Meaning and Usage
The verb '잘리다' primarily means 'to be cut' or 'to be snapped,' but it is commonly used in everyday Korean to mean 'to be fired' from a job. It can also describe something being physically cut or broken, such as a wire or rope, or metaphorically, like losing contact or connection.
Common Contexts
- Employment: When someone loses their job, Koreans often say '잘리다' instead of more formal terms.
- Physical breakage: Describing something that is physically severed or snapped.
- Communication: Used to express that contact or connection has been lost.
Collocations and Patterns
- 회사에서 잘리다 (to be fired from a company): very common in casual speech about job loss.
- 선이 잘리다 (a line/wire is cut): used when something is physically severed.
- 연락이 잘리다 (contact is cut off): used for losing communication.
Register and Nuance
'잘리다' is informal and often used in spoken Korean. For formal or written contexts, especially about job termination, words like '해고되다' are preferred. When using '잘리다' about physical objects, it is neutral and descriptive.
Common Mistake
Learners sometimes confuse '잘리다' with '자르다' (to cut something). Remember, '잘리다' is passive or reflexive, meaning 'to be cut' or 'to be fired,' while '자르다' is active, meaning 'to cut (something)'.