PROVERB · EFFORT
물이 맑아야 고기가 산다
What it means · 뜻
Good conditions sustain everything.
Literal reading · 직역
Clear water keeps fish alive
Context
🔥 Effort — Korean proverbs in this family are said out loud, not just read. They arrive with the situation attached, which is why they are worth learning as whole sentences rather than as vocabulary.
Similar meaning
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구슬이 서 말이라도 꿰어야 보배
Talent is useless without effort to organize it.
보기 좋은 떡이 먹기도 좋다
Presentation matters. Make it look good.
시작이 반이다
The hardest part is beginning.
열 번 찍어 안 넘어가는 나무 없다
Persistence overcomes anything.
티끌 모아 태산
Small savings become wealth.
개똥도 약에 쓴다
Every little thing gets used. Nothing wasted.
백문이 불여일견
Seeing is believing.
산 넘어 산
One problem after another. But keep walking.
세 살 버릇 여든까지 간다
Early habits stick forever. Start young.
같은 값이면 다홍치마
If it costs the same, pick quality.
공부가 살길이라
Education opens doors.
금강산도 식후경
Eat first, then travel. Even sightseeing needs fuel.
새 발의 피
A trivial amount — bird blood barely shows.
닭 부리가 될지언정 소 꼬리는 되지 마라
Better first among the small than last among the great.
죽을 수가 닥치면 살 수가 생긴다
Desperation opens doors.
손자를 귀애하면 코 묻은 밥을 먹는다
Spoiling has gross invoices.
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