Relief

Words in this collection

• 안심하다 (an-sim-ha-da) — The calm that follows confirmation. If you text a friend walking home late at night and they finally reply 'made it home safe', you can '안심하다' — the specific worry you were holding is now gone.
• 다행이다 (da-haeng-i-da) — The ultimate sigh of relief. If you drop your phone face down on concrete, slowly flip it over, and see the screen is completely unbroken, the immediate emotional wave washing over you is '다행이다'.
• 가슴을 쓸어내리다 (ga-seum-eul sseul-eo-nae-ri-da) — A physical gesture turned into a phrase — the hand-on-chest motion people actually make after a jump scare or a close call. Watching your toddler almost run into the street, then grab your hand instead, is a '가슴을 쓸어내리다' moment.
• 걱정을 덜다 (geok-jeong-eul deol-da) — The plainest, most everyday version of this whole family of phrases — parents say it constantly ('건강하게만 자라주면 걱정을 덜겠다', if you just grow up healthy, that'll ease my worries). It's practical relief, not dramatic relief.
• 한시름 놓다 (han-si-reum no-ta) — '시름' is an old-fashioned word for a nagging worry, and this phrase is about putting exactly one of them down — not all your problems, just the one that's been sitting on your chest. Passing a big exam lets you '한시름 놓다' before the next one starts.
• 진정되다 (jin-jeong-doe-da) — Works for a racing heart, a crying child, or a chaotic situation alike — the word is about the settling itself. After an argument, you wait for your pulse to '진정되다' before trying to talk again.
• 마음이 놓이다 (ma-eum-i no-i-da) — Literally 'the heart gets set down' — like you were holding it tense in your hands and can finally put it back. Hearing your kid's flight landed safely is a classic '마음이 놓이다' moment.
• 살았다 (sa-rat-da) — Literally 'I lived', but used constantly for non-life-threatening close calls. Catching the last subway train by three seconds and gasping '아, 살았다' to yourself is exactly this — dramatic relief for an ordinary near-miss.
• 시름을 덜다 (si-reum-eul deol-da) — Less sudden than '한시름 놓다' — this is a gradual easing, like a chronic money worry getting smaller once you land a stable job. The weight doesn't vanish, it just gets lighter.
• 위기를 넘기다 (wi-gi-reul neom-gi-da) — Used for the moment right after danger has passed but before you've fully relaxed — a company barely making payroll one more month, or a patient's fever finally breaking. The crisis is over, even if the relief hasn't fully sunk in yet.