Nunchi is commonly understood by Westerners as being merely the Korean equivalent of having 'good instincts' or 'ability to read or sense' the mood or nonverbal atmosphere (otherwise known as bunwuigi 분위기) of a situation. Korean mothers can also be heard instructing their children to show better "nunchi", as if it were to have 'good tact'. All of that is "nunchi", but with the addition that "nunchi" is also about sensing a conflict with chemyeon before it arises and being able to react in a way to avoid it. For example, an English teacher asks a question to a student, but 'senses' that the student might not be able to answer it, and so rephrases the question with a 'let me put it another way...' and asks a different student. This would be good nunchi in practice, as the teacher was able to quickly read the situation and change it to save the student's face without being obvious about it.

Another example of "quick nunchi"(눈치 빠르다) would be to have the sense to offer to pay for lunch when you know that your friend is in dire straits financially, or to bring an energy drink to work if you know that your boss or co-worker was working late the night before.