You can’t judge a book by its cover

English with Yoo! 는 일상생활에서 자주 쓰이는 다양한 표현들을 익히는 시간입니다.

I’ll give you a daily introduction to some meaningful and useful everyday English words and phrases! So let’s get started today!

Hi everyone, this is Jennifer Yoo and welcome to ENGLISH WITH YOO! 안녕하세요 English with Yoo! 의 Jennifer Yoo입니다.


오늘의 영어 표현은 You can’t judge a book by its cover입니다.

Let’s talk about an American English phrase that many people use. First, let’s listen to today’s conversation. Listen carefully.

You can’t judge a book by its cover
Janet: Oh boy! We are definitely lost. We need to ask someone quickly for directions. How about that man?
Rob: Wait! You mean that guy with big muscles and tattoos? No way! He looks scary.
Janet: Don’t say that. You can’t judge someone by how they look. It should be fine.
Rob: Oh fine!
(A few minutes later)
Rob: Ok! Got the directions! You know what? He was way nicer than I thought he would be, so I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Janet: See, I told you!

Janet이 Rob에게 “Oh boy! We are definitely lost. We need to ask someone quickly for directions. How about that man? 이런, 길을 잃었어. 빨리 방향을 물어보자. 저 남자는 어때?”라고 하자, Rob이 “Wait! You mean that guy with big muscles and tattoos? No way! He looks scary. 잠깐만 저기 근육질에 문신이 있는 남자 말하는 거야? 안 돼! 무섭게 생겼어.”라고 말하고 있네요. 그러자, Janet이 “Don’t say that. You can’t judge someone by how they look. 그렇게 말하지 마. 겉모습만으로 사람을 판단 하는 게 아니야. It should be fine. 괜찮을 거야. 가서 물어봐.”라고 말하고 있어요. 이에 Rob이 “Oh fine. 그래 알았어”라고 대답하고 길을 물으러 갑니다. 조금 뒤, Rob이 돌아와, “Ok! Got the directions! 됐어 길을 알아냈어! You know what? He was way nicer than I thought he would be, so I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover. 저 사람은 내가 생각했던 것보다 훨씬 친절했어, 네가 왜 사람을 겉모습만 보고 판단하지 말라고 했는지 알겠다.”라고 말하자, Janet이 “See, I told you! 그것 봐, 내가 그렇게 말했잖아!”라고 대답하고 있네요.

You can’t judge a book by its cover
Janet: Oh boy! We are definitely lost. We need to ask someone quickly for directions. How about that man?
Rob: Wait! You mean that guy with big muscles and tattoos? No way! He looks scary.
Janet: Don’t say that. You can’t judge someone by how they look. It should be fine.
Rob: Oh fine!
(A few minutes later)
Rob: Ok! Got the directions! You know what? He was way nicer than I thought he would be, so I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Janet: See, I told you!

오늘의 영어표현은 You can’t judge a book by its cover입니다. This means that you shouldn’t judge the quality of character or form an opinion on someone or something based purely on what you see on the surface. You can’t judge a book by its cover은 ‘겉 모습으로 속을 판단하지 말라’라는 뜻입니다. 사람들이 책을 고를 때, 표지 그림이나 제목만으로 결정하기도 합니다. 그런데 표지만 보아서는 재미없을 것 같은 책이 오히려 더 흥미로운 이야기를 담고 있을 수도 있는데요. 여기에서 ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover 겉을 보고 속을 판단하지 말라’라는 표현이 생긴 것입니다. 예를 한번 들어볼까요? 키가 커서 농구를 잘할 것 같다고 생각했는데 그렇지 않을 때, “I should have not judged a book by its cover, as you are tall. 네가 키가 크다고 농구를 잘할 것으로 생각하지 말았어야 하는데.”라고 말할 수 있습니다. Now we’ll listen to this conversation for the last time. Listen carefully.

You can’t judge a book by its cover
Janet: Oh boy! We are definitely lost. We need to ask someone quickly for directions. How about that man?
Rob: Wait! You mean that guy with big muscles and tattoos? No way! He looks scary.
Janet: Don’t say that. You can’t judge someone by how they look. It should be fine.
Rob: Oh fine!
(A few minutes later)
Rob: Ok! Got the directions! You know what? He was way nicer than I thought he would be, so I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Janet: See, I told you!

오늘의 영어표현, ‘ You can’t judge a book by its cover, 겉을 보고 속을 판단하지 말라’ 잘 기억해두세요. 지금까지 ENGLISH WITH YOO!의 Jennifer Yoo 입니다. Bye bye!