901~1000 : 미국식 맞장구·필러·관용표현
미국 사람들의 일상 대화를 들어보면 문법바카라에서 배운 완전한 문장만 사용하는 것은 아닙니다. “No way.”, “That makes sense.”, “You know what?”, “I'm good.”처럼 짧은 표현이 끊임없이 등장합니다. 이런 말은 새로운 정보를 전달하기보다 상대방의 말에 반응하고, 생각할 시간을 벌고, 자신의 느낌을 자연스럽게 보여주는 역할을 합니다.
마지막 10편에서는 앞의 900문장과 성격이 겹치지 않도록 미국식 대화의 ‘말맛’을 살려주는 표현에 집중했습니다. 맞장구, 리액션, 필러, 일상 구어체, 관용표현 등 미국의 일상 대화에서 활용도가 높은 100문장을 901번부터 1000번까지 정리했습니다. 유행을 많이 타는 젊은 세대의 슬랭보다는 나이에 관계없이 비교적 폭넓게 사용할 수 있는 표현을 중심으로 구성했습니다.
901. What's up? (어떻게 지내요? / 무슨 일이에요?) This is a very casual greeting or question. A common answer is, “Not much.”
902. Not much. (별일 없어요.) This is a common answer to “What's up?” when nothing special is happening.
903. How's it going? (어떻게 지내요?) This is a casual way to ask how someone is doing. You can answer, “Pretty good.”
904. Pretty good. (꽤 좋아요. / 잘 지내요.) This is a natural casual answer when someone asks how you are doing.
905. Sounds good. (좋아요. / 그렇게 해요.) Use this when you agree with a plan or suggestion. For example, “Let's meet at six.” “Sounds good.”
906. Sounds great. (아주 좋아요.) Use this when you really like someone's suggestion or plan.
907. That works. (그렇게 하면 돼요.) Use this when a suggested time, place, or plan is okay for you.
908. Works for me. (저는 좋아요. / 저는 괜찮아요.) Use this when you agree with a plan. For example, “How about Friday?” “Works for me.”
909. That's fine. (괜찮아요.) Use this when you accept a situation, choice, or plan.
910. No problem. (문제없어요. / 괜찮아요.) Use this to say something is okay or that you are happy to help.
911. No worries. (걱정 마세요. / 괜찮아요.) This is a friendly way to tell someone not to worry about a small problem.
912. That's okay. (괜찮아요.) Use this when accepting an apology or saying that something is not a problem.
913. It's all good. (다 괜찮아요.) This is a casual way to say there is no problem and you are not upset.
914. It's no big deal. (별일 아니에요.) Use this when something is not as serious or important as someone thinks.
915. Don't worry about it. (신경 쓰지 마세요.) Say this when you want someone to stop worrying about a small mistake or problem.
916. You got it. (알겠어요. / 그렇게 할게요.) Use this to show that you understand a request and will do it.
917. Got it. (알겠어요.) This is a very common casual way to say you understand.
918. I got you. (무슨 말인지 알겠어요. / 제가 도와드릴게요.) Depending on the situation, this can mean “I understand you” or “I'll take care of you.”
919. I see. (그렇군요.) Use this to show that you understand what someone has just told you.
920. That makes sense. (말이 되네요. / 이해가 되네요.) Use this when someone's explanation seems reasonable and clear.
921. I know what you mean. (무슨 말인지 알아요.) Use this when you understand someone's feeling or experience.
922. I hear you. (무슨 말씀인지 알겠어요.) This shows that you understand someone's feelings or concerns.
923. I get it. (이해해요.) This is a casual way to say that you understand an idea or situation.
924. Fair enough. (그 말도 일리가 있네요.) Use this when you accept that someone's reason or opinion is reasonable.
925. That's true. (그건 맞아요.) Use this when you agree that something someone said is true.
926. Good point. (좋은 지적이에요.) Say this when someone says something important or reasonable.
927. You're right. (맞아요.) Use this when you agree with what someone has said.
928. Absolutely. (물론이죠. / 정말 그래요.) Use this to show strong agreement.
929. Definitely. (확실히 그래요.) Use this when you strongly agree or are certain about something.
930. For sure. (확실히요. / 물론이죠.) This is a casual way to strongly agree with someone.
931. Of course. (물론이죠.) Use this when something is obvious or when you happily agree to something.
932. Sure thing. (물론이죠.) This is a friendly casual way to say yes to a request.
933. Why not? (안 될 이유가 있나요? / 좋죠.) Use this when you are willing to try or accept something.
934. I guess so. (그런 것 같아요.) Use this when you agree, but you are not completely certain or excited.
935. Maybe. (아마도요. / 그럴지도 몰라요.) Use this when you are not sure whether something is true or will happen.
936. Probably. (아마 그럴 거예요.) Use this when you think something is likely to happen or be true.
937. We'll see. (두고 봐야죠.) Use this when you do not know what will happen yet.
938. We'll see how it goes. (어떻게 되는지 봐야죠.) Use this when you want to wait and see how a situation develops.
939. No way! (설마! / 정말요!) Use this when you are very surprised. Your tone shows whether the surprise is good or bad.
940. Really? (정말요?) Use this to show surprise or interest and encourage the other person to continue.
941. Seriously? (정말이에요?) This is a casual reaction when something is surprising or hard to believe.
942. Are you kidding me? (농담하는 거죠? / 정말이에요?) Use this when you are very surprised. Your tone is important because it can also sound annoyed.
