티끌 모아 태산
[티끌 모아 태산]tikkeul moa taesan
small things add up
Proverb
Gather dust and you get a mountain — little by little, it adds up.
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Meaning & nuance
Word by word: 티끌 is a speck of dust, 모아 means "gathering," and 태산 (泰山) is Mount Tai in China, used in Korean for "a huge mountain." Pile up specks of dust and you end up with a mountain.
Koreans say it about saving a little every day, studying ten minutes at a time, or any small effort that grows. It also works with a wry smile when small expenses quietly pile up.
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Examples
하루에 만 원씩 모으면 1년에 365만 원이야. 티끌 모아 태산이지.Save 10,000 won a day and that's 3.65 million won a year. Little by little, it adds up.
매일 단어 다섯 개씩 외웠더니 벌써 500개예요. 티끌 모아 태산이네요.I learned five words a day, and I'm already at 500. It really adds up.
커피값도 티끌 모아 태산이에요.Even coffee money adds up.
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Hangul blocks
티ㅌ + ㅣ끌ㄲ + ㅡ + ㄹ모ㅁ + ㅗ아ㅇ + ㅏ태ㅌ + ㅐ산ㅅ + ㅏ + ㄴ
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Good to know
Proverbs often drop the verb at the end. The full idea is 티끌 모아 태산(이 된다): gather dust and it becomes a mountain. 모아 comes from 모으다, "to collect."
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Related words
Dictionary: 표준국어대사전 · 티끌 ↗
Meanings are written in our own words. The link opens the Standard Korean Language Dictionary entry.