Easy Korean Level 10 - Unit 15: Advanced Situational Expressions (Calming Someone Down)

In the last lesson, we learned how to express anger. Now, let's look at how to calm someone down or de-escalate a situation in Korean.

1. "Calm down first."

When someone is visibly agitated, angry, or panicking. - 일단 진정하세요. (First of all, calm down.) - 워워~ 진정해. (Whoa, calm down. - Casual, between friends) - 흥분하지 말고 제 말 들어보세요. (Don't get agitated, and listen to what I have to say.)

2. "Don't worry too much."

When someone is stressed or anxious about a problem. - 너무 걱정하지 마세요. (Don't worry too much.) - 다 잘 될 테니까 마음 푹 놓으세요. (Everything will be fine, so put your mind completely at ease.) - 별일 아닐 거예요. (It's probably nothing serious.)

3. "Let's take it easy."

When someone is overreacting or getting too worked up over something small. - 그렇게 심각하게 생각할 필요 없어요. (There's no need to think so seriously about it.) - 천천히 해요. 급할 거 없잖아요. (Take it slow. There's no rush, you know.) - 좋게 좋게 생각합시다. (Let's think about it positively / Let's resolve this peacefully.)

4. De-escalating an argument

If you are arguing and want to stop the fight. - 우리 감정적으로 하지 말자. (Let's not get emotional.) - 목소리 좀 낮추세요. (Please lower your voice.) - 일단 화부터 가라앉히고 다시 얘기해요. (Let's let our anger subside first and then talk again.)

Example Dialogue

A: 아, 진짜 짜증 나! 내 컴퓨터 파일이 다 날아갔어! 어떡해!! (Ah, this is so frustrating! All my computer files are gone! What do I do!!) B: 일단 진정해. 복구할 수 있는 방법이 있을 거야. 너무 걱정하지 마. (First, calm down. There must be a way to recover them. Don't worry too much.) A: 당장 내일이 마감인데 진정하게 생겼어? (The deadline is tomorrow, do I look like I can calm down?) B: 흥분하지 말고, 내가 도와줄 테니까 같이 찾아보자. (Don't get agitated, I'll help you so let's look for it together.)