943. That's crazy. (정말 놀랍네요. / 말도 안 되네요.) This is a common casual reaction to something very surprising or unusual.
944. Wow, that's amazing. (와, 정말 대단하네요.) Use this when you are impressed by something someone tells you.
945. That's awesome. (정말 멋지네요.) This is a casual and positive reaction to good news or something impressive.
946. Good for you! (잘됐네요! / 정말 잘하셨어요!) Say this when you are happy about someone's success or good news.
947. Lucky you! (좋으시겠어요! / 운 좋으시네요!) Use this in a friendly way when something good happens to someone.
948. That's great to hear. (그 말을 들으니 좋네요.) Use this when someone tells you good news.
949. That's good to know. (그걸 알게 돼서 좋네요.) Say this when someone gives you useful or helpful information.
950. Good to know. (알아두면 좋겠네요.) This is a shorter casual version of “That's good to know.”
951. Well... (음… / 글쎄요…) Use this when you need a moment to think before answering.
952. Let me see... (어디 보자… / 잠깐 생각해볼게요…) Use this when you are thinking, checking, or trying to remember something.
953. Let me think... (생각 좀 해볼게요…) Use this when you need a little time before giving an answer.
954. You know... (있잖아요… / 그러니까…) Americans often use this while thinking or introducing something they think the listener understands.
955. You know what? (있잖아요. / 그런데 말이에요.) Use this when you are about to say a new thought, decision, or idea.
956. I mean... (제 말은… / 그러니까…) Use this when you want to explain, clarify, or slightly change what you just said.
957. Actually... (사실은… / 그런데…) Use this when you want to correct something or add information that may be different from what someone expects.
958. Basically... (기본적으로 말하면… / 쉽게 말하면…) Use this when you want to explain the main idea simply.
959. Honestly... (솔직히 말하면…) Use this before giving your true opinion or feeling.
960. Anyway... (아무튼…) Use this when returning to the main topic or moving the conversation forward.
961. By the way... (그런데 말이에요… / 참…) Use this when you want to introduce a new topic or something you just remembered.
962. So... (그래서… / 그러면…) Americans often use this to begin a question, move a conversation forward, or introduce a new point.
963. Let's see... (어디 보자…) Use this when you are thinking, looking for something, or deciding what to do.
964. Give me a second. (잠깐만요.) Use this when you need a very short amount of time before doing or answering something.
965. Hang on a second. (잠깐만요.) This is a casual way to ask someone to wait for a short time.
966. Hold on. (잠깐만요.) Use this when you want someone to wait or stop for a moment.
967. Just a second. (잠시만요.) This is a very common short way to ask someone to wait.
968. Here you go. (여기 있습니다.) Say this when you give something to another person.
969. There you go. (됐어요. / 여기요.) Use this when giving something, finishing something for someone, or showing that something is now ready.
970. There we go. (됐네요. / 이제 됐어요.) Say this when something finally works or is successfully finished.
971. I'm good. (저는 괜찮아요. / 됐어요.) This often means you do not need anything more. For example, “Do you want more coffee?” “No, I'm good.”
972. I'm all set. (전 다 됐어요. / 필요한 건 다 있어요.) Use this when you are ready or do not need anything else.
973. I'm fine with that. (저는 그거 괜찮아요.) Use this when you accept a choice, idea, or plan.
974. Whatever works. (되는 대로 괜찮아요.) Use this when you are flexible and do not have a strong preference.
975. It's up to you. (당신이 정하세요.) Use this when you want the other person to make the decision.
976. You never know. (어떻게 될지 모르죠.) Use this when something unexpected may still happen.
977. It happens. (그럴 수도 있죠.) Say this when a small mistake or unfortunate event is normal and not worth worrying too much about.
978. Things happen. (살다 보면 이런저런 일이 생기죠.) Use this to accept that unexpected problems sometimes happen.
979. That's life. (사는 게 그렇죠.) Say this when accepting that difficult or unexpected things are part of life.
980. So far, so good. (지금까지는 잘되고 있어요.) Use this when something has gone well up to the present moment.
981. One step at a time. (한 번에 한 걸음씩 해요.) Use this when you want to do something slowly and steadily.
982. Take your time. (천천히 하세요.) Say this when someone does not need to hurry.
983. Take it easy. (편하게 하세요. / 무리하지 마세요.) Use this to tell someone to relax or not work too hard. It can also be a casual goodbye.
