aespa · Korean · 32 words

Girls

Girls, aespa's second mini album from July 2022, pushes the group's battle-in-a-virtual-world story to its loudest point. The title track piles up words for chaos, courage and confrontation, while 도깨비불 (Illusion) borrows the vocabulary of hunting and being lured in, Lingo plays with slang and being called an alien, and Life's Too Short and ICU (쉬어가도 돼) turn gentler, dealing with hesitation, regret and leaning on someone. The set collects the everyday Korean under all of that: verbs for enduring, hesitating and curling up, plus nouns like 불씨, 혼돈, 잔소리 and 먹잇감.

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
치명적이다	to be fatal, deadly	이번 실수는 정말 치명적이었어.This mistake was truly fatal.
버티다	to hold out, endure, stand one's ground	조금만 더 버티면 우리가 이겨.If we hold out just a little longer, we win.
존재감	presence, the sense of someone being there	그 사람은 존재감이 정말 강해.That person has a really strong presence.
불씨	an ember, a spark that can start something again	작은 불씨 하나가 다시 커졌어.One small ember grew big again.
혼돈	chaos, confusion	세상이 혼돈에 빠진 것 같아.It feels like the world has fallen into chaos.
용기	courage	사실대로 말할 용기가 필요해.I need the courage to tell the truth.
체온	body warmth, body temperature	손을 잡으니 체온이 느껴졌어.When I held your hand, I could feel your warmth.
호기심	curiosity	네 얘기를 들으니까 호기심이 생겼어.Hearing your story made me curious.
몽롱하다	to be hazy, dazed, dreamy	약을 먹었더니 정신이 몽롱해.The medicine has left me feeling hazy.
목격자	an eyewitness, someone who saw it happen	그 일을 본 목격자가 아직 없어.There's still no witness who saw what happened.
도깨비불	a will-o'-the-wisp, a ghostly flickering flame	밤길에 도깨비불처럼 반짝이는 게 보였어.On the night road I saw something flickering like a will-o'-the-wisp.
불쑥	abruptly, out of nowhere	네가 불쑥 나타나서 깜짝 놀랐어.You showed up out of nowhere and startled me.
달아나다	to run away, flee	너무 무서워서 나도 모르게 달아났어.I was so scared that I ran away without thinking.
먹잇감	prey, something to be devoured	그 앞에서 나는 그냥 먹잇감이었어.In front of them I was nothing but prey.
지루하다	to be boring, dull	그 영화는 너무 길고 지루했어.That movie was too long and boring.
중독되다	to get hooked, become addicted	커피에 중독된 것 같아서 걱정이야.I'm worried that I've become addicted to coffee.
눈치채다	to catch on, notice what's going on	이제야 눈치챘어? 너무 늦었잖아.You're only catching on now? That's way too late.
외계인	an alien; someone who seems from another planet	밤하늘을 보면 외계인이 있을까 궁금해.When I look at the night sky, I wonder if aliens exist.
잔소리	nagging, unwanted lecturing	잔소리는 그만하고 그냥 들어 봐.Stop nagging and just listen for a second.
유치하다	to be childish, silly	그런 농담은 좀 유치하지 않아?Isn't that kind of joke a little childish?
지치다	to get worn out, exhausted	하루 종일 걸었더니 완전히 지쳤어.I walked all day and got completely worn out.
망설이다	to hesitate, waver	너무 오래 망설이면 기회를 놓쳐.If you hesitate too long, you'll miss the chance.
어차피	anyway, in any case	어차피 결과는 똑같으니까 그냥 하자.The result will be the same anyway, so let's just do it.
후회	regret	나중에 후회하기는 싫어.I don't want to have regrets later.
미루다	to put off, postpone	오늘 할 일을 내일로 미루지 마.Don't put off today's work until tomorrow.
서투르다	to be clumsy, unskilled	처음이라 서툴지만 열심히 해 볼게요.I'm clumsy because it's my first time, but I'll try hard.
웅크리다	to curl up, huddle into oneself	혼자 방에서 웅크리고 있었어.I was curled up alone in my room.
기대다	to lean on someone, rely on them	친구가 힘들 때는 서로 기대는 거야.When friends are having a hard time, they lean on each other.
뒤척이다	to toss and turn, be restless in bed	어젯밤엔 뒤척이다가 늦게 잤어.Last night I tossed and turned and fell asleep late.
울적하다	to feel down, gloomy	비 오는 날이면 괜히 울적해져.On rainy days I just feel gloomy for no reason.
힘겹다	to be hard to bear, too much to carry	혼자 다 하려니까 정말 힘겨웠어.Trying to do it all alone was really too much to bear.
따스하다	to be warm, gently comforting	따스한 목소리로 나를 달래 줬어.You comforted me with a warm voice.