The Language of K-Pop

Ever feel like your obsession with korean pop music is a waste of time? Maybe it is, but that doesn't mean you can't learn something at the same time! If you've had the chorus of a song stuck in your head composed mostly of words you don't understand, then you have already started studying.

[languageofkpop]

SHINee: 너와 나의 거리 (Selene 6.23)

Ballads aren’t usually my thing, but is this not just a beautiful song? I loved it so much I read through the whole translation. For those of you who haven’t, here is a small taste. I picked the first line of the chorus (first repeat 2:14).

손을 더 뻗어도 (내 손을 잡아줘)

온 힘을 다해 뻗어도 (뻗어도) 넌 닿지 않아

soneul deo bbeodeodo (nae soneul jabajwo)

on himeul dahae bbeodeodo (bbeodeodo) neon dahji anha

Though I extend my hand (take my hand)

Though I extend it with all my might (extend it) I can’t reach you

And here are some of the individual words and phrases so that you might recognize them later.

손 (son) => “hand”

뻗 (bbeod) => “extends; stretches”

넌 (neon) => “you”

을 (eul) => a topic/object marking particle

내 손을 잡아 (nae soneul jaba) => “take my hand”

온 힘을 다해 (on himeul dahae) => “with all [my/your] might

닿지 않아 (dahji anha) => "cannot reach/touch”

Bonus: Jonghyun’s lyric writing notes.

[letslearnhangeul]

The Korean Alphabet: Consonants (¼)

한글 (han geul) is the name for the Korean alphabet, while the Korean language itself is known as 한국어 (han guk eo).

It is important to note that in Korean, an individual character represents a single sound unlike other languages like Chinese where a complex character may represent a symbol. So, just like in English, you can put different “letters” together and build syllables, words, and sentences!

The Korean language has 14 basic consonants, each that correspond to a single sound.

Let’s take a look~

1. ㄱ (g/k sound) g as in gold 2. ㄴ (n sound) n as in north 3. ㄷ (d sound) d as in door 4. ㄹ (r/l sound)* 5. ㅁ (m sound) m as in mother 6.ㅂ (b sound) b as in balloon 7. ㅅ (s sound) s as in sail 8. ㅇ (no sound/ ng)* 9. ㅈ (j sound) as in joy 10. ㅊ (ch sound) and in chat 11. ㅋ (k sound) as in kayak 12. ㅌ (t sound) as in tomato 13. ㅍ (p sound) as in pet 14. ㅎ (h sound) as in house

*it is important to note that the pronunciation of “ㄹ” and “ㅇ” depends on the placement of the character in a given word. The pronunciation of “ㄹ” is in between the “r” and “l” sounds and emphasis varies depending on how the word is spoken. The rule for “ㅇ” on the other hand is pretty simple. When placed at the beginning of the word, “ㅇ” makes no sound, and when placed at the end of a word makes an “-ng” sound.

Happy studying!~

[randomhangul]

Eye/Snow. 

Note: This word means both snow and eye. It is a homograph which is a group of words that have the same spelling but different meanings. In English an example of such a pair of words is the word bat where one meaning is the sporting equipment used in baseball and the other is the winged animal that is usually associated with vampires.

If anyone can let me know if any other homographs in Korean please let me know! I’d be curious to see what other pairs there are :]

[won-bora]

Random Words

..I’ve stumbled across in 무한도전과 런닝맨 ;;

분위기 atmosphere/mood/feeling

대표 representative

가성 falsetto

이름표 name tag

고십(하다) (to) gossip

[wasianhate-deactivated20220831]

LEARN KOREAN

For all you international kpop fans out there who’d like to learn Korean (for multiple reason I guess?), I have collected a large collection of online textbooks, websites, resources, and blogs that can help you achieve your goal!

online textbooks: [ all the downloads are pdfs, no .rar files! ] 

My Korean – book one

My Korean – book two

Dirty Korean

Using Korean

Basic Korean

Korean from Zero! – book one

Korean Grammar for International Learners

Using Korean: a Contemporary Use

Intermediate College Korean

Living Language Korean Course

Continuing Korean

Handbook of Korean Vocabulary

Korean Grammar in Use

Korean for Dummies

Korean Made Simple (not a download)

websites:

how to study korean

Sogang Korean Program

learn korean

talk to me in korean

lets learn korean

free korean lessons

korean for dummies cheat sheet

korean class 101

korean class 101 (youtube)

talktomeinkorean (youtube)

sweetandtasty (youtube)

seemile (youtube)

common vocabulary

useful korean phrases

grammar + vocab reference

vocab games

quizlet

Apps: [ some may only be available for iphone or android and not both so bear with me ]

pop-popping korean (iOS + android)

tengugo hangul (iOS + android)

kdrama talk (iOS only) 

Neme Korean (iOS + android)

KORLINK by Talk to Me in Korean (iOS + android)

Learn Korean by Bravo Language (iOS + android)

Korean Flashcards (free on android only, $4.99 on iOS)

Learn Korean 6000 words (android only)

TOPIK One (iOS + android)

Dongsa (iOS + android)

POPYA animals & fruits + vegetables (iOS + android)

misc. resources:

korean keyboard

culture notes

text slang

crash course on honorifics

children’s books

the chosun (news in korean)

korean class 101 podcast

talk to me in korean podcast

blogs: [ most of these seem pretty active as far as i can tell ]

unyounglearnskorean

study-korean

translating korean

letstteok-korean

onestopkorean

learnkoreanwithmusic

hangeulit

learninghangukeo

way-to-fluency

snubiwriteskorean

easykorean

cassarilla

teachmykorean

HAPPY STUDYING EVERYONE!!!