984. Hang in there. (조금만 더 힘내세요.) Say this to encourage someone who is going through a difficult time.
985. You got this. (당신이라면 할 수 있어요.) This is a common casual expression used to encourage someone before something difficult.
986. Keep it up. (계속 잘해보세요.) Say this when someone is doing well and you want them to continue.
987. Fingers crossed. (잘되기를 빌게요.) Use this when you hope something will have a good result.
988. Good luck with that. (그 일 잘되길 바랄게요.) Use this when someone is about to do something important or difficult. A warm tone makes it sound supportive.
989. My bad. (제 실수예요. / 미안해요.) This is a very casual way to admit a small mistake.
990. No hard feelings. (감정 상하지 말아요.) Use this when you want to say that there should be no bad feelings after a disagreement or problem.
991. I'm just kidding. (그냥 농담이에요.) Say this after something you said was meant as a joke.
992. Just kidding. (농담이에요.) This is a shorter casual version of “I'm just kidding.”
993. I'm just saying. (그냥 제 생각을 말하는 거예요.) Use this when you want to soften a comment or explain that you are only expressing your view.
994. It is what it is. (어쩔 수 없죠. / 현실이 그런 거죠.) Use this when you accept a situation that you cannot easily change.
995. Better late than never. (늦더라도 안 하는 것보다 낫죠.) Use this when something happens late but you are still glad it happened.
996. Easier said than done. (말은 쉽지만 실천은 어렵죠.) Use this when an idea sounds simple but is difficult to actually do.
997. It's worth a shot. (한번 해볼 만해요.) Use this when you think something is worth trying even if success is not certain.
998. Let's call it a day. (오늘은 여기까지 해요.) Use this when you want to stop working or doing something for the day.
999. Time flies. (시간 참 빨리 가네요.) Use this when you feel that time has passed very quickly.
1000. That's the way it goes. (살다 보면 그런 거죠.) Use this when accepting that things do not always happen the way we want.
마지막 100문장은 앞의 900문장과 연습 방법을 조금 다르게 하는 것이 좋습니다. 이 표현들은 식당이나 공항처럼 특정 장소에서만 사용하는 문장이 아니라 일상 대화 사이사이에 자연스럽게 들어가는 말이기 때문입니다. 미국 사람들의 대화를 들을 때 이런 짧은 표현이 언제 나오는지 귀 기울여 들어보세요.
먼저 맞장구 표현부터 익혀보세요. 상대방의 설명을 이해했다면 “I see.”, “I get it.”, “That makes sense.”라고 말할 수 있습니다. 놀라운 이야기를 들었다면 “Really?”, “No way!”, “That's amazing.”이라고 반응할 수 있습니다. 좋은 소식에는 “Good for you!” 또는 “That's great to hear.”라고 말해보세요.
말하다가 생각할 시간이 필요할 때도 침묵할 필요가 없습니다. “Well...”, “Let me think...”, “You know...”, “I mean...” 같은 짧은 표현을 활용할 수 있습니다. 다만 이런 필러는 너무 많이 사용하면 오히려 말이 산만하게 들릴 수 있으므로 필요한 순간에 자연스럽게 사용하는 것이 좋습니다.
특히 문장 하나만 보고 뜻을 외우지 말고 짧은 대화로 연습해보세요. 누군가 “Do you want some more?”라고 물으면 “No, I'm good.”이라고 답합니다. “How about Friday?”라고 물으면 “Works for me.”라고 말합니다. 친구가 중요한 일을 앞두고 있다면 “You got this.”라고 응원해보세요. 이런 식으로 상황과 함께 익히면 표현이 훨씬 쉽게 기억됩니다.
이제 1번부터 1000번까지 모두 완성되었습니다. 처음부터 1000문장을 한꺼번에 외우려고 하지 마세요. 하루에 10문장씩만 익혀도 됩니다. 영어를 보고 소리 내어 읽고, 한국어 뜻을 보고 영어로 말하고, 마지막에는 자신의 상황에 맞게 단어나 내용을 바꾸어 말해보세요.
Listen. React. Repeat. Make it yours.
영어회화 1000문장의 진짜 목표는 1000개의 문장을 머릿속에 저장하는 것이 아닙니다. 필요한 순간에 쉬운 영어 한마디가 자연스럽게 입에서 나오게 만드는 것입니다. 하루에 몇 문장이라도 직접 소리 내어 사용해보세요. 그렇게 쌓인 작은 문장들이 어느 순간 자연스러운 영어 대화로 이어지기 시작합니다.