살아남다
saranamda[sʰa̠ɾa̠na̠mt͈a̠]
To survive in Korean is 살아남다 (saranamda).
The verb 살아남다 is used to describe living past a life-threatening event.
Meaning: live past a life-threatening event (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of 살아, meaning living and 남다, meaning to remain. Literally, it means to remain living.
How does it change in a sentence?
In a polite, informal style, the past tense of 살아남다 is 살아남았어요 (survived) and the future tense is 살아남을 거예요 (will survive).
How do you pronounce it?
saranamda
Did you know?
- The root 살 in 살아남다 is shared with the word for 'flesh' or 'skin' (살), reflecting an ancient linguistic connection between the physical body and the act of living.
- In competitive environments like K-pop survival shows, 살아남다 is used to describe passing an audition round, even though no one is in physical danger.
- In Korean, the word 남다 can refer to leftovers of a meal. Thus, 살아남다 evokes the image of being the 'leftover' person after others have perished.
Examples in context
- 대지진을 겪고 많은 사람들이 살아남았다.Many people survived the earthquake.
- 그는 추운 겨울을 버티고 살아남았다.He endured the cold winter and survived.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 살아남다, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
