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부리다: To Display a Behavior or Attitude
Vocabulary
Nouns:
고집 = stubbornness
투정 = whining, complaining
심술 = spite, ill temper
생떼 = stubborn refusal
허세 = bluff, boasting
허풍 = exaggeration, boasting
공갈 = bluff, extortion
극성 = extreme, polarity
말썽 = trouble
성질 = temper
추태 = indecency
늑장 = dragging one’s feet
억지 = stubbornness to push through and accomplish something
기승 = rage
수작 = chatter
예의 = manners, etiquette
말썽꾸러기 = trouble maker
Verbs:
부리다 = to display a behavior or attitude
타협하다 = to compromise
Adjectives:
능숙하다 = to be skilled at
Introduction
Lesson 200! I’m so proud of what we have accomplished. We started writing Korean lessons in 2011 and this lesson is being uploaded in 2025. It took us 14 years, but we managed to finally get to 200. I wrote a similar message to this at 100. When I wrote Lesson 100, I had no children. Now, at Lesson 200, I have 7- and 5-year-old daughters. It’s been an incredible journey.
It is my biggest wish that our lessons have helped you along your journey to being proficient in Korean. Learning Korean isn’t easy, and I am honored every time a user of our website thanks me for creating these lessons. Thank you for reading them, interacting with them, and enjoying them.
In this lesson, you will learn a challenging, but versatile word in Korean. This word acts on many nouns and has a complex meaning. In this lesson, you will learn about the verb 부리다.
부리다: To Display a Behavior or Attitude
It is very difficult to come up with a translation for the word 부리다. It is a verb that acts on many different nouns. 부리다 is often used with nouns to express that some behavior or attitude is being exhibited, usually with a negative nuance. One of the most common nouns used with 부리다 is 욕심, meaning “greed.” 욕심, by nature, has a negative connotation to it. When somebody is exhibiting the behavior or attitude of greed (being greedy), you can use the word 부리다 to act on 욕심. For example:
욕심을 부리다: to be greedy
더 먹겠다고 욕심을 부리다가 결국 배탈이 났어요
= He got greedy and ate more, and ended up with a stomachache
There are many words that 부리다 can act on. You have learned some of them already as standalone nouns. For example:
짜증을 부리다 = to throw a tantrum, show irritation
피곤하다고 계속 짜증을 부리면 아무도 도와주지 않을 거예요
= If you keep throwing a tantrum just because you’re tired, no one will help you.
As you can see, 부리다 often implies a negative or exaggerated attitude or behavior, that is often childish in nature. There are many, many words that can be used with 부리다. Here is a good, but non-exhaustive list.
고집을 부리다 = to be stubborn, insist stubbornly
그렇게 고집을 부리지 말고 타협하는 법도 배워야죠
= You need to stop being so stubborn and learn how to compromise
투정을 부리다 = to whine, complain persistently
밥 안 먹겠다고 투정을 부리는 아이를 달래느라 땀이 났어요
= I was sweating trying to calm down the child who was whining about not eating
심술을 부리다 = to act spitefully, sulk
네가 기분이 안 좋다고 심술을 부리면 주위 사람들만 힘들어져
= If you act spitefully just because you’re in a bad mood, you’re only making it hard for others
생떼를 부리다 = to throw a tantrum, act stubbornly
엄마가 안 된다고 해도 애가 계속 생떼를 부려서 결국 사 줬어요
= Even though his mom said no, the kid threw such a tantrum that she ended up buying it
성질을 부리다 = to lose one’s temper
아저씨는 예의는커녕 성질만 부리고 나가 버렸어요
= The older man didn’t even bother to be polite, he just lost his temper and stormed out
허세를 부리다 = to show off, bluff
괜히 허세를 부리다가 창피만 당했어요
= I tried to show off and ended up just embarrassing myself
허풍을 부리다 = to brag, exaggerate
또 허풍을 부리고 있네요. 이번엔 자기가 연예인이랑 밥 먹었다고요?
= There he goes bragging again. This time saying he had dinner with a celebrity?
극성을 부리다 = to be excessive
부모들이 입시 준비 때문에 극성을 부리는 것을 보면 마음이 안 좋아요
= It’s disheartening to see how excessively some parents push their kids for college entrance exams
말썽을 부리다 = to get in trouble
걔는 어딜 가든 꼭 말썽을 부려서 문제예요
= No matter where he goes, he always causes trouble, that’s the problem
추태를 부리다 = to behave indecently
술 마시고 사람들 앞에서 추태를 부리는 것은 정말 부끄러운 일이에요
= Behaving indecently in front of people when drunk is truly disgraceful
늑장을 부리다 = to drag one’s feet
시간 없다고 하면서 왜 그렇게 늑장을 부려요
= You said you’re short on time, so why are you dragging your feet?
억지를 부리다 = to be stubborn to push through and accomplish something
이건 말도 안 되는 요구예요. 더 이상 억지를 부리지 마세요
= This is a ridiculous demand. Stop pushing it stubbornly.
기승을 부리다 = to rage
장마가 끝나자마자 더위가 기승을 부리고 있어요
= As soon as the rainy season ended, the heat came back with a vengeance
수작을 부리다 = to chatter
그렇게 수작 부릴 시간 있으면 일이나 제대로 해요
= If you have time to mess around like that, just focus on your work properly
One other interesting note. In addition to the meanings above, 부리다 has another meaning when acting on some sort of person or horse. When the object that 부리다 works on is a person or a horse, it is used to indicate that one controls, uses or manipulates the people or horses. For example:
아저씨는 말을 능숙하게 부렸어요
= He handled the horse skillfully
부장님은 직원들을 마치 기계처럼 부려 먹었어요
= The boss bossed around the workers like machines
That’s it for Lesson 200, and for Unit 8!