Describing Eyes, Nose, and Mouth

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TL;DR: Today's words help you describe faces: 눈 (eyes), 코 (nose), 입 (mouth), 귀 (ear), and 눈썹 (eyebrow). These are essential for describing people's appearance!

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Iru Helper Note: We just covered hair and skin — now let's zoom in even further on the face itself! 눈, 코, 입, 귀, and 눈썹 are the core features you'll use to describe anyone's face. Next up, <mention-page url="

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Basic Body Parts: Face to Toes"> steps back to cover the whole body, from face to toes. Quick example using all five: 제 친구는 눈이 크고 눈썹이 진해요. 코는 오뚝하고 입과 귀는 작아요. (My friend has big eyes and thick eyebrows. Their nose is well-defined and their mouth and ears are small.)

🎯 Big Picture

눈, 코, 입, 귀, and 눈썹 are the five core facial features you'll use constantly when describing people — from casual conversation to introducing a friend.

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 눈 (Eyes)

눈 means eye(s).

눈이 커요. (My eyes are big.)

눈을 감아요. (I close my eyes.)

Grammar note: 눈 also means "snow"! Context tells you which: 눈이 와요 (it's snowing) vs. 눈이 커요 (the eyes are big).

2. 코 (Nose)

코 means nose.

코가 오뚝해요. (The nose is well-defined/pert.)

코를 풀어요. (I blow my nose.)

Grammar note: 코가 높다/오뚝하다 both describe a prominent nose bridge — 높다 (lit. "tall/high") is more neutral, while 오뚝하다 is often used as a compliment for a cute, well-defined nose.

3. 입 (Mouth)

입 means mouth.

입이 작아요. (The mouth is small.)

입을 벌려요. (I open my mouth.)

Grammar note: 입 = the mouth as a whole (the opening); 입술 = lips specifically (the outer skin part). Don't mix them up!

4. 귀 (Ear)

귀 means ear.

귀가 커요. (The ears are big.)

귀를 만져요. (I touch my ear.)

Grammar note: 귀 and 코 look similar in writing but sound different — pay attention to the vowel (귀 = "gwi", 코 = "ko").

5. 눈썹 (Eyebrow)

눈썹 means eyebrow.

눈썹이 진해요. (The eyebrows are thick/dark.)

눈썹을 그려요. (I draw on my eyebrows.)

Grammar note: 눈썹 = 눈 (eye) + 썹 (brow), a compound noun. Don't confuse with 속눈썹 (eyelashes) — 속 means "inside," so 속눈썹 are the lashes on the eyelid.

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

제 눈은 크고 눈썹은 진해요. (My eyes are big and my eyebrows are thick.)

코가 오뚝하고 입이 작아요. (The nose is well-defined and the mouth is small.)

귀와 눈, 코, 입은 모두 얼굴에 있어요. (Ears, eyes, nose, and mouth are all on the face.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

눈/코/입/귀/눈썹 + 이/가 + adjective = describing facial features: 눈이 크다/작다, 코가 높다/낮다, 입이 크다/작다, 귀가 크다/작다, 눈썹이 진하다/연하다.

눈을/입을 + verb: 눈을 감다/뜨다 (close/open eyes), 입을 벌리다/다물다 (open/close mouth).

코를 + verb: 코를 풀다 (blow nose), 코를 막다 (hold/cover nose).

눈썹을 그리다 = to draw on eyebrows (common in a makeup context).

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Cross-check: Search 눈, 코, 입, 귀, and 눈썹 on the 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 (National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Korean Dictionary) for full definitions and example sentences.

🔁 Synonym Alert

입 vs. 입술 — 입 is the mouth as a whole (the opening); 입술 specifically means lips (the outer skin part).

코가 높다 vs. 코가 오뚝하다 — 높다 (lit. "tall/high") neutrally describes a prominent nose bridge; 오뚝하다 ("well-defined/pert") is a softer, often complimentary way to describe nose shape.

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

눈 has two meanings — "eye" and "snow." Context (눈이 와요 vs. 눈이 예뻐요) tells you which.

입 ≠ 입술 — 입 is the mouth opening, 입술 is the lips specifically.

코가 높다 can idiomatically mean "stuck-up/arrogant" in other contexts — but when simply describing appearance, it just means the nose bridge is prominent.

눈썹 vs. 속눈썹 — 눈썹 = eyebrows (above the eye), 속눈썹 = eyelashes (on the eyelid).

Use 이/가 with facial features + adjective, not 을/를: 눈이 커요 (not 눈을 커요).

