우기다 mean?
우기다 (u-gi-da) means: To stubbornly insist on something, often despite clear evidence to the contrary.
When a child insists the sky is green, or a terrible driver insists they had the green light when there is clear dashcam footage showing a red light. They are '우기다'. It is an irrational, stubborn persistence.
Other sides of 우기다
◆ stubborn_argument — Textbooks love to translate 우기다 as a harmless synonym for 'to argue' or 'to claim,' but natives use it when someone is crossing the line from a healthy disagreement into obnoxious, face-saving obstinacy. In a culture deeply wired around *체면* (face) and social harmony, openly accusing someone of *우기다* is a direct hit to their ego; it signals that they are sacrificing objective truth just to win an ego contest. If you throw this word around carelessly in a hierarchy, especially toward someone older or of higher rank, you aren't just calling them wrong—you're calling them childish.
◆ childish_insistence — Textbooks love to reduce 우기다 to 'to insist,' but natives use it when someone is throwing away all logic just to get what they want—exactly like a five-year-old lying flat in a supermarket aisle demanding a $50 robot. In Korean social dynamics, where maintaining harmony and *눈치* (situational awareness) are prized, dropping an 우기다 accusation is a sharp social slap. It instantly infantilizes the other person, stripping them of their adult *체면* (face) by calling out their pathetic, selfish stubbornness.
◆ childish_insistence — Textbooks love to reduce 우기다 to 'to insist,' but natives use it when someone is throwing away all logic just to get what they want—exactly like a five-year-old lying flat in a supermarket aisle demanding a $50 robot. In Korean social dynamics, where maintaining harmony and *눈치* (situational awareness) are prized, dropping an 우기다 accusation is a sharp social slap. It instantly infantilizes the other person, stripping them of their adult *체면* (face) by calling out their pathetic, selfish stubbornness.
How it's actually used
- 분명히 네가 틀렸는데 왜 자꾸 아니라고 우겨?
bunmyeonghi nega teullyeonnende wae jakku anirago ugyeo?
You were clearly wrong, so why do you keep insisting you weren't?
💡 Direct confrontation when someone refuses to admit a mistake. - 증거가 다 나왔는데도 끝까지 우기더라고.
jeunggeoga da nawatneundedo kkeutkkaji ugideorago.
Even when all the evidence came out, they just kept stubbornly denying it until the end.
💡 Used when describing someone's frustrating dishonesty. - 증거가 다 나왔는데도 끝까지 자기 잘못이 아니라고 우기더라고요.
Jeunggoga da nawatneundedo kkekkaji jagi jalmoti anirago ugideoragoyo.
Even with all the evidence out, they kept stubbornly insisting it wasn't their fault until the very end.
💡 Use 우기다 when someone refuses to admit a clear mistake.
Related words in Interpersonal Friction
따지다 tta-ji-da삐치다 (삐지다) ppi-chi-da (ppi-ji-da)쪼잔하다 jjo-jan-ha-da얄밉다 yal-mip-da괘씸하다 gwae-ssim-ha-da