두근두근
[두근두근]dugeundugeun
thump-thump (a pounding heart)
Sound & shape words
thump-thump — the beat of a racing heart
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Meaning & nuance
두근두근 is how Korean "hears" a fast heartbeat, like thump-thump or pit-a-pat in English. It covers happy excitement and nervousness alike, so the situation tells you which one.
It often comes with 가슴 (chest, heart): 가슴이 두근두근해요 means "My heart is pounding." To make it a verb, add 하다 (두근두근하다) or use the related verb 두근거리다.
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Examples
발표 전이라 가슴이 두근두근해요.My presentation is coming up, so my heart is pounding.
첫 데이트 날, 아침부터 두근두근했어요.On the day of my first date, my heart was racing from the morning.
두근두근한 마음으로 결과를 기다렸어요.I waited for the results with a pounding heart.
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Forms & politeness
- 두근두근하다
- to have a pounding heart
- 두근거리다
- to pound, to throb
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Hangul blocks
두ㄷ + ㅜ근ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄴ두ㄷ + ㅜ근ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄴ
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Good to know
Many Korean sound words repeat a two-syllable chunk: 두근 + 두근. Adding -거리다 to the chunk makes a verb: 두근거리다.
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Related words
Dictionary: 표준국어대사전 · 두근두근 ↗
Meanings are written in our own words. The link opens the Standard Korean Language Dictionary entry.