Korean word

벅차다

Pronunciation

Romanizationpeokchada

Meaning

  • adjectiveoverwhelming

Example

준비할 시간이 벅차서 약속에 늦었어요.chun bi hal ssi ga ni peok cha seo yak sso ge neu seo sseo yo

I had too little time to prepare, so I was late for the appointment.

Illustration for 벅차다 (overwhelming)

More examples

아이를 혼자 돌보느라 하루가 벅차다.a i reul hon ja tol bo neu ra ha ru ga peok cha da

Caring for my child alone makes each day overwhelming.

Core concept

A situation presses beyond the limits of a person's available time, strength, or emotional control.

Common phrases

  • 일이 벅차다i ri peok cha da

    overwhelming work

  • 시간이 벅차다si ga ni peok cha da

    insufficient time

  • 업무가 벅차다eom mu ga peok cha da

    overwhelming workload

Similar words

촉박하다chokppakada: Having too little time before a deadline to finish comfortably.
빠듯하다ppadeutada: Having almost no extra time or resources while getting something done.
버겁다peogeoptta: Being too much of a burden for one person to handle comfortably.

Definition in Korean

시간이나 준비, 능력 등이 부족하여 어떤 일을 감당할 여유가 없거나 감정이 북받쳐 제어하기 어려운 상태를 나타내는 형용사.si ga ni na chun bi neung nyeok teung i pu jo ka yeo eo tteon i reul kam dang hal yeo yu ga eop kkeo na kam jeong i puk ppat cheo che eo ha gi eo ryeo un sang tae reul na ta nae neun hyeong yong sa

Word origin

Its precise historical formation is uncertain, so learning its central idea of having no capacity left is safer than relying on a guessed word breakdown.

Usage tips

  • The word can describe both an exhausting workload and feelings that are hard to contain, so context shows whether the experience is difficult or deeply moving.

Opposites

Related words

  • 벅차오르다peokchaoreudawell upverb

Word lists with this word