Nuance Dictionary / Social Situations
발목을 잡다 balmogeul japda
To be shackled by a past mistake or a person that prevents your professional growth.
What does 발목을 잡다 mean?
발목을 잡다 (balmogeul japda) means: To be shackled by a past mistake or a person that prevents your professional growth.
Speakers use this expression when an error, a prior commitment, or a specific person acts as a constraint on future advancement. It appears in contexts discussing missed opportunities, delayed promotions, or stalled projects where a specific anchor prevents forward movement. The expression centers on the imagery of an ankle being grabbed to stop someone from running ahead.
Depending on the context, this can sound like a direct complaint about an unfair obstacle or a self-reflective acknowledgment of a past misstep that slowed down one's own career.
Depending on the context, this can sound like a direct complaint about an unfair obstacle or a self-reflective acknowledgment of a past misstep that slowed down one's own career.
Other sides of 발목을 잡다
◆ Relational Entrapment — Speakers use this expression to describe a dynamic where one person holds onto another, preventing them from leaving a relationship or moving forward. It appears in conversations about personal attachments and emotional entanglements. It combines with terms related to relationships and emotional bonds.
Among casual speakers, this can carry a heavy emotional weight, framing the other person as an obstacle to personal freedom.
◆ The 'Weak Link' Exposure — Speakers use this idiom in group contexts, such as team projects, organizations, or competitive sports, when a single member's flaw or mistake compromises the collective effort. It frequently appears in discussions about accountability, scandals, or performance failures within a shared enterprise. The expression maintains its standard idiomatic structure centering on the ankles or feet as the point of restraint.
When applied to group settings, this can sound acutely critical, shifting the focus from a general failure to a specific person or vulnerability that held everyone back.
Among casual speakers, this can carry a heavy emotional weight, framing the other person as an obstacle to personal freedom.
◆ The 'Weak Link' Exposure — Speakers use this idiom in group contexts, such as team projects, organizations, or competitive sports, when a single member's flaw or mistake compromises the collective effort. It frequently appears in discussions about accountability, scandals, or performance failures within a shared enterprise. The expression maintains its standard idiomatic structure centering on the ankles or feet as the point of restraint.
When applied to group settings, this can sound acutely critical, shifting the focus from a general failure to a specific person or vulnerability that held everyone back.
🎙️ 발목을 잡다는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [발모글 잡따]로 소리나요 (경음화, 연음법칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 지난 실수가 승진의 발목을 잡았다.
jin-an sil-su-ga seung-jin-ui bal-mog-eul jab-at-da.
A past mistake held back the promotion.
💡 Shows a past error acting as a career impediment. - 서류 탈락이 이번 프로젝트 진행의 발목을 잡았다.
seo-ryu tal-rak-i i-beon peu-ro-jek-teu jin-haeng-ui bal-mog-eul jab-at-da.
The document screening failure held up the progress of this project.
💡 Shows a bureaucratic hurdle stopping work advancement. - 부족한 예산이 사업 확장의 발목을 잡고 있다.
bu-jok-han ye-san-i sa-eop hwak-jang-ui bal-mog-eul jab-go it-da.
Insufficient budget is holding back the expansion of the business.
💡 Shows a resource constraint acting as a professional impediment.
Related words in Social Situations
바늘 도둑이 소 도둑 된다 Baneul dodugi so doduk doenda발을 빼다 Bareul ppaeda비행기 태우다 Bihaeng-gi taeuda보통 bo-tong보기 좋은 떡이 먹기도 좋다 Bogi joeun tteogi meokgi-do jota