AKMU · Korean · 37 words

PLAY, Part 1

PLAY is the 2014 debut album AKMU released under their original credit, 악동뮤지션, straight after winning K-pop Star. The first half runs from puppy-love confession songs to the two social sketches the siblings are still known for — a rush-hour subway car and a patch of fake turf that cannot feel rain. The vocabulary is everyday spoken Korean: feelings-hurt verbs, crowd and weather words, and the sound-symbolic adverbs that carry most of the humor.

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
싫어하다	to dislike; to hate	니가 날 싫어해 하는 걸 알아I know you don't like me
서운하다	to feel let down or quietly hurt by someone close to you	나는 서운해 그런 날It hurts me, days like that
이해하다	to understand	왜 너는 못 이해해Why can't you understand?
섭섭하다	to feel hurt and disappointed (close in meaning to 서운하다, but a little stronger and more sulky)	그럴수록 난 되게 섭섭해The more you do that, the more it stings
사소하다	to be trivial; to be a small thing	너에 대한 건 사소한 것도 기억해When it comes to you, I remember even the small things
모자라다	to be lacking; to fall short	Give Love 사랑이 모자라요Give love — there isn't enough love
고백	a confession, especially telling someone you like them	내 본능이 고백 빨리 하라 해My instinct tells me to confess, and fast
증명하다	to prove	빨갛게 익은 내 얼굴이 그걸 증명해My flushed red face proves it
익다	to ripen; of a face, to flush red	빨갛게 익은 내 얼굴my face, flushed red
상큼하다	to be fresh and zesty (used of fruit, air, or a person's vibe)	상큼한 사람a refreshing kind of person
서먹하다	to feel awkward with someone you aren't close to yet	아직 우리 사이 서먹해도Even if things are still awkward between us
멈추다	to stop; to come to a halt	멈추질 못하겠어I can't stop
물들다	to be dyed; to take on a color	파란 바다 검게 물들고The blue sea darkens to black
어둠	darkness	맘속에 찾아온 어둠을 그대로 두고Leaving the darkness that came into my heart just as it is
녹다	to melt; to thaw	얼음들이 녹아지면If the ice were to melt
따뜻하다	to be warm (of temperature, and of a person or a song)	조금 더 따뜻한 노래가 나올텐데A slightly warmer song would come out
차갑다	to be cold (to the touch, or cold-hearted)	얼음들은 왜 그렇게 차가울까Why is the ice so cold?
온기	warmth; lingering heat	그 깊이 묻힌 옛 온기를 바라본다I look at the old warmth buried in its depths
북적북적	bustling; teeming with people (reduplicated 의태어 — keep both halves)	북적북적이는 출퇴근 시간the bustling rush hour
출퇴근	commuting; going to and coming home from work	북적북적이는 출퇴근 시간the bustling commuting hours
빽빽하다	to be packed tight; densely crowded	정장 교복 할 거 없이 빽빽한packed tight with suits and school uniforms alike
발 디딜 틈도 없다	there's no room even to put a foot down — set phrase for a hopelessly packed space	이미 발 디딜 틈도 없이already with no room even to stand
여유	room to spare; a relaxed, unhurried ease	앉아있는 자의 여유the ease of the one who got a seat
덜컹덜컹	rattling, clattering (reduplicated 의성어 for a jolting train or cart)	한 손에 쥐고 덜컹덜컹해요holding it in one hand, rattling along
축소판	a miniature version; a microcosm	지하철은 세상의 축소판The subway is a miniature of the world
놀랍다	to be surprising; amazing	정말 놀라워It's really amazing
헷갈리다	to get confused; to mix things up	이게 누구야 헷갈려Who is this? I'm confused
진작에	long ago; much earlier — usually with a hint of "you should have"	내가 진작에 자르라고 했잖아I told you ages ago to cut it
곱다	to be lovely; delicately pretty (softer and more old-fashioned than 예쁘다)	뭐 이리 고와How can you be this lovely?
뻣뻣하다	to be stiff; not soft (of hair, cloth, or a person's manner)	뻣뻣하고 미역 같던 앞머리your stiff, seaweed-like bangs
애교	endearing, deliberately cute charm — a valued social skill in Korea, with no exact English word	아주 애교 있었어It was really rather charming
시들다	to wilt; to wither	나에게는 시들 걱정 필요하지 않아I have no need to worry about wilting
밟히다	to be stepped on; to be trampled (passive of 밟다)	밟히고 뭉개져도Even trampled and crushed
삼키다	to swallow	비를 삼키고swallowing the rain
뿌리	a root	뿌리를 내고 싶어I want to put down roots
간지럽다	to be ticklish; to feel a tickle	간지러워하는 들판을 봐Look at the field squirming as if tickled
생기	liveliness; the look of being alive	난 생기가 돌지 않아No life ever flows through me