AKMU · Korean · 25 words

Singles

These are the standalone singles that never landed on an album, spanning the whole career: two 2013 tracks from the 악동뮤지션 era (「라면인건가」, written for K-pop Star, and the shaved-ice jingle 「콩떡빙수」), the autumn single 「시간과 낙엽」, the 2020 breakup song 「HAPPENING」, and the 2025 Cookie Run collaboration 「DADA」. Two things are worth knowing before you study them: 「라면인건가」 turns on a pun, since 라면 is both instant noodles and the ending "if it is," and 「시간과 낙엽」 was written with no loanwords at all, so every word taken from it here is native or Sino-Korean.

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
라면인건가	the title pun, readable two ways: "is it ramyeon?" (라면 = instant noodles) and "is it that if it is…" (-(이)라면 = "if it is")	오늘도 내 점심은 라면인건가Is my lunch going to be ramyeon again today?
질리다	to get sick of something; to have had more than enough of it	매일 똑같은 하루 이런 날 보면 질려Every day the same — looking at days like this, I'm sick of it
귀찮다	to be a hassle; to not be able to be bothered	걷는 게 귀찮아서 배로 누운 그대로Too lazy to walk, so I stay flat on my stomach
그림의 떡	something you can see but never have — literally "a rice cake in a picture" (idiom)	그림의 떡이야It's a rice cake in a picture
웬 떡이야	"what a stroke of luck!" — said when something good drops in your lap (idiom, literally "what rice cake is this")	밥상에 올라가도 이게 웬 떡이야If that made it to the table, what luck that'd be
찬장	a kitchen cupboard	날마다 찬장을 열어보면Every day I open the cupboard and
빙수	Korean shaved ice, piled with toppings — the standard summer dessert	빙수 떡빙수 콩떡빙수Shaved ice, rice-cake shaved ice, bean-and-rice-cake shaved ice
텁텁하다	to feel dry, heavy and cloying in the mouth	한입 딱 떠먹어 텁텁함은 다 까먹어One spoonful and you forget the whole cloying feeling
쫄깃쫄깃	chewy and springy — the prized texture of rice cake (reduplicated 의태어; keep both halves)	먹고 또 먹고 싶은 쫄깃쫄깃 콩떡chewy bean rice cake you want again the moment you've had it
맨발	bare feet	맨발로 기억을 거닐다Walking barefoot through memory
거닐다	to stroll; to wander without hurrying	맨발로 기억을 거닐다wandering barefoot through memory
낙엽	fallen leaves	떨어지는 낙엽에in the falling leaves
단풍	autumn foliage; the turning of leaves, which Koreans travel to see	날 애싸는 단풍에in the autumn leaves closing around me
허기지다	to be famished; hollow with hunger, of the body or the heart	허기진 맘을 붙잡고 곤히 잠이 든다Holding on to a starved heart, I fall soundly asleep
곤히	soundly; deeply (of sleep)	곤히 잠이 든다falls soundly asleep
은행나무	a ginkgo tree — the yellow-leaved tree that lines Korean streets in autumn	노란 은행나무에in the yellow ginkgo tree
거창하다	to be grandiose; bigger and grander than the thing deserves	거창한 표현을 주기엔 너무 가벼웠잖아It was too slight for such grand words
질색이다	to want absolutely no part of something; to detest it	마음 아픈 건 질색이니까because I can't stand having my heart hurt
여리다	to be delicate; easily bruised, of a person or a feeling	우린 너무 여려We're far too fragile
못 본 척하다	to pretend you didn't see someone (fixed expression built on the -는 척하다 pattern)	못 본 척하고 지나쳐줘Pretend you didn't see me and walk on by
쓸데없다	to be pointless; good for nothing	쓸데없는 미련으로 인해because of some pointless lingering attachment
발바닥	the sole of the foot	불이라도 붙여 내 발바닥에Set my feet on fire if you have to
지치다	to get worn out; to run out of energy	지치잖게so I don't wear out
넘어지다	to fall over; to trip	넘어진다 babyYou're going to fall, baby
조심하다	to be careful; to watch out	조심해요 엉덩이Careful — mind your backside