오늘 배운 단어들로 친구의 얼굴을 한번 묘사해 보세요! 눈, 코, 입, 귀, 눈썹 — 다섯 가지만 있으면 충분해요! 👀✨

Try this exercise

___이 커요. (eyes)

___가 오뚝해요. (nose)

___이 작아요. (mouth)

___가 커요. (ear)

___이 진해요. (eyebrow)

___을 감아요. (eyes - close)

___을 풀어요. (nose - blow)

___을 벌려요. (mouth - open)

___를 만져요. (ear - touch)

___을 그려요. (eyebrow - draw)

Answer Key

눈썹

눈썹

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Vocabulary Box: 눈 (eyes) · 코 (nose) · 입 (mouth) · 귀 (ear) · 눈썹 (eyebrow)

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Pitfalls Recap: 눈 = eye or snow (context) · 입 vs 입술 · 코가 높다 (descriptive, not always "arrogant") · 눈썹 vs 속눈썹 · use 이/가 with facial features.

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Want more reps? Head down to the Practice Hub below for 10 more face-related words and 5 extra exercises!

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Practice Hub: Ready for more? Here are 10 bonus face words: 얼굴 (face), 이마 (forehead), 턱 (chin), 볼 (cheek), 입술 (lips), 속눈썹 (eyelashes), 주근깨 (freckles), 보조개 (dimple), 쌍꺼풀 (double eyelid), and 안경 (glasses). Try the exercises below!

Exercise 1 — Translate It 📝

___이 동그래요. (face)

___이 넓어요. (forehead)

___이 길어요. (chin)

___이 빨개요. (cheek)

___이 두꺼워요. (lips)

___이 길어요. (eyelashes)

___가 있어요. (freckles)

___가 있어요. (dimple)

___이 있어요. (double eyelid)

___을 써요. (glasses)

Answer Key

얼굴

이마

입술

속눈썹

주근깨

보조개

쌍꺼풀

안경

Exercise 2 — Match English to Korean 🔗

얼굴

이마

입술

속눈썹

주근깨

보조개

쌍꺼풀

안경

Answer Key

얼굴 = face

이마 = forehead

턱 = chin

볼 = cheek

입술 = lips

속눈썹 = eyelashes

주근깨 = freckles

보조개 = dimple

쌍꺼풀 = double eyelid

안경 = glasses

Exercise 3 — Adjective Conjugation Practice 🔧

Conjugate each adjective into 해요체 (present tense, polite informal):

크다 → ___

작다 → ___

높다 → ___

낮다 → ___

진하다 → ___

연하다 → ___

둥글다 → ___

길다 → ___

넓다 → ___

오뚝하다 → ___

Answer Key

커요 (ㅡ-irregular: 크 + 어요 → 커요)

작아요

높아요

낮아요

진해요

연해요

둥글어요

길어요

넓어요

오뚝해요

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Quick Reference — ㅡ-Irregular & 하다-Adjectives: 크다 drops the ㅡ and adds 어요 → 커요 (ㅡ-irregular). 하다-adjectives like 진하다, 연하다, and 오뚝하다 simply become 해요: 진해요, 연해요, 오뚝해요. Regular adjectives like 작다, 높다, 낮다, 길다, 넓다 just add 아요/어요 with no stem change.

Exercise 4 — 위 (Upper), 중간 (Middle), or 아래 (Lower) Face? 🤔

이마

눈썹

속눈썹

쌍꺼풀

안경

주근깨

입술

Answer Key

이마 → 위 (upper)

눈썹 → 위 (upper)

속눈썹 → 위 (upper)

쌍꺼풀 → 위 (upper)

안경 → 위 (upper — worn over the eyes)

코 → 중간 (middle)

볼 → 중간 (middle)

주근깨 → 중간 (middle — usually across the nose and cheeks)

입술 → 아래 (lower)

턱 → 아래 (lower)

Exercise 5 — Describe a Face 🪞

제 친구는 ___이 동그래요. (face)

___이 넓고 둥글어요. (forehead)

눈이 크고 ___이 길어요. (eyelashes)

___에 보조개가 있어요. (cheek)

___이 도톰해요. (lips)

___이 뾰족해요. (chin)

눈에 ___이 있어요. (double eyelid)

코에 ___가 있어요. (freckles)

___을 쓰면 더 똑똑해 보여요. (glasses)

웃을 때 ___가 생겨요. (dimple)

Answer Key

얼굴

이마

속눈썹

입술

쌍꺼풀

주근깨

안경

보조개

오늘 배운 단어들로 얼굴 구석구석을 자세히 묘사해 보세요! 이제 거울을 보면 더 많은 단어가 떠오를 거예요. 👁️✨