Jen: You haven’t found a good job yet? You’ve been searching for one for more than two months now.
Alice: Not quite yet. It’s not as easy as you think. Finding a decent job is easier said than done.

제가 Alice에게 “You haven’t found a good job yet? You’ve been searching for one for more than two months now. 너 아직까지도 좋은 직장 못 얻었니? 한 두달 동안 찾고 있었잖아.” 라고 하자 Alice가 “Not quite yet. It’s not as easy as you think. Finding a decent job is easier said than done. 아직 못찾았어. 말은 쉽지만 네가 생각하는 것처럼 그렇게 쉽지 않아”라고 대답하더라고요.

Keep today’s expression ‘easier said than done’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Jen: You haven’t found a good job yet? You’ve been searching for one for more than two months now.
Alice: Not quite yet. It’s not as easy as you think. Finding a decent job is easier said than done.

오늘의 표현은 easier said than done입니다. You can say something is ‘easier said than done’ when it looks very easy to do, but in fact quite hard to do. So basically this expression is used when something is more easily talked about than actually done.

‘Easier said than done’은 ‘행동보다 말하는 것은 더 쉽다’ 라는 뜻입니다. 다시 말해서 ‘말이야 쉽지’ 라는 뜻이죠. 본문에서 제가 Alice에게 아직까지도 좋은 일자리를 못 찾았는지 묻자 Alice 가 “Not quite yet. It’s not as easy as you think.” 라고 대답했죠. 이렇게 무언가가 행동보다 말이 쉬울 때 쓸 수 있는 표현이 바로 ‘easier said than done’입니다.

이제 예를 들어 볼까요? Let me give you some examples. “Tom, it’s always easier said than done.” 라고 하면 “말이야 항상 행동보다 쉽지.” 라는 뜻이 됩니다.

또 다른 예를 들어 보겠습니다. “Finishing all this task in 1 hour is easier said than done.”라고 하면 “말하기는 쉽지만 한 시간 안에 이 모든 일을 끝내는 것은 불가능해.” 라는 뜻이 됩니다. Now you know what today’s expression ‘easier said than done’ means right? Then we’ll listen to the conversation for the last time.

Jen: You haven’t found a good job yet? You’ve been searching for one for more than two months now.
Alice: Not quite yet. It’s not as easy as you think. Finding a decent job is easier said than done.

Let’s review. You can say something is ‘easier said than done’ when it looks very easy to do, but in fact hard to do. EASIER SAID THAN DONE. Now try using this expression on your own.