지르다 (jireuda) — To go ahead and buy something.
Lesson 66 in our Korean Slang series, adapted from Korean Your Teacher Doesn’t Teach You by Injin Hwang. This expression appears in the book’s food, shopping, and style section.
What 지르다 means
You may say 결국 질렀어 after deciding to buy an item you had considered for a while. The situation and tone help determine how natural the expression sounds.
A short conversation
A: 고민하던 카메라 샀어?
B: 응, 결국 질렀어.
A: Did you buy the camera you were considering?
B: Yes, I finally went for it.
Use it with care
Here it is informal shopping language. 지르다 also has other meanings, so use the context of a purchase.
A neutral or polite alternative: 결국 그 카메라를 샀어요. — I eventually bought that camera.
Try it yourself
In this dialogue, did the speaker merely add a camera to a cart?
Answer: No. They bought it. Read the Korean exchange aloud, then replace one detail with something from your own life.
Learn the rest of the series in Basic Korean Grammar. Find more expressions in the Korean slang book on Amazon.