[hanguk-eo]

[learn-hangul]

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my followers!^^ I hope everyone can spend the day with people they love and don’t forget to tell them you’re thankful for them! I’m so thankful for all of you <3 Now, let’s get to the vocabulary~

추수 감사절: Thanksgiving

호박 바이: pumpkin pie

칠면조: turkey

가족: family

...

[jinki-bunny]

Learn Korean with SHINee: Occupations

[dramafever-deactivated20181022]

How to learn Korean with K-dramas

[languageofkpop]

I know that many people would love to use Korean TV shows to improve their Korean, but they aren’t sure how to start. I’ve created this guide to help you get the most out of watching a Korean TV show. Check out the video here, and read the article below. Did you know that you can study Korean using Korean TV shows? What you’ll need: A notepad A pen What you’ll need to do: Write down every word that you hear, but that you don’t understand—yes, every word.

[languageofkpop]

Happy Friday followers! I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would ask if you guys have any requests. What should my next post be?

[voulair]

[languageofkpop]

fly

to float, wave, or soar in the air

[bomblast-deactivated20150825]

놀다 (nol-da) - to play; to enjoy oneself

[afinelove]

Learn Korean with Kpop: Exercise #9

This time, listen to FT Island’s Madly, and find the moment Hongki sings 너만 사랑하니까, that means “Because I love only you”.

너 (You)

만 (particle that gives the meaning of “only”)

사랑하 (basic form of the verb 사랑하다, to love)

니까 (after a verb, gives to it the meaning “because of”)

Ready to check the answer??

.

.

.

It’s the last verse he sings… around 3:56.

[heyima-yoseoul]

Learning sites

Talk To Me In Korean

KoreanClass101

Sogang Online Lessons

Let’s Learn Korean - KBS

zKorean

For fun

Yahoo Korea Kids (It’s cute, it’s fun and very helpful)

Jaeminara

Kebikids

Korean-English Dictionaries

Naver 신어 Dictionary

...

[languageofkpop]

VIXX: Voodoo Doll

I know what you're thinking. Another post so soon? Well, you are in luck I was fangirling and noticed these couple lines in Voodoo Doll that I could not leave alone. They rhymed so perfectly, and when I looked up the translation they turned out to be pure emo poetry. I just had to share, so here is a quick lesson in gloomy thoughts with Vixx!

그 누구도 모르는

내 가슴속의 슬픔은

geu nugudo moreuneun

nae gaseumsogeui seulpeumeun

no one knows

the sorrow in my heart

I linked to their music core performance because it nicely has the lyrics flashing by in the corner... and I like the dance better than the MV ^_^

[languageofkpop]

EXO: Overdose - 중독 - jungdok

To be quite honest I never expected EXO ever to live up to Growl, but man these boys do not disappoint. There pretty much isn't anything bad I can say about Overdose... the intro to the video was a bit random and unnecessary, maybe? Everyone knows its the music and dancing we want to see.

While I'm mostly into EXO for the dancing and hot boys, its actually hard for me to pick one part of the song to review, which is why I'm doing several random lines ^_^

First some Baekyun goodness from the beginning of the song

치명적인 fantasy 황홀한 그 안에 취해

chimyeongjeogin fantasy hwangholhan geu ane chwihae

[Its] fatal, the fantasy is breathtaking, [I am] drunk with it

So this line is translated all over the place into two separate lines,

"Her fatal fantasy /I'm drunk with ecstasy"

but I really don't think this completely accurate or that it should be two separate thoughts. This was my best go at it trying to translate it myself with google and online dictionaries.

Sorry for jumping around, but I really just felt like picking out my favorite lines. Here we have... another Baekyun line! Wow, he must have hypnotic qualities in his voice or something.

점점 깊숙이 빠져간다

jeomjeom gipsugi bbajyeoganda 

[I'm] falling deeper and deeper

I changed the popular translation again, I know. This time I don't disagree with the meaning, I just didn't like the wording so much. I love those doubled words too much to lose them in translation.

And... another Baekyun line. I'm not doing that on purpose XD

세상이 온통 너인데

sesangi ontong neoinde

[my] world is covered in you

I changed the common translation again (I guess I'm pretty picky with words). Everyone else says "filled with you", but I thought that didn't fit the tone of the song since it has more of a positive sort of feel. "covered in you" to me sounds more overwhelming.

Now for... some rap lines! because chanyeol is totes adorbs

난 너를 맛보고 너를 마신다

계속 들이켜도 아직 모자라

nan neoleul masbogo neoleul masinda

gyesog deulikyeodo ajig mojala

I taste you, drink you

my heart trembles while I continue to drink, still [its] not enough

Interestingly, from what I can see online "deulikyeodo" means to drink but with the context of being a lot at a time.

Ok, this post is getting really long...but I have one more line! and then I'll pick just a select few vocabulary words.

Here we have a group line! (yay ot12 can you tell I'm super sad about Kris)

someone call the doctor 난 그녀가 필요해

someone call the doctor nan geunyeoga pilyohae

someone call the doctor, I need her

I just thought this line really summed up the whole song, with this sort of "this much love cannot be good for me" kind of attitude.

And last but not least, my favorite vocabulary from this lesson:

황홀한 (hwangholhan) => enchanting; fascinating; breathtaking

점점 (jeomjeom) => more and more; increasingly

온통 (ontong) => all over; everywhere

아직 모자라 (ajig mojala) => still not enough

필요해 (pilyohae) => [to] need

[languageofkpop]

Can Post A EXO - overdose Lesson

Sorry I've been so MIA, but I love requests. One EXO post coming right up! (an honestly I'm very impressed with their latest promotions even with the unfortunate drama with Kris)