헛걸음

헛걸음

Korean

Etymology

헛 (heot-, “false; in vain”) +‎ 걸음 (georeum, “step”)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [hʌ̹t̚k͈ʌ̹ɾɯm]
• Phonetic hangeul: [헏꺼름]

Revised Romanization? heotgeoreum Revised Romanization (translit.)? heosgeol-eum McCune–Reischauer? hŏtkŏrŭm Yale Romanization? hesqkel.um

Noun

헛걸음 • (heotgeoreum)

1. (idiomatic) fruitless undertaking

   고기를 사러 갔는데 정육점이 문을 닫아서 헛걸음이었어.

   Gogireul sareo ganneunde jeong-yukjeomi muneul dadaseo heotgeoreumieosseo.

   We went to buy meat but the butcher's was closed, so it was a pointless trip.